June13 USOpenpreviewRhys

There is a lone Welshman playing in the 107th US Open. Rhys Favies is his name, and he is quite a story. He is a 22-year-old from Bridgend who has been attending East Tennessee State for the last three years and he has broken every record in the history of the college.

Indeed, many reliable sources say that Davies is the best thing to come out of college golf in America in the past decade; quite a claim when you consider that Paul Casey and Luke Donald were at college out here.

Now he is playing in his first major championship, and he will be one of the first players to hit a ball, out as he is in the first group of the day (7.00 a.m. off the 10th tee). He plans to turn pro after the Walker Cup at Royal County Down this September, keen to avenge the defeat he was part of in Chicago two years ago.

What is ironic is that the unassuming Welshman would not be playing golf at all if it wasn’t for a freak cricketing accident which occurred when he was 16.

After fracturing his left thumb, he decided to give up ideas about a career in cricket and concentrate on the safer sport on the fairways. Quite whether his week turns out to be safe (it’s very easy to fracture your wrist in Oakmont rough) remains to be seen.