By Hamish Stuart
Welsh Under 14’s Champion Rebecca Del Sol-Gonzalez was delighted to beat the boys to the title – and inspired by the prospect of the AIG Women’s Open coming to Wales next year.
While the best women players on the planet are starring at St Andrew’s in this year’s AIG Women’s Open, Del Sol-Gonzalez was competing in North Wales at Northop and edging out Pennard clubmate Thomas Maclean, as well as Wernddu’s Alicia Kelly, by a single shot.
The Under 16’s Welsh title was won by Harry Ferns of St Pierre, with a strong Pennard performance being underlined with Matthew Lewis shooting a final round level par score to finish one shot back in the difficult conditions.
Johnny Junior Jones, Conwy, and Harry Thomas, Eaton, fell back in the final round but still finished third and fourth respectively, also at Northop. Amelie Jones, Harewood Downs, was the top girl in the mixed event.
Del Sol-Gonzalez was delighted with her win at an important time for women and girls golf in Wales.
“Next year I would love the opportunity to see the world’s best women players in Royal Porthcawl,” said the 14-year-old Bishopston pupil.
“I went to watch the Seniors Open when it was played there, so I would love to do the same with the women and see the likes of Nelly Korda in Wales.
“It was definitely nice to beat the boys, but I play a lot at Pennard with Thomas and he is a good friend so we were helping each other and giving each other positive vibes in the second round. It was a friendly rivalry and just the odd putt made the difference.
“I tried to stay calm through both rounds, I wanted to make sure I was as steady as possible. It was quite windy going into the second round so I said to myself that it would be OK whatever happens. Pennard is pretty breezy, so I knew how to calculate the wind correctly.”
🏆 Champions 🏆
Well done to Rebecca Del Sol- Gonzalez (@pennardgc) for winning the Under 14’s Championship and Harry Ferns (St Pierre GC) for winning the Under 16’s.
Congratulations both and thank you to @northopgolfclub for hosting. pic.twitter.com/Yac5F4v1z4
— Wales Golf | Golff Cymru (@wales_golf) August 23, 2024
While Del Sol-Gonzalez is looking forward to watching the world’s top women players in Royal Porthcawl next year, it was seeing much younger competitors that inspired her to give golf a second chance.
It was documentary The Short Game, following a group of seven-year-olds trying to get to the US Kids Golf World Championship played at Pinehurst, which persuaded her to fall in love with the game.
“I started playing golf when I was eight or nine, but I hated it and stopped pretty quickly,” she admitted. “Then I watched the movie The Short Game and loved it – that got me back into golf and inspired me to compete as I was a competitive swimmer at the time.
“Seeing the children going to Pinehurst was inspiring. Then this year I started entering the right competitions around the UK, gaining experience, and that has helped me a lot.”
@chepstowschool Harry’s different take on the biscuit challenge using his golf skills! pic.twitter.com/J6XSbgoseS
— Jo Ferns (@jo_ferns) June 27, 2020
Ferns has benefitted from a change of coach, switching to Wales Golf Female National Coach Gareth James even though it has meant regular trips from Chepstow to Manchester for coaching sessions.
“It is more of a commitment for my parents than me putting in the miles, but switching to Gareth in the last year has paid off,” said the 15-year-old Chepstow pupil.
“I just tried to keep the ball in play and let other players drop shots, the wind meant the course played very differently in terms of shot choice and club selection.
“This is a really big win for me, so I am really happy. Results have not been going my way, so I was really working on the mental side of my game, how I approach it and think about things.
“Northop was a different test with a lot of doglegs, but I enjoyed it and it seemed to suit me.”
Anyone wanting to join Del Sol-Gonzalez watching the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl July 30-August 3 next year can buy tickets now https://www.aigwomensopen.com/tickets-and-hospitality/tickets/2025 .
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