Dennis Grall photo Jane Reynolds, a rules official for the Symetra Tour, takes a breather in her cart Thursday at No. 7 green at Sweetgrass Golf Club after a Daily Press interview. She has spent 27 years working women’s tournaments after realizing she was not progressing enough as a player.

HARRIS — Jane Reynolds discovered early in her golf career that other players were better, so she found a different way to stay involved.

Reynolds is making her final appearance as a rules official this weekend at the ninth annual Island Resort Championship at Sweetgrass. She has been with the Symetra Tour since 2012 after earlier working for the LPGA Tour for 19 seasons.

“People were getting better quicker than me,” Reynolds said of her decision to switch golf positions.

“I get to travel all over,” she said Thursday after doing some touch-up work around the No. 7 green. She assists in a variety of jobs as the Symetra contingent prepares the course for the tournament, which runs through Sunday at Sweetgrass Golf Club.

“I wear many hats,” she said with a chuckle after raking one of the bunkers.

Her primary position during each tournament is making on-course rulings, but noted another aspect is “monitoring pace of play.” She also helps set up the course for tournaments, including pin locations on the greens, tee box locations, and using spray paint cans for marking purposes.

“You see us standing around a lot, but there are long hours,” she said. Once the tournament begins, she said “we spread out and sit in various areas” while waiting for a call for help.

This week part of her role was off the course. Symetra officials held a retirement party for her after Wednesday’s pro-am, and she was asked to speak at Thursday’s pro-am banquet, earning a rousing round of cheers and applause from the Symetra players.

A number of rules changes were instituted for the current season, with Reynolds noting “we are learning along with the players.”

Reynolds said areas of concern with the players frequently include ground under repair and relief in penalty areas.

“Golf balls can get into some strange areas,” she said, describing once when a shot into the green landed inside the shirt pocket of a volunteer working at the green. “You can have some funny things happen on a golf course.”

She then recalled an incident in Phoenix when a golf shot struck a duck flying over water, with the ball falling into the drink.

She said the next shot, with a penalty assessed, was played as a water hazard. “She got a bad break, but the duck got the worst break because it didn’t survive,” Reynolds said, adding the golfer wasn’t happy with the ruling.

“I felt bad for the player and bad for the duck,” she added.

Reynolds said working at Sweetgrass is normally routine because it is in excellent condition and various problem areas are well marked. “This course is so pure,” she said.

The tenure of Reynolds has mirrored the growth of golf, particularly on her side of the ledger, the women’s division.

“I’ve seen the growth of the tournament. It is completely international,” she said. There are 34 countries represented this week, ranging from China to Germany, to Australia and Spain, Republic of Korea and Nepal, South Africa and Thailand.

She said the growth of the tremendous international field began when Korean Se Ri Pak won the 1998 U.S. Open at Blackwolf Run near Sheboygan, Wis. “It just exploded,” said Reynolds. “It is gratifying to see the growth of women’s golf

“I’ve (also) seen the growth of the Symetra Tour, and even the growth of this event is tremendous.”

Underlining what many people have said about the Island Resort Championship at Sweetgrass, she said Symetra players “are greeted (here) with open arms. They embrace the players.”

Reynolds, a native of Huntsville, Ala., will leave Sweetgrass Monday and go back to LPGA headquarters in Daytona Beach to handle her retirement paperwork. Then she will go home to West Palm Beach, Fla.