A rare bout of rainfall greeted the 26 teams that took part in this year’s mixed tournament at the Merritt Golf and Country Club on Sunday. At times, the precipitation came down in torrents.

The wet stuff didn’t faze overall low net tournament champions, Dick and Jean Kimber from Mission, one bit. The Lower Mainland couple turned drizzle into sizzle, topping the field with a combined score of 65.8, four-tenths of a point better than net runners-up Ron and Shelley Sanders from Merritt.

“Coming from Mission, my wife said we have web feet,” Dick said with a laugh. “The wet conditions and wet grass didn’t bother us at all.”

That said, Kimber conceded the win was still a pleasant surprise.

“We played in the tournament last year and only came in seventh. Jean and I also did a practice round on Saturday. The way we played, I told her that if we played like that on Sunday, we’d just be throwing our money away.”

The Scotch two-ball format of the annual Merritt mixed tournament suited the Kimbers to a tee (pun intended).

“It’s an interesting format that played right into our hands,” Dick said. “Jean is incredibly consistent off the tee box and always puts her drives right down the middle. I drive fairly long but not very straight, but my iron game is steady. We never made any big mistakes that cost us.”

Quite apart from winning the Merritt event, the Kimbers enjoyed their time in the Nicola Valley  immensely. They brought up their camper and stayed the whole weekend.

“Everyone treated us like family, and (club owner) Sydney van Rensburg was a great guy. We said to ourselves that we have to come here more often.”

Kamloops and Merritt teams dominated the results on Sunday, taking eight of the top ten net score placings. In addition, Dan and Karen Valin won the overall low gross title with an impressive one-over-par 73 under soggy conditions. Karen Valin is the four-time winner of the MGCC’s Ladies Coquihalla Open, which is held in June each year.