FORMAT: 36-hole stroke play / 4 rounds of matchplay
Ffion Tynan showed all her international class to win the Welsh Girls Championship at Cardiff yesterday.
The 18-year-old, who is a member at Pyle & Kenfig and Minchinhampton, was four under in the final, defeating Celtic Manor’s Jessica Atwell 5&3 to win the title for the first time.
Ffion, who won the Scottish Girls Open Championship when she was just 15 and the England U-14s in 2016, has not played in her national junior championship very often, mainly because it clashed with the European Young Masters.
This year she would have been in with a chance of making the European Amateur Championship – the event was moved from Alwoodley to Italy – but travel restrictions prevented any of the home nations sending representation so Ffion was able to make the short trip over to Cardiff and she certainly enjoyed herself.
Double joy for Pyle & Kenfig with Sean David taking the Boys title.
“After the practice round I thought ‘wow this is going to be a great matchplay venue,” said the University of Arkansas student. “There were lots of decisions to be made – ‘do you go over the trees here or under them there?’ …there are so many ways to play the course. I loved the set-up.”
Ffion certainly had the measure of the South Wales venue in the title decider. She went ahead at the fourth with a birdie and doubled her advantage in spectacular fashion at the sixth, draining a 20-foot eagle putt.
A par at eight was enough for the gap to widen to three but Jessica managed to pull one back at the very next.
At the par five 11th Ffion hit a huge drive and had just 110 yards in for her second. Her 310-yard tee was backed up shot by in some style as she fired her approach to two feet, making her second eagle of the round a formality.
With the next two holes being halved with pars, the Celtic Manor player was running out of holes and unfortunately she went out of bounds at the 14th to go four down with four to play it was all over at the very next with a par as Jessica failed to muster a birdie.
Ffion qualified for the matchplay stage in third, two shots behind Darcy Harry (Royal Porthcawl), who secured the top seeding and the Welsh Girls Strokeplay Championship thanks to a second round 68.
And in the last 16 tie took on her 15-year-old sister Elin – it was the first time they had met in competition – and started in great style with a 6&4 victory although the margin of victory ensured she received some gentle ribbing when she got back to the clubhouse.
“I did get a bit of ‘that’s so mean’ after we finished but we both played really well. I was three under and Elin was three over, so she was playing her best golf of the week.”
In the next round Ffion found herself two down after four against Isobel Kelly (Erewash Valley) but turned it around in great style (5&3) and she reached the final by defeating Newport’s Gracie Mayo 2&1.