Davies lands top award for second year in row

WELSH Amateur champion Archie Davies has claimed the Wales Golf Amateur of the Year Award for the second year running.

Davies is currently back in the UK while his American college career is interrupted by the Covid-19 outbreak, working on his game where possible and also carrying on his studies online during lockdown.

Davies was due to collect the award at the Wales Golf Annual Awards Lunch at 2010 Clubhouse at Celtic Manor, but unfortunately the event has been postponed.

He also won the Wales Golf Boys Order of Merit, as well as a successful start to his US college golf with East Tennessee State University, part of the team which won the Hoakalei CC Collegiate Invitational in Hawaii after a string of second-place finishes.

Heading to Tennessee on the back of his Welsh Amateur win in Tenby, which he described as the biggest of his career, Davies was a strong performer for the college team with two individual top-10 finishes before coronavirus brought an early end to the season.

Carlisle-based Davies has a strong Welsh sporting tradition, his great-grandfather played rugby for Wales against New Zealand.

“It is pretty special to get this award,” said Davies.

“When I got it the first time, I thought it was pretty cool, but to get it a second time is awesome.

“It shows what hard work can do, coming from where I was to where I am now is pretty pleasing.

“It is a pleasant surprise, there are other players who could have got it, but the Welsh Amateur win helped a lot.

“That was really great because it had been quite a slow season with exams, I felt I wasn’t doing as well as I wanted and so that win was very important for me just before going to the US.”

While his first year as a freshman has been interrupted for obvious reasons, former Ireland Boys champion Davies feels the move across the Atlantic has provided a big boost.

“I feel I have learned a lot this year in terms of golf, social skills, everything,” he said.

“It is a completely different style of golf to what I have been used to in England and Wales and that has been beneficial for me.”

Wales Golf performance director Gillian O’Leary congratulated Davies on the award, adding, “There were many strong performances by Welsh golfers in 2019, but his Welsh Amateur win and the way he has made a good start in America were the decisive factors.

“We look forward to making the formal presentation of this welldeserved award at an event later in the year.”