SCOTLAND’s Barry Hume bounced back from losing two balls early in his last round, the 34-year-old using his experience to claim the Welsh Open Stroke Play title at Royal St David’s Golf Club in Harlech.

Sports scholarship company boss Hume has returned to top level amateur competitions, admitting that he might not have coped as well with a roller coaster of a round during his teenage years.

Fellow Scot Craig Howie from Peebles was second, while the top placed Welsh player was Conwy’s Lee Jones in tied fifth with Wrexham’s Tom Williams tied 14th.

“Any time you pick up a national title is a big deal,” said Glasgow golfer Hume, from the Haggs Castle club.

“I picked up a few, along with European titles, in the past, but it has been a while since I picked up something like this so it shows all the hard work is worth it, and I can build on this going forward.

“It is certainly a great feeling, I kept everything on an even keel when I might not have done that when I was younger.

“I lost two balls on the 3rd and the 8th, but I was level par after eight holes despite that thanks to four birdies. Then I bogeyed the ninth and tenth to put me behind, however from that point on I did not make a mistake.

“To then play the last eight holes in two under was the sort of thing that did not always happen when I was younger, I try to use experience to my advantage."

“I do not think about the result, I am just trying to focus on the process and my pre-shot routine.

"It was certainly a roller coaster first ten holes but there were four birdies on there so there were two different ways to look at it – either positively or negatively.

“The course was in fantastic condition and that really helped with my putting. I played here in the British Boys a number of years ago and I was keen to come back, the greens were amazing which was a key part in my win.”

Golf Union of Wales championships manager David Wilson said: “Congratulations to Barry, he bounced back strongly to win by a couple of shots in the end on eight under.

“The Royal St David’s course earned praise from all the players, it was certainly a good test but a fair one that they thoroughly enjoyed.

“The welcome from the club for many of Europe’s top amateur players was tremendous, while the course was shown in the best light.

"Given the mixed weather over the last few weeks, the course was in magnificent condition and testament to the hard work put in by the club.”