Vail of Glamorgan, UK -- WNMU's Sam Ruston (Birmingham, ENG/Chase Terrace Technology) turned in a solid effort in his first tournament of the Summer after returning back to England for the Summer break. Ruston finished tied for third place in the Welsh Open Youths finishing the 72-hole stroke play event one under par around a challenging par 70 Glamorganshire Golf Club. Ruston shot rounds of 70-67-68-74, four shots behind Lincoln Memorial's Luke Harries, who just returned back home after LMU's runner-up finish at the NCAA Championship.

The tournament field of 144 players (21 and under) was cut to 45 players for the final two rounds.

Ruston headed into the final round at 5-under par but the final groups caught the brunt of a strong late afternoon wind and the scoring became very difficult. Ruston's seesaw final round saw the rising junior record seven bogeys against three birdies on the day.

"I feel badly for Sam as he got some "Lubbock in March" winds out there today in the Welsh Open, but still, third place in a National Open is a great start for his summer," said WNMU Coach Kent Beatty. "The field was very strong and he was under par at a par-70 layout and that's very impressive ... and certainly something to build on," said Beatty.

Ruston will return to Silver City in August, along will all the other starters from this season's NCAA Regional team.