First Minister visits Senior Open in Porthcawl
The Senior Open is one of the most prestigious golfing tournaments ever to come to Wales, and has rubber stamped the Royal Porthcawl’s place as Wales’ premier links golf course, and with so many household names visiting the Welsh seaside, there’s hope the world will see that Wales truly is a sporting nation.
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00:00 Well here we are, first of four days, we must hope that the sun keeps shining, I think the
00:05 organisers will hope that the crowds will grow as the tournament goes on.
00:09 There are absolutely famous names playing here, remarkable athletes, people who have
00:13 been at the very top of the game and here they are in fourth call.
00:18 So I think people can look forward to a very good time if they come here.
00:22 The First Minister says that events like these are fantastic for Wales and showcases what
00:26 we have to offer on a global scale.
00:28 With some of the most famous names ever to play golf here, there's no wonder there's
00:32 plenty of excitement for the event.
00:34 And with a number of countries watching on TV, the magnificent beauty of the area will
00:38 be plain to see.
00:40 Well golf is a global game isn't it, it's played right around the world.
00:44 The tournament here will be on live TV in America today and that draws attention to
00:50 Wales in a way that money can't buy can it, you're associated with something that people
00:56 around the world enjoy and see it going on here in such fantastic settings.
01:01 The course here in Porthcawl is second to none in terms of Lynx courses in Wales and
01:05 has got a rich and fascinating history.
01:08 The course opened its doors over 130 years ago, initially as a nine-holer, but has since
01:12 grown into a full 18-hole course, with a number of different events hosted here, like the
01:16 Amateur Championship starting way back in the 50s and regularly up until 2017.
01:22 The course is looking to the future now though, with the incredibly prestigious Women's Open
01:26 coming to the course in a few years, which seems set to be an even bigger event than
01:30 the one we have here today.
01:32 Oh well, look, the golf course here is a very famous one, it's Wales' premier Lynx course,
01:38 we have others as well, but it's a course that has a huge history behind it and a huge
01:44 future as well.
01:45 We'll have the Women's Open here, the full Women's Open in 2025 and that will be an even
01:51 bigger tournament than the one we've got at the moment.
01:54 So the history of the course is a really interesting one, but it has a really big future as well.
02:01 The First Minister hopes that events like these can spark even more in the future, as
02:05 Wales has thousands of sports fans and bringing competitions, tournaments and events like
02:09 these is fantastic for the local economy, and fantastic for all those people who just
02:15 want to see some world-class sport.
02:17 Look, Wales is a sporting nation, isn't it?
02:21 Anything that is going on in the sporting field, people in Wales will be interested
02:24 in it.
02:25 And then to be able to bring it to the doorstep of people here in Wales, there are thousands
02:30 of people here today who've made the journey to Porthcawl.
02:34 That's good for the local economy, it's good for the profile of Wales, but it's very good
02:38 for those thousands and thousands of people in Wales who get their enjoyment out of following
02:43 sport of all kinds.
02:45 The Senior Open is an opportunity for Wales to showcase the phenomenal potential of hosting
02:49 major sporting events here in the country.
02:52 The calibre of players here, and just how prestigious this event is, is sure to show
02:56 people around the world that Wales is a sporting nation.
02:59 James H. Watkins, Local TV, the Royal Porthcawl Golf Club.
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