After three days of glorious sunshine, the final round of the British Women's Open was accompanied by pouring rain here yesterday. But nothing could put a dampener on Karrie Webb's performance. The 22-year-old from Australia, who had led by eight overnight after a record-breaking third-day 63, did all that was necessary. Her final round of 71 kept her eight shots ahead of Rosie Jones from the United States, who birdied the 18th to snatch second place from Sweden's Annika Sorenstam.

In regaining the trophy she won as a virtual unknown rookie at Woburn two years ago, Webb set a British Open record of a 19-underpar 269 - five better than the previous best set by Jane Geddes at Ferndown in 1989.

No one expected a collapse by the world number two, who has won once in the US this year, although memories of Nick Faldo's eclipse of Greg Norman's six-shot lead in the final round of last year's Masters did raise a nagging doubt.

But Webb, who won over a million dollars and topped the LPGA Order of Merit in her rookie season in the US last year, was never seriously troubled. True, Saturday's wonder suddenly started to show a Sunday wobble when she dropped three shots - she had made only two bogeys in the first three rounds - in an outward half of two over par 38, and her lead had shrunk to five.

But as the heavens opened, the clouds cleared for Webb. She birdied the 299-yard par four 11th from four feet, and back-to-back birdies at the 14th and 15th put her in easy street.