Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews captain Clive Brown flying Welsh flag at The Masters

Wales will not be represented in the field at The Masters this week, but the Welsh flag will be waved at Augusta.

Clive Brown, former captain of the Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup team who toppled Tiger Woods, is this year's captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.

Brown's prestigious role as the club's figurehead sees him attend many of golf's biggest events, including the first men's major of the year, which runs from Thursday to Sunday.

"It's very hectic, but very enjoyable," says Brown, who was born in Llandudno and lives in Conwy.

The 71-year-old is the first fully-fledged Welshman to serve as captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club - regarded as the home of golf and for a long time the sport's governing authority - since its formation in 1754.

Brown's golfing story began at Llandudno Maesdu Golf Club, where his grandfather was the professional and his mother, a Welsh international, played.

"I was brought up in a golfing family so had a head start," Brown says.

He would spend 11 years playing amateur golf for Wales before a five-year stint as his country's non-playing captain.

"The problem with being captain is you live every shot of every team member," Brown says.

"You get very involved and very tired very quickly."

Clive Brown holds the 1995 Walker Cup aloft after GB & Ireland's 14-10 victory over the USA

Brown's exploits with Wales led to him being asked to captain GB & Ireland in the 1995 Walker Cup, which was played in his homeland for the first time.

All eyes were on a 19-year-old in the American team who had just won the US Amateur Championship.

"Tiger Woods was very, very special," Brown says.

The Royal Porthcawl match was billed as being a battle between Woods and the home side's Gordon Sherry, the Scot who won that year's Amateur Championship.

Brown is quick to point out that there were other high-class golfers involved, with future Ryder Cup players Padraig Harrington, David Howell and Stephen Gallacher among those the GB & Ireland team.

But the event is best remembered for Woods' duel with England's Gary Wolstenholme on the first afternoon.

"I can remember almost every shot," Brown says.

"Gary was playing anchorman and as captain I always feel it's appropriate to stay with anchorman to give him support.

"The first hole at Porthcawl is a 300-yard par four.

"Tiger knocks his three wood on the green, Gary hits his driver and then a full wedge to eight feet. Tiger two putts and Gary holes his putt, all square.

"That's the way the match went for 18 holes - Gary just plodding down the middle and Tiger hitting these outrageous drives, followed by a huge crowd because everyone wanted to see him.

"It was an incredible match which Gary won on the last."

Brown captained GB & Ireland in the Walker Cup once more in 1997, when a team featuring 17-year-old Justin Rose were well beaten at Quaker Ridge.

Various other golfing roles followed, with Brown serving as chairman of the Open Championship committee as well as working as a rules official at various tournaments.

Brown's contribution to the sport has just been recognised by Wales Golf, who gave him the lifetime achievement prize at their annual awards.

Brown says the only thing that has trumped Walker Cup captaincy was the invitation to captain the Royal and Ancient Golf Club.

The club's past captains meet to decide who should do the job next and, in December 2021, Brown discovered that he had been selected to serve for 12 months from September 2022.

"The letter drops through the post," he says.

"It's one of those sit-down moments, where you have to sit down and think 'goodness me, they can't possibly want me to be captain'.

"There were two letters I have had. The first was inviting me to captain the Walker Cup, and the second was to captain the Royal and Ancient. I think this last one is the bigger honour. It's wonderful to be asked."