The Wales Open's Twenty Ten course survived torrential rain

By Peter Shuttleworth BBC Sport at the Celtic Manor

Jeppe Huldahl may now be the reigning Wales Open champion but it was the Twenty Ten course that's the raining champion at the Celtic Manor.

Nick Faldo, defeated European Ryder Cup captain in 2008, famously warned everyone to "bring your waterproofs" for next year's United States v Europe scrap in south Wales.

But it was US Ryder Cup skipper Corey Pavin who was caught in the June monsoon at the Wales Open, and he must have wondered: "Well, if this is summer then what will the Welsh weather be like in the first week of October?"

The more I see this golf course under different conditions the better off me and my team are going to be American Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin

So don't be surprised if Tiger and co land in Newport next year for golf's premier showpiece with wetsuits instead of tailored ones.

What did impress Pavin was how the Celtic Manor's revamped Twenty Ten course - the first specially built to stage a Ryder Cup - stood up to the torrential downpours.

It allowed a successful conclusion to the 2009 Wales Open despite a six-and-a-half hour stoppage on Saturday.

"The course held up very well," Pavin told BBC Sport Wales.

"The fairways were very good and the greens were as dry as a bone but obviously they'll look at how to improve the course further.

"But my understanding is it doesn't [usually] rain that hard and that fast. Hopefully it won't be an issue."

Ryder Cup and European Tour chiefs hope so too - as do sponsors, television executives and the country of Wales, whose Assembly government has invested £36m into helping stage the planet's third biggest sporting event behind the Olympics and football World Cup.

This tournament, though, has so often been ruined by the elements in the past.

But the new £16m course soaked up three inches of rainfall inside 36 hours and spat it out into one of the six purpose-built lakes as water levels rose by a foot.

The surface water quickly drained into Celtic Manor's lakes

"We've had an army of more than 40 ground staff ensuring play continued this week," said Jim McKenzie, the Celtic Manor's director of golf courses.

"The guys have achieved miracles in the last few days; the weather has been quite extraordinarily rare.

"We average 50 inches of rainfall annually here, so three inches is a fair percentage of that - and for it to fall at the beginning of June is incredible."

The Twenty Ten course, on the floor of the Usk Valley, has an extensive drainage system and - as Celtic Manor owner Sir Terry Matthews keeps telling us - the secret of a good golf course is "drainage, drainage and drainage".

"The Twenty Ten has an intricate drainage system which deposits all of the water into our lakes," said McKenzie.

"The lakes primarily fill with water that has fallen onto the course and it takes a lot of water for them to rise a foot, that's testament to our drainage system."

While the Wales Open's suspension in play may have frustrated fans and tournament officials who pleaded for the rain, rain to go away, it pleased the ground staff.

"In a funny way, we're glad the rain came," said McKenzie.

"It shows us how to cope and how we can improve for the Ryder Cup and future Wales Opens. It has been a fabulous test for us.

"And bear in mind that match-play golf is easier to manage compared to the 75 players that were on the course over the weekend. But October is typically one of our best and driest months."

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But the weather works in mysterious ways - as Pavin knows all too well.

"I learned the weather can be very different day to day here - one day it's boiling hot summer, the next day it's winter," said the American skipper, who will return to Wales in October on another reconnaissance mission.

"I played this course in the sun on Thursday and Friday, then in the wind and rain on Saturday and Sunday.

"And the more I see this golf course under different conditions the better off me and my team are going to be.

"I'd imagine the weather is more likely to be cool and rainy in October.

"But the course should look at how to improve the drainage in their bunkers, they were the biggest issue."

McKenzie acknowledged Pavin's recommendations. Never mind the drains, it's the rain that threatens to be the pain for the Ryder Cup as no one will enjoy a wet weekend in Wales.

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