T he PING Welsh Junior Tour enjoyed a record-breaking season, boosted by the expansion to Under 18s but also with underlying entries up by almost a quarter.

These figures included a record number of girls taking part, going up by more than half from the previous season.

Overall the entries to the premier elite junior golf tour in Wales were up by almost two thirds as the event continues to go from strength to strength each year.

Winners in the Order of Merit and on finals day came from all around Wales, with particularly strong performances by players from Swansea Bay in West Wales, Padeswood and Buckley in the North and Whitchurch in Cardiff.

Some of the regional events had more than 100 entrants as more records were broken through the summer for the size of the competition, with the PING Welsh Junior Tour event in Aberdare attracting 138 participants to be the biggest.

“We had 801 entries into the PING Welsh Junior Tour this year and 152 of them were girls which is also a record number and an increase of 57% from 2024. Overall participation has increased 62%.” said Rebecca Hawke, Wales Golf Competitions Coordinator.

“It is great to see the growing popularity of the event, which gives Welsh golfers from the ages of Under 8 through to Under 18 the chance to compete all around Wales against some of the best players of their age.“

The event also has a fun element to attract players, with plenty going on around the golf, and that seems to be a key part of the success as well.

“We look forward to building on these figures next year, and over the winter we will look at ways to improve the PING Welsh Junior Tour further next season, as we always do.”

The PING Welsh Junior Tour is intended to give young golfers an opportunity to play in some national events, giving them their first taste of a competitive environment whilst having fun at an early stage in their golfing development.T

here were six regional events in Wales from which players qualified for the PING Welsh Junior Tour Final played at Carmarthen Golf Club.

There are five age divisions; Under 8, Under 10, Under 12, Under 14 and Under 18 with separate girls and boys categories for each age group.

Players have course set-ups and scoring systems which are age appropriate.

It was a Swansea Bay double in the U18’s Order of Merit with Eve Clunis-Wheway the winner of the inaugural girls U18’s, while clubmate Sam Matthews was the winner of the U18 Boys.

On the day, Llanishen’s Poppy Murphy Jones won the Girls Final, with Lucy Hurst of St Idloes winning the Girls Gross.

The Boys Final was won by Radyr’s Rhys Eveleigh, with Blackwood’s Oli Williams second and the best Gross score.

The U14 Girls Order of Merit winner was Esme Matthews of Swansea Bay to make it a family double. Noah Dingle, Padeswood and Buckley, won the Boys Order of Merit.

Ben Latham from Whitchurch won the Boys Final, while Sophia Lewis Mills, Machynys, won the Girls Final.

In the U12’s category the Girls Order of Merit winner was Ella Evans, also Swansea Bay, with Ludlow’s George Smith claiming the Boys title.

On Finals Day the Girls winners was Lily Morgan, Padeswood and Buckley, with Whitchurch’s Oscar Mordey winning the Boys event.

In the Under 10’s category the Girls Order of Merit winner was Isla Storey-Rogers, Padeswood and Buckley, with Brynmeadows’ Fraizer Harris claiming the Boys title.

On Finals Day the Girls winners was Olivia-Rae Dally, Aberdare, with Whitchurch’s Thomas Latham completing another family double by winning the Boys event.

In the Under 8’s category Lacey Lindquist, Carmarthen, was the only player to claim both the Order of Merit and a win on Finals Day.

The Boys winners were Jack Blythin, Padeswood and Buckley, in the Order of Merit, while Pennard’s Matthew Maclean won on Finals Day.