Dylan Shaw-Radford adds Scottish title as he quickly learns to play in all weathers

HUDDERSFIELD’S Dylan Shaw-Radford got his season off to a glorious start with victory in the Scottish Boys’ Open at Murcar Links, in Aberdeen.
Dylan Shaw-Radford. Picture submitted.Dylan Shaw-Radford. Picture submitted.
Dylan Shaw-Radford. Picture submitted.

He shot rounds of 71 69 77 for a one-stroke triumph that has earned him a place in next month’s Brabazon Trophy, the English stroke play championship, at Saunton, Devon.

The bare statistics mask the fact that the Yorkshire Boys title holder had to defy horrendous conditions of hail showers, rain and high winds, the weather being so bad that the tournament was reduced to three rounds because play was impossible in the afternoon on day one.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Shaw-Radford has been quick to add an international title to the national crown he won last September when he became England Boys’ Champion of Champions, and is in France this week playing for that country’s under-18 laurels.

He was happy to discover on arrival in North West France that the weather at Les Aisses Golf Club was much more conducive to low scoring golf, but the 16-year-old practises in all conditions so was not disconcerted by the foul weather encountered in Scotland.

“When it is very windy out, I make an effort to go out on the course at Fixby and practise and hit some different shots into holes and hit different clubs,” he said. “I just try to learn how to play in different conditions, especially in England because you play a lot of links golf in windy weather. It would be nice at times to stay at home when it’s cold and windy.”

As well as being physically prepared, Shaw-Radford steels himself mentally for the type of challenges Murcar Links threw up.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“That was the toughest of my wins,” he added, “but I think you have to change your expectations in those conditions. You can’t expect to shoot a really good score in such horrendous weather, you’ve got to almost except that you’re going to make bogeys.”

“Then when you do make bogeys you’re not too worried about it because sometimes they’re not that bad.”

Shaw-Radford, a key member of Halifax, Huddersfield and District Union of Golf Clubs’ senior side, will return to Scotland in August in the hopes of taking a further step up the ladder by annexing the British Boys’ crown at Open Championship venue Carnoustie, an achievement that would no doubt increase his chances of gaining a golfing scholarship at an American university.

Playing collegiate golf is something that he has in mind as he studies for Business and Economics A-levels online although he has not decided definitively that he will go down that route on the path to what he hopes will be a life as a tour player.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Studying online gives me more flexibility for playing in tournaments and practising, and also I can use those qualifications to go to an American college if I want,” he explained. “However, I’m still in two minds about whether I want to go to college in America. It is not top of my list of priorities, but it is on there somewhere. This is my first year of A-levels so I’ve got about a year and a half to think about college in America.”

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.