Last Sunday morning nearly half-an-inch of rain fell on Tenby and anyone with any sense stayed indoors. However, it is well known that golfers are not particularly sensible, so there we were - members of the Executive Committee of the Welsh Ladies' Golf Union, referees, marshals and spotters from Tenby members all running or supporting the Welsh Ladies' Close Championship in quite awful weather.

Most of the competitors were teenagers. We hear so much of ill-disciplined youngsters and couldn't- care-less parents, but neither group was present on the course on Sunday.

The standard of golf which I watched as a spotter from a mound between the 3rd and 4th holes was exceptional - in driving rain and a cross wind, hardly any shots were off the fairways and even though the players and their caddies were very wet, even as early in the round as the 3rd, there were no grumbles.

Eventually, the 12th and 13th greens flooded and play was suspended for two-and-a-half hours. This meant that only one qualifying round was possible and in true Tenby weather the afternoon was warm and sunny, with not a cloud in the sky.

Playing behind the main competition were the entrants in the Welsh Seniors Championships and they were fortunate in not having played many holes before play was suspended.

Inevitably the qualifying scores were high - the very unpleasant conditions made club selection difficult and the increasing amount of water on the greens did nothing to help consistent putting.

The weather improved slightly on Monday and on Tuesday; it did not rain and was sunny most of the time. However, the wind on Sunday was south-east, on Monday from the north and on Tuesday from the south-west and on each day it was strong, so only the fittest players and best golfers reached the final stages.

The two Tenby players, Holly Watkins in the main championship and Heather Morgan in the seniors, both qualified for the matchplay stages. Holly reached the 18th one up, but lost that hole rather easily and finally lost her first round match on the 19th. Heather, having played very well in the qualifying round, was not able to sustain that standard and lost easily to Trudy Carradice, of Pyle and Kenfig.

The first 16 qualifiers played in the main championship and the next eight in the Plate. Here Rosie Vaughan-Jones, of Cardigan, was beaten in the final by Lucy Gould, of Bargoed.

In the Seniors competition, Vicki Thomas, of Carmarthen, with her extensive match play experience as a Curtis Cup player for many years, was the expected and eventual winner of the Seniors Championship, beating Janet Doleman, of Rushcliffe, in the final 5 and 4.

On Tuesday, the four semi-finalists were Stephanie Evans (Vale of Llangollen), Tara Davies (Holyhead), Becky Harries (Haverfordwest) and Rhian Wyn Thomas (Vale of Glamorgan).

Both matches were fairly tight to begin with, but eventually Stephanie beat Tara 3 and 2 and Becky won against Rhian 4 and 3. Becky had an exceptional season last year, winning the Joyce Weatherhead Trophy for her development over the year, but on Tuesday afternoon the greater experience of Stephanie eventually resulted in Stephanie winning 4 and 3.

After the presentation of trophies, the selections for a number of international events were announced and it was delightful to see the pleasure of the players when their names were announced and in many cases of their parents who over the years do so much to encourage their daughter's ambitions. It had been a good championship, very well run, as usual, by the WLGU and Tenby Ladies' Committee would like to thank everyone who helped to make the event run smoothly, in spite of all the problems the weather conditions provided.

The next Close Championship will probably be in Tenby in 2016, so begin planning your time carefully for that year!

B.M.S.