Gwyn makes Welsh Seniors title his property

Property services business owner Gwyn Jones made the Welsh Men’s Senior’s Championship his property – thanks to the ‘hardest shot in golf.’

The Cardiff based 59-year-old beat  Mike White on the second play-off hole in a classic match play situation, with the Radyr player putting his second into a bunker 30 yards short while his opponent found the green.

An exquisite long bunker shot – known as the hardest in golf – gave Jones a 12 inch tap in, while White had a run at his Championship winning putt and then missed the return, handing the title to the Welshman.

Jones had forced his way to the top of the leaderboard with the only below par round of the week, a final day 70, to finish on seven over, three consecutive birdies from the 13^th to 15^th proving key.
“I am a bit surprised, but I really enjoyed the course and I’m very happy to have won in such a strong field,” said Jones.

“Although I was brought up in North Wales in Abergele, I had not played Aberdovey that much, about a dozen times. It is the short of course that the more you play it the more you know the nuances and where to put the ball.

“One place not to put it was the bunker on 18 in the play-off, that was a poor second shot but I made up for it with the bunker shot to 12 inches. It was a bit daunting, but I executed it well.

“Everyone has said how that was a classic match play situation as Mike was 25 feet away and everything looked very favourable for him.

“It was glorious playing in the sunshine and the course was in excellent condition, the greens were superb and the course was beautifully presented, but there was a fair bit of wind which made it tough to score.”

Jones has been a member at Radyr for more than 30 years and an established first team player, but this was a big win in a season when he has played less golf than usual.

“I have had a foot injury so I have not played a lot of golf, I think that is why I improved each round as I found my rhythm,” he said.

“I run my own property services business but I am trying to retire, scale things back a bit.”
Wales Golf Competitons Manager Christian Askins added, “Congratulations to Gwyn, it was a tough event with an exciting play-off finish.

“Also congratulations to Aberdovey, the course was in great condition to host a tough but fair test for these players.

“Thanks also to the staff and volunteers for helping the smooth running of the event.”