Max Makes His Mark To Take Welsh Open Youths Title

England’s Max Martin led from start to finish to claim the Welsh Open Youths title at Prestatyn, pipping North Wales challenger Tom Williams by a single shot.

Martin won the US Kids golf at the age of 10 and the European Under 13’s championship, but this was his biggest win coping with the pressure of leading in all four rounds with Wrexham’s Williams hot on his heels.

Ladbrook Park’s Martin opened with a 64, matched by 2015 winner Williams in his second round, while a third round 69 meant a fourth round score of 77 was just enough to keep the Englishman ahead on -8, while the Wales international had a closing 72 to finish one shot back.

Welshman Matt Roberts, of The Vale Resort, was tied third along with Worksop’s Reece Samson. Aberdovey’s Tomos Jones was tied eight and Ashburnham’s Aled Gravelle tied 11th in a strong showing for home players in the strong field.

“The first round came as a bit of a surprise to me, but it is a brilliant course with superb greens in exceptional condition,” said 19-year-old Martin, praising the Prestatyn host venue.

“Then a 69 in the third round meant I did not want to make any high numbers in the afternoon, but bogeys at 14, 15 and 16 were not part of the plan.

“Tom is not really the person you want chasing you and I knew from the weather forecast the last round would be a bit of a battle with the wind, but any time you can shoot -8 you are always giving yourself a chance of winning the tournament.

“I won the US Kids at ten and the European Championships under 13’s, but this is my biggest win – I have been a bit quiet since then and doing it at 19 is a lot different.

“I will try to get into the Walker Cup in the next couple of years, this win helps push me up the world rankings which will help.”

Golf Union of Wales championships manager David Wilson also congratulated traditional links course at Prestatyn for hosting the event.

“It was great to see such a strong Welsh challenge with Tom Williams in particular pushing hard to try to regain the title he won two years ago, but it was also great to see the condition of the course and the level of the challenge at Prestatyn,” he said.

“The players were full of praise for the course and it is one of the venues in Wales we can always rely on to put on a great event.”