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KONICA ORDER OF MERIT After a long season in which Welsh amateurs firmly put their mark on the "British" scene, Jamie Donaldson was victorious. Such was his play during the year that by the close of play at the Welsh Open Stroke Play Championship he could not be overtaken at the number one spot. In second place was Nigel Edwards who strung together a series of fine performances winning the Trubshaw Cup and for the fourth time in five years the Carad Trophy. In Wales, Edwards finished no worse than second. Ian Campbell made up the top three and the highlight of his consistent year was winning the bronze medal in the European Youth Team Championship at Kilmarnock, Barassie, Scotland. Along with this Ian finished runner-up in the Lytham Trophy having lead for 69 holes. John Jermine sensationally claimed the Welsh Amateur Championship and the 250 Konica Order of Merit points at Royal St David’s, Harlech. Jermine became the oldest winner of any National Championship. Richard Brookman finished as the bridesmaid for the second year running and forced his way into one of the top 7 automatic places for the Home Internationals at Carnoustie, Scotland.
FINAL PLACINGS AFTER THE WELSH AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
CAMPBELL CLINCHES VICTORY Ian Campbell from the Marlborough club in Swindon won the WI Tucker Trophy at Whitchurch at the weekend by a stroke from Whitchurch’s Nigel Edwards. In a weekend of high wind which made scoring difficult Campbell claimed the 100 Konica Order of Merit points for finishing in 1st place with Edwards adding a further 60 to his current total. Mark Smith enjoyed a return to form with his third place finish, while defending Konica champion Matthew Griffiths claimed fourth spot on his return from Open Qualifying where he lost out in a play off. Jamie Donaldson and Craig Williams finished the weekend in joint fifth place. The final event on the Konica Order of Merit takes place at Royal St.David’s Golf Club, Harlech for the Welsh Amateur Championship from 2nd to 5th August 2000.
KYRON CLEANS UP Kyron Sullivan won his first Konica Order of Merit event at the weekend when he claimed the Clwyd Open over the Prestatyn and Wrexham courses. Sullivan won the Jubilee Trophy on Saturday with scores of 74 and 68 and them triumphed in the Egerton Vase with scores of 67 and 72 around Wrexham. Sullivan’s victory earned him 100 Konica points and moved him into 6th place in the table with Lee Harpin who finished 2nd moving to 7th spot. With only two events remaining before the team is selected for this year’s Home Internationals the players will be looking for a good performance this weekend in the Tucker Trophy; where the players occupying the top five places will return to action. The next event takes place at Newport and Whitchurch for the Tucker Trophy from 22/23 July 2000.
EDWARDS CLAIMS FOURTH CARAD Whitchurch’s Nigel Edwards claimed his fourth Carad title in five years by two strokes over Craig Williams. Edwards who was eight strokes adrift of Williams after 13 holes of round one claimed his second Konica Order of Merit event of the season giving him another 100 points. On Saturday Edwards won the Radyr Salver with rounds of 70 and 68 but had to be content with second place in the Cardiff Feathers after his rounds of 70 and 67 left him one shot behind Williams. Craig Smith of St Mellons collected his first Konica points of the season by finishing third and Wrexham’s Tim Dykes added 30 points to his total pushing him closer to the coveted top seven spot.
The next event takes place at Wrexham and Prestatyn for the Clwyd Open from 15th /16th July 2000.
UNSTOPPABLE DONALDSON Jamie Donaldson continued to dominate British Amateur golf with his victory in the Welsh Open Stroke Play Championship at Ashburnham over the weekend. Donaldson’s win claimed him another 200 points on the Konica Order of Merit to increase his lead to almost 600 points and guarantee his first Konica title with four events remaining. Donaldson won with a five under par aggregate of 283 three strokes clear of Finland’s Ville Karhu. Kyron Sullivan from Brynhill moves into 7th place on the Konica list after his 7th place finish at Ashburnham.
The next event takes place at Cardiff and Radyr for the Carad Trophy from 8th – 9th July 2000.
DONALDSON AGAIN Jamie Donaldson claimed the Aberconwy Trophy by 14 strokes and added another 100 Konica points to his already impressive total. Prestatyn’s John Williams improved his position on the Konica table by virtue of his distant second place at the Aberconwy Trophy and he climbed from 12th place up to 7th. During the British Amateur Championship at Hoylake, Donaldson, Kyron Sullivan and Nigel Edwards all collected 40 points by reaching the last 32. The next event takes place at Ashburnham where a truly International field will assemble for the Welsh Open Stroke Play Championship from 23rd – 25th June 2000. DONALDSON STORMS CLEAR Jamie Donaldson continued his fine form with another second place finish at the St Andrews Links Trophy at the weekend. Donaldson collected another 180 Konica Order of Merit points and now leads the Konica table by almost 290 points. It was another good weekend for Wales with Craig Williams claiming 3rd place, Nigel Edwards finishing in 5th place and Alex Smith on his return from America claiming 18th spot and his first Konica points of the season. The next event takes place at Royal Liverpool (Hoylake) where the players will try to win the greatest amateur prize of all, the British Amateur Championship from 5th – 9th June 2000. DONALDSON CREATES A GAP Jamie Donaldson has taken over at the top of the Konica Order of merit after claiming second place in the English Open Amateur Stroke Play (Brabazon Trophy) at Woodhall Spa over the weekend. Donaldson was left to rue his first round 77 that saw him finish day one nine shots behind the leader. Donaldson closed with three sub par rounds to finish on 286, 6 under par two strokes behind the winner, Jochen Lupprian of Germany. Both Ian Campbell and Craig Williams also gained Konica points at the weekend. Nigel Edwards and David Price return to action this weekend at the St Andrews Links Trophy. The next event takes place at St Andrews where the players will contest the St Andrews Links Trophy from 27th – 28th May 2000. FIRST VICTORY FOR PRICE David Price of the Vale of Glamorgan, captured his first Konica Order of Merit title after a superb four round total of 277 strokes at Royal St David’s, Harlech. Price triumphed by a single shot over Duncan Putter winner Jamie Donaldson. The pair were level through fifteen holes of the final round, but a Price birdie at sixteen gave him the advantage and closed with two pars to record his first Konica win. There were good showings from Tim Dykes and Gareth James, two players who will be keen to gain enough Konica points to force themselves into the Welsh Team for the Home Internationals later in the year. So after four events the top of the table is starting to take shape with Ian Campbell taking over at No 1. David Price’s win moves him to 2nd in the Konica Order of Merit. The next event takes place at Woodhall Spa where the players will contest the Brabazon Trophy from 19th – 21st May 2000.
CLOSE CALL FOR CAMPBELL Ian Campbell almost captured the prestigious Lytham Trophy at the weekend, but eventually finished in second place. Campbell who gained 180 Konica Order of Merit points finished with a birdie three at Royal Lytham’s notoriously difficult 18th hole to lose out by a single shot to David Dixon of Enmore Park. Campbell’s second place finish lifts him to second place in the Konica table just 15 points behind Nigel Edwards who finished in a tie for 13th place at Lytham. It was a good weekend all round at Lytham for the Welsh players with seven out of 10 making the halfway cut Lee Harpin (10th), Craig Williams (21st) and Jamie Donaldson (28th) all collected valuable Konica points. The next event takes place at Royal St David’s Golf Club, Harlech 13th and 14th May 2000.
EDWARDS AT NO 1 Nigel Edwards claimed all three competitions at the weekend with a scintillating display of golf that left the rest of the field trailing. Edwards won the Tenby Golden Eagle with scores of 71 and 69 and then triumphed in the Carmarthenshire Open by scoring 69 and 72 around the Ashburnham links. In the process Edwards lifted the Trubshaw Cup by a six stroke winning margin over current Welsh Open Youths Champion, David Price. The victory earned Edwards 150 points and moved him into the No 1 spot. Edwards is 75 points clear of Jamie Donaldson with David Price in third place on 110.5 points. The attention now moves to the Lytham Trophy where all Welsh players will be keen to catch the eye of the Great Britain and Ireland selectors. The next event takes place at Royal Lytham & St Annes and St Anne’s Old Links 6th and 7th May 2000.
DONALDSON OUT IN FRONT Jamie Donaldson from Macclesfield leads the Konica Order of Merit table after the first event of the season, the Duncan Putter. Donaldson’s opening two rounds of 66 and 68 gave him a six stroke advantage over the field at the halfway stage. The Great Britain & Ireland squad member managed to win by two strokes from fellow Welsh Internationals Nigel Edwards and Craig Williams after a series of set backs and a thrilling final hole where Donaldson’s tee shot came perilously close to disaster. There were some solid early season performances from 1999 Konica Order of Merit Champion, Matthew Griffiths (sixth) and Tim Dykes and David Price who finished in a tie for 11th place. The next event is the Trubshaw Cup, 29th to 30th April at Tenby and Ashburnham Golf Courses.
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