HOW many six-year-olds can say they've won a a major golf tournament staged a the Celtic Manor?

Llanfair Kilgeddin schoolgirl Adelaide Francis can, after she swung her way to success and putted her path to winning the Welsh Mini Masters final in October.

The young golfing prodigy who lives in Nantyglo has only been 'teeing off' for three years, but in that short time she has already caught the eye of Golf Development Wales, who recognise the real deal when it 'clubs' them over the head, and have paid for Adelaide to have extra golfing tuition to help her reach her full potential.

The young dynamo beat off over 300 other children, including British championship competitors, to win the U8 category at the home of last year's Ryder Cup.

Adelaide's proud mother told the Chronicle, "Both Addie's father and I have been continually surprised by her dedication to golf. We wonder at times where it comes from. She comes from a sporty family but neither of us have ever played or shown any interest in golf, so it's quite amazing really.

"You can tell by the way she is so disciplined and focused about practicing that she definitely loves the sport, and fortunately enough it seems to love her right back."

Addie began her golfing career under the guiding hand of James Morgan at Alice Springs Golf Club, where she still practices, but since she caught the attention of talent scouts for Golf Development Wales, who fund her coaching, she trains on golf courses across Wales with other talented youngsters under the watchful eye of Monmouthshire Golf Club's Anthony Chandler.

Mrs Francis added, "Addie has been quite fortunate, in that through golf she has led a very privileged life. She was allowed to meet all the golfing stars at the Ryder Cup and the Welsh Open, and she was recently invited to St Andrews to play. So golf has really been good for Addie and thanks to the help and support form her coaches such as James Morgan, Anthony Chandler, Jamie Kennard and of course Golf Development Wales, she is able to keep doing what she loves whilst consistently improving her game."

Of course, if you could bottle the raw, natural talent of such gifted youngsters as Addie, you'd be a millionaire. So what does Mrs Francis believe the secret to her daughter's success is?

"If you watch Addie practice you can see how much she enjoys golf. She is dedicated to her training, but because she does it because she wants to and there's no external pressure, I think everything comes to her quite naturally.

"We would never dream of being pushy parents when it comes to Addie. In fact, it's quite the opposite, sometimes I have to limit the amount of training Addie wants to do because she is only young and there needs to be a balance.

"Fortunately she's very interested in mathematics, which is nice because that entails she has both an academic and athletic slant in her life.

"To be honest, I can't see her ever not wanting to play golf, but as long as she's happy and healthy, that's the most important thing."