Dyfed’s best golfers assembled at Tenby GC last Sunday for this year’s County Championships. Numerous compliments were made regarding the excellent overall condition of the famous links, the slick greens in particular.

However, although it rained for just a short period during the morning round, a very strong south-westerly blew all day. This made scoring extremely difficult. Some of the par 4s were unreachable in two shots.

Tenby’s Luke Harries posted the best round in the morning with a 73 which put him a single shot ahead of Elis Lewis, of Aberystwyth. Luke’s brother Jack carded a 75 which included a two on the 18th hole.

Other notable scores by local players included Alan Jones, of South Pembs, and Gavin Scotcher, of Trefloyne, who both scored 76. Indeed, only 11 competitors broke 80.

After lunch, Luke continued his good form and was just one over par after seven holes. However, he double bogeyed the eighth, just as he did in the morning, and then notched up a huge 10 on the ninth after hitting his first two drives on or close to South Beach! Nevertheless, Luke showed maturity above his age and recovered with a two under back nine for a 77.

This score was matched by Ian Marks, of Carmarthen. Just six players bettered 80, including Tenby’s Chris Thompson, who added a 77 to his morning’s 79. He was one of only three to break 80 twice.

Howebet, the best round after lunch was a fine effort by Carmarthen’s Rhys Lindquist who equalled Luke’s 73 in the morning. This was a full 10 shots better than his pre-lunch score.

Luke has enjoyed a fantastic season to-date. He has performed well in several prestigious events, including the Fairhaven Trophy, and he won the Trubshaw Cup in April. His 36-hole aggregate over 150 was 10 over par - a fine achievement in such testing conditions. The eighth and ninth holes alone cost him 10 shots over the two rounds!

It was as a raw 14-year-old in 2014 when Luke first won the County Championships. His strength and skills are now much more advanced. He has just sat his A levels and will be attending Tennessee University in August. His handicap is now +2.

Ian Marks, the county captain, had the best net score over 36 holes with 149. Unfortunately, as with many of the other competitors, Jack Harries faded towards the end of his second round. An eight on the short 17th meant he lost out on the net prize on countback.

Evergreen Alan Jones, champion on three occasions in the past, holed a 50-foot birdie putt on the last to clinch the Over 35s category - the first time this has been awarded.

The Tenby team also qualified alongside Milford Haven, Cardigan and Ashburnham for the Super Six Finals in September.