This year’s Welsh National PGA Championship returns to Conwy for just the fifth time in what will be the 110th playing of the prestigious tournament.
The winners’ list includes the likes of Ian Woosnam and Phillip Price while Stephen Dodd has landed the title five times, one fewer than Sid Mouland who won the event six times in nine years in the 60s.
This year Adam Runcie will defend the title, having been the only par to emerge from two rounds at St Pierre not over par. He would win by one from Ross Earnshaw after posting rounds of 74-70, having come up just short at Machynys in 2023.
“I played the least amount of golf I ever played last year, so I was going into it with literally no expectations. I've played the game at a pretty decent level but I think I played two events last year before the Welsh and I needed something to play in.
"So I entered and I just played as much golf as I possibly could beforehand. I played the first round, I shot two over and I was three behind going and I would give myself a 4/10 in that round.”
But Runcie, who won on the EuroPro Tour in 2016, then found something on the range in Chepstow and things seemed very different in the second round.
“I hit about 50 balls warming up and I didn't miss a golf shot. You can't control winning, but I was thinking, if I play like this, I can shoot a number here. St Pierre demands golf shots which I like and your long game is an asset which suited me.
“I was three-under through 7 and I was cruising, I was playing great, and then I made three bogeys on 8, 9 and 10 with no more than a 9-iron and it was purely down to lack of concentration. Walking to the 11th tee I had a bit of a chat to myself and I was two-under for the last eight holes and I could have been five, I hit the ball that well. It was great.”
This year’s test will be Conwy, one of the best layouts in the Principality, and one that Runcie is very familiar with.
The 7th hole at Conwy, venue for this year’s championship
“I’ve probably played it 60 to 70 times over the years. I've not played it much over the last six, seven years, but growing up, we had lots of county and North Wales matches there. I actually played the European Men's Team Championship for Wales there back in 2009.
“You need to get through the first eight holes, then you need to take advantage of nine to 15 where there are four par 5s, and then the last three holes is just about hanging on. It's just purely about hitting golf shots, simple as that.”
Also in the field this year is Adam’s brother, Stuart, who is the Head Fellow Professional at Abergele where Adam is also part of the team. The pair have shared a practice round at Conwy, are partners in the PGA Fourball Championship and share similar games.
“We're quite different builds. Adam's quite tall, I'm only 5'10", but our games are very similar and we hit the ball similar distances and have similar strengths and weaknesses to a degree. If Adam drives the ball well, he typically scores well."
Runcie Sr has also been close in this Championship though life has meant that he hasn’t been able to compete as much in recent years. But, with Conwy a short drive away and his brother defending, he will tee it up again.
“I've always played in it but I took over as Head Professional at Abergele eight years ago and started a young family. So the last six, seven years, I haven't really played much tournament golf more from time restrictions more than anything.
“Last year I couldn't really get down to St. Pierre to play when Adam won, which was obviously a great achievement by him, but with it being at Conwy and on the doorstep, I've tried to make some time to play a little bit this year and it’s been nice to get back into it.”
Older brother Stuart Runcie is based at nearby Abergele
And Runcie believes that his younger brother is more than capable of defending his title, something that last happened with Sion Bebb in 2005-06.
“Every time he pegs it up, he can win it. I'm never surprised that he wins because I know he's got the game and Ad's got every chance of defending it again. If he’s in contention, he knows how to handle it, but we've got a lot of good players in Wales, and particularly North Wales, and it’s always a tough one to win.”
The Welsh National PGA Championship begins on Tuesday September 1. Learn more and follow live scoring from Conwy here.
