Hunt proves the best in the West for the second year running

01/08/2024

Toby Hunt showed his liking for the PGA West Region Championship by winning it for the third time and second year in succession but any similarities between his two most recent triumphs were purely coincidental.

Whereas the Welshman needed to prevail in a play-off at Woodbury Park to claim the title last year, such was his dominance at the Players Club, Bristol, 12 months on that he turned the tournament into a battle for second place.

Having begun the final round a shot off the lead on seven-under, Hunt improved on that by a stroke and in doing so fashioned a golfing abyss between himself and his challengers.

Six shots separated the 31-year-old from the field headed by James Ruth, the co-leader after round one who will play alongside Hunt in the Great Britain and Ireland team that will contest next month’s PGA Cup.

Ruth, Alister Balcombe, Jamie Cooper and Joe Cruse who all began the second round nurturing realistic dreams of claiming the £2,500 first prize found birdies an endangered species.

Not so Hunt who eagled the par-five ninth to go five-under at the turn and then recorded three more birdies on the way home.

He was quick, however, to attribute his success to his coach Will Urwin, the head PGA pro at Whitchurch Golf Club, Cardiff, the club Hunt represents.

Despite posting a seven-under par round of 65 on day one, Hunt was not happy with his performance and sought Urwin’s advice before teeing off on day two.

“I didn’t play great yesterday,” he admitted. “The course set-up was quite easy with the tees for the par fives a long way forward, so I got away with the bad shots I hit.

“The set-up was a lot tougher today and I had to hit the ball a lot better. I had a lesson with my coach Will Urwin before I teed off and the credit goes to him for this one.

“I was swinging the club with a lot more confidence today. I started working with Will earlier this year and we’ve got a technique we’re working towards. Things are improving – it’s not quite the finished article but it’s getting to where I want it to be.”

In terms of where he wants to be course-wise, Hunt appears to have an affinity with the Players Club – not least because he claimed the first of his three West Region Championship titles there in 2019.

“There are five par-fives here so it’s quite a scorable course in that respect,” he added. “But there are also some tough holes where you have to accept par and move on. It’s a pleasure to win this again and it’s nice to defend the trophy.”

Hunt was not the only one celebrating victory at the Players Club as the West Region Championship includes three competitions that run in tandem with the main event.

Balcombe, who finished tied-third on seven-under, won the Turrier Scales-sponsored Assistants’ event; Burnham and Berrow’s Kevin Dickens was the leading Senior thanks to a score of three-over; and St Mellion’s Samantha Hortin-Giles won the Women’s event with a total of six-over.

Click here for a full list of scores