By Hamish Stuart
Abergavenny’s Alicia Kelly became the first girl to win the Gareth Bale Championship at Celtic Manor, dominating the field to earn a seven-shot victory.
Beating the boys in such a prestigious competition is a boost for girl’s golf with less than a year to go before hosting the biggest female sporting event ever held in Wales when the AIG Women’s Open takes place in Royal Porthcawl next summer.
Superstar footballer Bale was on hand to watch the Championship and handed out the prizes, impressed at the young talent on display among the girls and boys in the mixed Under 18’s event.
The popularity gained by the Wales Golf event, which is in its third year, was shown by the remarkable number of entries, with just under 100 able to play with a lengthy waiting list on top.
Welsh Boys champion Isaac Jones, Oswestry, finished in second place at the Gareth Bale Championship.
Welsh Boys champion Isaac Jones, Oswestry, was in second place on five over with Caspar van Rensburg, Rolls of Monmouth, in third and Welsh Under 14’s champion, Rebecca Del Sol-Gonzalez, in fourth.
Both Kelly as the overall winner and Jones as the best boy received the fantastic prize of custom built set of TaylorMade golf clubs.
Kelly, aged 14 and from Wernddu Golf Club near Abergavenny, was in superb form for the event held on the Montgomery and Roman Road courses at Ryder Cup venue Celtic Manor, with a final round of 66 – the best score by any player over the two days and more than enough to clinch victory.
“I am really happy to have won this, especially to be the first girl to win,” she said.
“I came into it thinking that being the leading girl would be good, but then I was leading by two shots after the first round, four shots clear going into the final round and relaxed, played well and the putts dropped.
“It has been quite a good season for me with a couple of second places, so it was good to get a win and to finish the season on a high – it is good to know I can do it.
“This was my last year in the Under 14’s so the winter will be a case of working hard in the Wales Golf squads and looking forward to an exciting year next.”
Alicia Kelly won the Gareth Bale Championship.
Former Wales and Real Madrid star Bale is a key supporter of Wales Golf and was at Celtic Manor to see first-hand how big his event has become.
The Gareth Bale Festival of Sport is an annual event launched in 2022, run in conjunction with Street Games.
It allows young people living in underserved communities in South Wales to access a safe, fun and exciting one-day multi-sport festival.
“This is the third year that we have held the Gareth Bale Festival of Sport and this one has been the best yet,” he said.
“As a boy, I played every sport I could and I’m sure that helped my development as an athlete. That’s why it’s great to see young people in Wales getting the chance to try lots of different sports they might not otherwise get the chance to.
“I’m also a very keen golfer so I was thrilled to see such a high standard of competition played out on the fantastic golf courses here at Celtic Manor.
“It’s very important to give young golfers opportunities for elite competition and provide pathways for their development to the top of the game.”
Your 2024 Gareth Bale Championship Winner: Alicia Kelly 🤩👏🏴
An amazing performance from our Wales girls’ squad member, finishing with a total of two under par 🏌️♀️ pic.twitter.com/TMKRMItEF7
— Wales Golf | Golff Cymru (@wales_golf) September 15, 2024
Wales Golf’s Head of Participation & Club Governance, Theo Baker, was excited to see a girl winning this event, given what lies ahead with the AIG Women’s Open coming to Wales, and the opportunities around that to boost women and girl’s golf.
“I think this is a really exciting time to be part of golf in Wales,” he said. “With Gareth Bale bringing a fantastic audience to the sport, but also next year we are bringing the largest female sporting event to Wales in the women’s British open.
“The next period of time for golf in Wales is really exciting, with great projects and great initiatives working across the country, working with key partners and there are more and more people picking up the game every year.
“For us, with events and with Gareth’s involvement, the game is going to go from strength to strength.”
Tickets for the AIG Women’s Open, including premium hospitality options, are now on sale and start from just £20.
Children aged 16 years or under before the Championship are admitted free of charge on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. On those same days, spectators aged 24 years or under will be entitled to purchase youth (16-24 years) tickets which have a 50% discount.
Fantastic weekend of golf and other games for the Gareth Bale Championship and Festival of Sport.
Congratulations to Ryan Williams on winning the junior golf tournament after battling the elements to produce a superb final round of 72 on the Roman Road Course. pic.twitter.com/6hfNnLbz1E— Celtic Manor Resort (@TheCelticManor) September 17, 2023