Zach Galliford birdied three of his last seven holes to win the Welsh National PGA Championship, holding off Ross Earnshaw to take a one-shot victory.
Despite Earnshaw making four birdies of his own in the closing stretch, Galliford rallied after some early bogeys to take the title and the £3,500 prize at Conwy Golf Club.
The Welshman, of Ross on Wye Golf Club, shot a 4-under 68 in the first round to hold the overnight lead over Stuart Runcie. Despite making three bogeys through his first seven holes of the second and final round, a hat-trick of birdies in the final seven were crucial to victory.
Earnshaw made an 18th-hole birdie, which is what Galliford needed to secure the win. After finding a tricky lie off the tee, he recovered to leave himself a 20-foot putt for birdie, which he converted to seal victory.
“It was great to win”, Galliford said after his final round, “It was very stressful out there, we didn’t have the best conditions, but through the back nine, it turned a bit nicer for once!”
“My game was hit and miss. I played some good shots, but I probably wasn’t as good as yesterday. I lost the lead through 11 or 12 holes and realised I had to get my game into gear and make some birdies.
Pictured: Zach Galliford
“It was really stressful coming round those last three holes, especially at Conwy, those last three are so difficult. I just had to hit good golf shots, so I was really pleased I did that. To top it off by birdieing the last was great.”
The final three holes all played over par across the week. Galliford made one of only 11 birdies on the 18th across the two rounds.
“I knew I was all square coming up the 18th”, Galliford added, “I didn’t hit the best of tee shots and I was on a big hill, and found a way to hit it to 20 feet, and it was great to roll it in.
“Probably not much celebration! I’ve got a lot of coaching to do. But it was really good to win for the first time in front of my dad and his best friend.”
Galliford earned his second win of the season, after a tie for first place at the Chippenham Pro-Am in July. He also claimed his second victory in the Welsh National PGA Championship, after winning the tournament for the first time in 2024.
After agonisingly missing out on victory, Earnshaw finished as the lone runner-up. Matthew Tottey and Stuart Runcie were the only other players to finish under par, with Runcie losing ground with a final round 74.
