Rhys Davies, last year's runner-up, will bid to go one better when he spearheads the Welsh challenge to produce a first home winner of the Saab Wales Open next week.
Davies shot a course-record 62 in the final round of last year’s tournament to be the closest challenger to eventual champion Graeme McDowell at Celtic Manor.
Three months before, the then European Tour rookie had claimed his first top tier victory at the Trophée Hassan II in Morocco but the £200,000 the Welshman collected for finishing second in his home event remains his highest pay cheque.
Davies, who narrowly missed out on defending his Trophée Hassan II title when he was beaten by David Horsey in a play-off this April, is understandably excited about his return to home soil for the Saab Wales Open from June 2-5.
“It's great to come back and play at home and to get back to the course where I had a final day 62 last summer makes it that bit more special,” said the 25-year-old from Bridgend.
“A few more people know you and give you that extra support. The Twenty Ten Course is one that I feel suits my game and the Celtic Manor is becoming a familiar environment for me.
“The work done by the Matthews family there deserves a good field of European Tour professionals and I just love coming back to my home country to play this event.”
Davies was also involved in October’s dramatic Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor when he was invited into the team room after being the closest Welshman to qualifying for Colin Montgomerie’s European team.
His run at the title on The Twenty Ten Course last June followed another runner’s-up spot in Spain the week before and came at the end of a superb run which saw him grab five top-three finishes in three months and propelled him to 18th place on last year’s Race to Dubai in his first full season.
He is again the leading Welshman on this year’s Race to Dubai but Jamie Donaldson is not far behind after four top-15 finishes in 2011. Other established Welsh players in the field include Stephen Dodd, Bradley Dredge and Phillip Price, who have eight European Tour victories between them.
Challenge Tour graduates Stuart Manley and Liam Bond are also in the starting field along with Simon Edwards, who qualifies through his performances in PGA events, and sponsors’ invites Sion Bebb and Garry Houston.
No Welshman has ever landed the Wales Open but Dredge, like Davies, has finished second. His one-shot lead coming down the last in 2007 was overturned by a brilliant birdie from South Africa’s Richard Sterne while Dredge drove into a bunker en route to a costly bogey five.
The home hopes will face stiff competition in their bid to land this year’s title as World Number Five and current US Open champion Graeme McDowell returns to defend his title. He will be joined by three of his team-mates from Europe’s thrilling Ryder Cup win at Celtic Manor in October – Miguel Angel Jiménez, Ross Fisher and Peter Hanson – their captain, Colin Montgomerie, and vice-captains Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn, who have both recorded European Tour wins this season.
As well as top class sporting action at one of The European Tour’s leading events, the Saab Wales Open also offers spectators the chance to enjoy family attractions in the tented village and provides a great value, full day out. Children Under-16 enjoy free entry if accompanied by an adult.
Saab Golf Week starts early on Bank Holiday Monday, May 30th, when Graeme McDowell, John Daly, Ian Poulter and Paul Casey will be among a star-studded 12-man field competing in a brand new nine-hole, two-flag shootout - PowerPlay Golf: Ignition.
Tickets for PowerPlay Golf: Ignition and the Saab Wales Open are available on the gate.
