Principality Building Society Renews Sponsorship of Junior Wales Open

Principality Building Society has renewed its sponsorship of the Junior Wales Open, committing itself to a fourth year of supporting the search for the next generation of Welsh golfing talent.

The nation’s premier junior golf competition, the Principality Junior Wales Open crowns boy and girl champions in three different age categories after a final played on Celtic Manor’s Twenty Ten Course, the stage for Wales’ first Ryder Cup in 2010.

The tournament tees off with five regional qualifying events at renowned clubs across Wales during the Easter holidays.  They start at a new North Wales venue, the Vale of Llangollen, which hosts a qualifier for the first time on Monday April 14th, before further preliminary events take place at Builth Wells (April 15th), Langland Bay (April 16th), Celtic Manor Roman Road (April 23rd) and Radyr (April 24th).

Successful junior qualifiers in Under-13, Under-15 and Under-18 age groups will then contest a grand final over the Twenty Ten Course on August 13th. They also enjoy an overnight stay at the five-star Celtic Manor Resort as part of their prize.

Title sponsor Principality Building Society and the Celtic Manor Resort are proud to be building on the legacy of Wales’ first Ryder Cup with a competition which hopes to foster future champions to follow in the footsteps of Welsh Ryder Cup hero Ian Woosnam and Solheim Cup star Becky Brewerton.

Graeme Yorston, Group Chief Executive at Principality Building Society, said: “We’re delighted to continue sponsoring this competition and support the Celtic Manor Resort in developing the next generation of Welsh golfing talent.

“In 2011, our first year of sponsorship, we had Amy Boulden as the Principality Junior Wales Open girls’ champion and she has just turned professional after a stellar amateur career which included winning the Curtis Cup for Great Britain and Ireland.

“A former boys’ winner, Rhys Pugh, has gone on to be crowned the European Amateur Champion and play in the last two Walker Cups. So the examples are there for this year’s players to aspire to and we are proud to enable and open up these opportunities for young people.

“We look forward to another exciting year of competition, starting during the Easter holidays on some of the finest courses in Wales.”

The potential of youth was underlined in last year’s Principality Junior Wales Open when the overall title was won by Arrun Singh-Brar who, at the age of 14, beat boys four years his senior to claim the trophy with a superb round of 74.

Ashburnham’s Nia Greville followed up her success in winning the Welsh Girls’ Championship just three days before by claiming the girls’ title with a round of 77.

Competitors were presented with their prizes by European Tour pro Phillip Price and included the Ryder Cup star’s own son, Edward, who finished fourth in the Under-13 stableford section. 

Golfers as young as 10 got their first taste of competition outside their own clubs in last year’s event, which had almost 400 junior entries.

For an entry fee of £20, every competitor gets 18 holes of golf in the regional qualifier, a packed lunch and a goody bag of golfing merchandise from Asbri, as well as the chance to bid for top prizes in the grand final.

Enter online at www.celtic-manor.com/the-junior-wales-open or call Celtic Manor’s special events team on 01633 410318 for more information.

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