WELSH golfer Becky Morgan waited 18 years for her first professional title – and has followed it up by becoming Wales Golf Tour Professional of the Year for the first time.

Morgan, 44, from Abergavenny, was presented with the prize during the Welsh Golf Awards at the Celtic Manor.

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

“It is nice to get this award,” she said. “It was really nice finally getting a victory in India and I played really well on the European Tour last year.

“It definitely gives me confidence going into this year, it is just a question of getting over that hurdle and it gives you confidence going into that situation again.”

Morgan enjotyed a stellar amateur career which included two Curtis Cup appearances, two Vagliano Trophy appearances, all for GB&I, along with runner-up finishes in the British Ladies Amateur Championship, British Ladies Stroke Play Championship and the Welsh Amateur Championship.

The Welsh Golf Club of the Year was North Wales, after a new manager and board of directors changed focus to become a community club and saw membership increase by 237 over the last two years, with the average age of members going down from 62 three years ago to 48 now.

Cardigan were the Junior Club of the Year after five years of hard work by the club volunteers built the junior section up to 50, including 14 girls.

Welsh Girls champion Carys Worby, from Newport Links in Pembrokeshire, was both the PING Ladies and PING Girls Order of Merit winner.

Archie Davies, from Carlisle, was the Welsh Amateur Golfer of the Year and PING Boys Order of Merit winner, his highlight becoming the 2018 Irish Boys Open Amateur Champion.

The Men’s Order of Merit was won by Southerndown’s Jake Hapgood, the Wales international showing impressive consistency throughout the season.

The Development PGA Professional of the Year was Llantrisant & Pontyclun’s John McDonald, a Wales Golf academy coach who led the club into becoming an HSBC Golf Roots centre and being one of the supporting PGA professionals in the initial Golf Sixes Pilot in Wales.

The Volunteer of the Year was David Oswyn Roberts of Ruthin Pwllglas, who has been involved in volunteering at the club for more than 50 years and chairman for the last 10.

“It is a remarkable list of winners once again, choosing the recipients each year is getting harder and harder because of the quality of the applications,” said Wales Golf chief executive Richard Dixon.

“For instance, 2018 probably saw the strongest ever set of applicants for the Welsh Golf Club of the Year, with Cardigan, Clyne, North Wales, Llanishen, Lakeside, Garthmyl and former winners Langland Bay being shortlisted.

“It was also great to add Becky Morgan 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 NCAA titles while at college in the US.

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

“The strength of players coming through is shown by the likes of Archie, Carys and Jake, while congratulations must also go to Cardigan, John and David for their well-deserved awards.

“It is clubs and people like that which keep Welsh golf strong, so it is lovely to have the opportunity to recognise that.”