Champion's caddy also gets top honour

Dubai: Lee-Anne Pace's caddy Graham Barber-Ball was celebrating just as wildly as the new European No. 1 at the Omega Ladies Masters after he received the Caddy of the Year award on the 2010 Ladies European Tour.

Barber-Ball only started working with Pace 12 weeks ago since the Wales Ladies Championship of Europe in August. Together, they won that event and went onto record a second at the Scottish Open and a win in Finland with two victories later in China.

Great understanding

Asked if it was he who steadied the tiller enough for Pace to win the Order of Merit, Barber-Ball said: "No, it's both of us really, we both get on great on and off the course because we've known each other four years."

"We have a great understanding on club or line decisions and we work it out to the fine point. At one point we had a 50 per cent strike rate in terms of winning tournaments. In our first three tournaments we finished first, second, first, you don't hear about that anywhere else in the world," said Barber-Ball.

Worked out on tournaments won, the Caddy of the Year gong goes to Barber-Ball not only for his Midas-like touch upon Lee-Anne Pace's game but also his work with Kristie Smith earlier in the year. She got wins in Australia and America adding to Barber-Ball's tally.

Commenting on Pace's success, Barber-Ball said: "She finished last year knocking on the door with some good finishes and she came straight out the blocks with some good finishes this year. A win under your belt certainly makes things easier.

"She can just stand there and pull any shot off in the bag and it's just amazing when you see the way she's been going this season. We've always very strong finishes over the weekends. I think at one point our average on a Sunday was a 66 at six-under — That's going to take some beating."

Both Barber-Ball and Lee-Anne Pace now eye a slot in the LPGA via qualifying school and there's the ambition of winning a major at some point in 2011.