Rhys Davies is now competing alongside the likes of fellow Challenge Tour graduates Martin Kaymer of Germany and England’s Ian Poulter thanks chiefly to his maiden Challenge Tour victory – the first by a Welshman since Jamie Donaldson’s win at the 2007 Abierto Telefonica de Guatemala – at last summer’s SWALEC Wales Challenge. The event was held at the Vale Hotel Golf and Spa Resort in Cardiff, Wales, which will again host the tournament this year. The €150,000 event will be returning to the challenging Wales National course just five weeks before the eyes of the golfing world are focused on Wales, as The Ryder Cup unfolds just a few miles down the M4 at The Celtic Manor Resort, in Newport. Davies received a sponsor’s invitation to compete at last year’s event, which he won after a three-hole play-off with England’s James Morrison, who joined the Welshman in graduating to The European Tour via the Challenge Tour Rankings. Coincidentally, both men were keen cricketers before choosing to make a living from golf.