Could Regan be the next Rory?

Hi there,

My name is Dion Teilo Regan and I’m a golf enthusiast! I’m hard working, ambitious and a great sportsman, and my dream is to become a touring golf professional on the PGA tour. The target amount would be to pay for the season ahead which includes tournament entry fees, accommodation, travel expenses, transfers, diesel and insurance.

I’ve been a member at my local nine hole Golf Club, Cilgwyn, since I was five years old. I live in a rural village, in the County of Ceredigion, West Wales. I’m seventeen years old and live at home with my mum, dad, younger siblings Tomi-Jac and Ifa-Caio, and as a family, our culture and heritage are very important to us.

I began playing golf at just fourteen months old, after dad bought me a set of plastic golf clubs for my birthday. Chris, my father, is the local green keeper at Cilgwyn, whilst mum works within education and the for the voluntary youth services. They both work extremely hard to try and give me the best opportunities they possibly can, but unfortunately opportunities come with a costly price tag (£) and talent is nothing without it!!

In 2023, I was honoured to be chosen as Cilgwyn’s Junior Captain. During the season, I helped the junior organizers to arrange golfing activities for younger juniors and helped out with the visitors who attended ‘New to Golf’ sessions, to try and encourage more to join.

When I was 11 years old, I arranged a golfing challenge as I wanted to raise money for patients suffering with IPF, as my grandad was diagnosed with this horrible disease. The challenge was to play 72 holes in a day at my home Club. I teed off at 6am! With the support of family, friends and club members, I managed to complete the challenge before dark and raised £1,000. A few weeks after, mum and I went out and bought loads of kit and equipment for IPF sufferers within the Hywel Dda area. Sadly, my grandad, (Tadcu Vale), died a couple of years later, but he made me promise to never stop playing golf.

During my junior golfing career, my parents have taken me to numerous golfing tournaments all over the UK, especially during the Summer months. All of our family holidays would be based around them. But as I’m based in rural West Wales, I often need to travel a round trip of around 5-6 hours, to attend golf lessons with the national coaches and camps in either South or North Wales and travelling and accommodation costs have become very expensive. As I develop and progress, so too does my parents’ financial burden, and unfortunately, the lack of funding available to me, certainly hinders my ability to enter, travel and compete at major tournaments.

I’m proud that I’ve been able to reach a very high standard in golf, and it was a phenomenal achievement for me to be chosen to represent GB & I in the The Jacques Leglise Trophy last summer. Following this achievement, I’ve been invited to compete in the Spanish Amateur Championship and the European Men’s Amateur Championship in Sweden this year. But unfortunately, to be able to compete at this level, I need financial support, greater the level, greater the cost. My parents have been able to support me in my goals until recently, but I believe that the next step will be too costly and unsustainable for them. Another element that adds to the burden are the WAGR points (World Amateur Golf Ranking). Successful entries for major amateur championships are based upon handicap and WAGR points. I’m doing well with a handicap of +4.0, but my WAGR points need to drop considerably to be able to make it into championships automatically. To lower my WAGR points, I need to attend major amateur championships around Europe, but without the funding to travel to these prestigious tournaments, I won’t have access to compete at a higher level, and so it becomes a vicious circle. At this stage, I feel that it’s now becoming a sport for the elitist, where financial backing brings opportunity, and certainly outweighs ability!

My dream is to become a touring professional and play on the PGA tour one day! I think that the opportunities for myself to succeed are limited and it would be a great shame and a great waste, to see all of my hard work amount to nothing! I would be forever grateful if you would consider supporting me in fulfilling my goals and dreams. I don’t expect anyone to fit the bill for all of my expenses throughout the year, I know it’s a lot, but that is the reality that we face. If you feel that you’re in a position to fund my aims and ambitions in any way, I would be eternally grateful, as your support will have a detrimental impact on my future! We as a family and coaches, believe I have the ability, the passion and the dedication to succeed, I just need a fair opportunity!

Thank you for your time and consideration. Below are a few examples of some of my achievements over the years;

Selected to represent GB&I in The Jaques Lèglise Trophy (2024)

Champion of the u16 and u21 category of the 28th Faldo Junior Tour European Grand Final (UAE, 2024)

Winner of the Faldo Junior Tour @Cowny Golf Club -qualifying to play in the grand final in UAE. (2024)

Represented Wales in the Home Internationals (u18s) (2024)

Winner of the Welsh Men’s Amateur Strokeplay (2024)

U18s Welsh Boys Semi- finalist (2024)

Chosen as Vice Captain and to represent Wales in the Ireland Challenge Match (U18s), (2024)

Chosen to represent Wales in the Home Internationals (u18s) @ Lindrick Golf Club, England (2023)

Chosen to represent Wales in the European Boys (U18s), Slovakia. (2023)

Chosen to represent Wales in the European Young Masters (u16s) – Slovakia (2023)

Chosen to represent Wales in the Quadrangular Challenge Match (u16s) (2023), – Netherlands.

9th position at the Darwin Salver, Rye Golf Club (2025)

11th position in the Men’s Duncan Putter + highlighted as a notable individual with a -1 in the third round (2024)

Crowned Central Wales Boys Champion (2024)

Crowned Wales Under 16 Champion at 14 years old + best round of the tournament with a gross score of six shots under par. (2022)

Crowned British Champion at the ‘Adidas Wee Wonders’ at St.Andrews in 2018 at ten years old.

A top ten finish at the US KIDS European Championship, East Lothian, 2018.

Top five finish in three of US KIDS British International Championship.

Won 4th position twice when held at the Celtic Manor Resort and 5th position at Woodhall Spa.

Crowned Welsh Champion at Wales Mini Masters Championship, Celtic Manor at eight years old.

Kind regards,

Dion

Cymraeg

Helo ‘na,

Fy enw i yw Dion Teilo Regan ac rwy’n angerddol am y gem golff! Rwy’n weithiwr caled, yn uchelgeisiol, yn frwdfrydig am chwaraeon, a fy mreuddwyd yw bod yn chwaraewr golff proffesiynol ar daith y PGA. Bwriad y swm targed byddai talu am y tymor sydd i ddod, mae'n cynnwys ffioedd cofrestru ar gyfer twrnameintiau, costau llety, costau teithio, trosglwyddiadau, tanwydd ac yswiriant.

Bum yn aelod o Glwb Golff naw twll lleol, Cilgwyn, ers pan oeddwn yn bum mlwydd oed. Rwy'n byw mewn pentref gwledig, yn Sir Ceredigion, Gorllewin Cymru. Rwy’n ddwy ar bymtheg oed ac yn byw gartref gyda mam, dad, fy mrawd iau Tomi-Jac ac Ifa-Caio fy chwaer fach, ac mae ein diwylliant a’n treftadaeth yn bwysig iawn i ni.

Dechreuais chwarae golff yn bedair ar ddeg mis oed, ar ôl i dad brynu set o glybiau golff plastig i mi ar gyfer fy mhen-blwydd. Chris, fy nhad, yw’r ‘green keeper’ lleol yng Nghilgwyn, tra bod mam yn gweithio ym myd addysg a’r gwasanaethau ieuenctid gwirfoddol. Mae'r ddau yn gweithio'n galed iawn i geisio rhoi'r cyfleoedd gorau posib i mi, ond yn anffodus, costus iawn yw’r cyfleoedd yma, a dyw talent ddim yn ddigon ar ben ei hunan!

Yn 2023, cefais y fraint o gael fy newis yn Gapten Iau Cilgwyn. Yn ystod y tymor, bum yn helpu’r trefnwyr iau i drefnu gweithgareddau golff ar gyfer y plant iau. Bum hefyd yn helpu’r ymwelwyr a fynychodd sesiynau ‘Newydd i Golff’, i geisio annog mwy i ymuno.

Pan oeddwn yn 11 oed, trefnais her golffio gan fy mod eisiau codi arian ar gyfer cleifion a oedd yn dioddef o IPF, gan fod fy nhad-cu wedi cael diagnosis o’r clefyd erchyll hwn. Yr her oedd chwarae 72 twll mewn diwrnod yn fy Nghlwb cartref. Gwnes ddechrau ar y ‘tee’ 1af am 6 y bore! Ond gyda chefnogaeth teulu, ffrindiau ac aelodau’r clwb, llwyddais i gwblhau’r her cyn iddi dywyllu a chodwyd £1,000. Ychydig wythnosau wedyn, aeth mam a fi mas i brynu llwyth o offer ac adnoddau i ddioddefwyr IPF ar draws ardal Hywel Dda. Yn anffodus, bu farw ‘Tad-cu Vale’, cwpwl o flynyddoedd yn ddiweddarach, ond gwnaeth i mi addo iddo, na fyddwn byth, yn stopio chwarae golff.

Yn ystod fy ngyrfa golff iau, mae fy rhieni wedi mynd â fi i nifer o dwrnameintiau golff ledled y DU, yn enwedig yn ystod misoedd yr Haf. Byddai pob un o'n gwyliau teuluol yn cwmpasu’r cystadlaethau. Ond gan fy mod wedi fy lleoli yng nghefn gwlad Gorllewin Cymru, yn aml mae angen i mi deithio tua 5-6 awr, i fynychu gwersi golff gyda’r hyfforddwyr a’r gwersylloedd cenedlaethol yn Ne neu Ogledd Cymru, ac mae costau teithio a llety wedi mynd yn ddrud iawn. Wrth i mi ddatblygu a gwneud cynnydd fel golffiwr, yr un yw’r patrwm sydd i faich ariannol fy rhieni, ac yn anffodus, mae’r diffyg cyllid sydd ar gael i mi, yn sicr yn rhwystro ar fy nghyfleoedd i deithio a chystadlu mewn twrnameintiau mawreddog.

Rwy’n falch fy mod wedi gallu cyrraedd safon uchel iawn mewn golff, ac roedd yn gamp aruthrol i mi gael fy newis i gynrychioli Prydain Fawr ac Iwerddon yn Nhlws ‘Jacques Leglise’ yr Haf diwethaf. Yn dilyn y gamp hon, rwyf wedi cael gwahoddiad i gystadlu ym Mhencampwriaeth Amatur Sbaen a Phencampwriaeth Amatur Dynion Ewrop yn Sweden eleni. Ond yn anffodus, er mwyn gallu cystadlu ar y lefel yma, mae angen cymorth ariannol arnaf. Mae fy rhieni wedi gallu fy nghefnogi tan yn ddiweddar, ond credaf y bydd y cam nesaf yn rhy gostus ac yn anghynaladwy iddynt. Elfen arall sy'n ychwanegu at y faich yw'r pwyntiau WAGR (World Amateur Golf Ranking). Mae ceisiadau llwyddiannus ar gyfer pencampwriaethau amatur mawreddog yn ddibynnol ar handicap a phwyntiau WAGR. Rwy'n gwneud yn dda gyda handicap o +4.0, ond mae angen i fy mhwyntiau WAGR ostwng yn sylweddol er mwyn gallu cyrraedd pencampwriaethau yn awtomatig. I ostwng fy mhwyntiau WAGR, mae angen i mi fynychu pencampwriaethau amatur mawr o amgylch Ewrop, ond heb y cyllid i deithio i'r twrnameintiau mawreddog hyn, ni fydd gennyf fynediad at gystadlaethau lefel uwch, ac felly mae'n dod yn gylch dieflig. Ar hyn o bryd, rwyf wirioneddol yn teimlo bod cystadlu yn y maes ar y lefel yma, bellach yn gamp i’r elitaidd, ble mae cefnogaeth ariannol yn prynu cyfleoedd, ac felly, yn gorbwyso gallu yn unig!

Fy mreuddwyd un diwrnod, yw bod yn chwaraewr proffesiynol a chystadlu ar daith y PGA! Credaf fod y cyfleoedd i mi lwyddo ar ben fy hun yn gyfyngedig a byddai'n siomedig iawn i weld fy holl waith caled a’m hymdrechion yn cael ei wastraffu o ganlyniad i ddiffyg cefnogaeth ariannol, rhywbeth sydd tu hwnt i fy rheolaeth! Byddem yn hynod ddiolchgar pe byddech yn fodlon ystyried fy nghefnogi i wireddu fy mreuddwydion. Dydw i ddim yn disgwyl i unrhyw unigolyn i fedru talu am holl gostau’r flwyddyn, gan fod y gost mor anferthol, ond dyna’r realiti sy’n ein hwynebu. Os ydych yn teimlo eich bod mewn sefyllfa i ariannu fy uchelgeisiau mewn unrhyw ffordd, byddwn yn dragwyddol ddiolchgar, gan y bydd eich cefnogaeth yn cael effaith andwyol ar fy nyfodol! Rydyn ni fel teulu ac fel hyfforddwyr, yn credu bod gen i'r gallu, yr angerdd a'r ymroddiad i lwyddo, ond i mi gael cyfleoedd teg!

Diolch yn fawr i chi am eich amser ac ystyriaeth.

Cofion cynnes,

Dion