A COUNTY woman who waited 18 years for her maiden professional title – has followed it up by becoming Wales Golf Tour Professional of the Year for the first time.

Becky Morgan, who grew up in Ross-on-Wye and cut her teeth at the local golf club, was presented with her latest honour in a Welsh Golf Awards ceremony at the Celtic Manor in Newport.

Winning the Hero Women’s Indian Open on the Ladies European Tour (LET) last October was the highlight of a career which has seen Becky gain 40 top-10 finishes between the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) in America and the LET.

A former student at Monmouth School for Girls, Morgan said: “It is nice to receive this Welsh award because it was nice to have finally got a victory in India and I played really well on the European Tour last year.

“It definitely gives me confidence going into this year.”

Before her triumph in India last October, Morgan had achieved 22 top-10 finishes, tied for second spot at the Indian Open in 2015, and was runner-up in the 2001 French Open.

Morgan, who represents Wales, became a ladies’ professional golfer in 2000.

She enjoyed a stellar amateur career which included two Curtis Cup appearances, two Vagliano Trophy appearances, all for Great Britain and Ireland, along with runner-up finishes in the British Ladies Amateur Championship, British Ladies Stroke Play Championship and the Welsh Amateur Championship.

Wales Golf Chief Executive, Richard Dixon, added: “It was great to add Becky to the Welsh list of tournament winners on the world stage.

“Her win in India had been a while coming, but she had an excellent amateur career and you have to be a really good player to last as long as she has in the professional ranks.

“She is one of the few Welsh professionals to have played full time on Tour in America, after winning 10 National Collegiate Athletic Association titles while at college in the USA.

“We were very proud of her amateur achievements and equally proud of her professional record.”