Gemma Dryburgh is feeling extra motivated ahead of the 2024 AIG Women’s Open at St Andrews, knowing that she will have plenty of home support from her fellow Scots.
The championship returns to the home of golf and the fabled Old Course for the first time in 11 years and only the third time in history.
In her pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday, Dryburgh said that she had been looking forward to playing in the event since watching Lorena Ochoa win the championship at St Andrews in 2007, followed by Stacy Lewis in 2013.
She has been paired with Australian Minjee Lee and American Lexi Thompson for the first round and will tee off at 7.44am on Thursday.
“It doesn’t really get any better than that really. You know, it’s what dreams are made of, really, playing in Scotland and at the Home of Golf,” said the 31-year-old from Aberdeen.
“It’s a pretty special place, and you know, it doesn’t get more iconic than coming up or going down one, and coming up 18 and playing 17 as well, and it gives you goosebumps, really.
“I’ll have a lot of friends and family out there as well which, will be pretty special. But yeah, hopefully have lots of home crowds out there. It will be nice to play in front of a home crowd because you don’t get to do that too often.”
The Solheim Cup star missed the cut at the ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open last week – having played in the worst of the weather conditions. The forecast is mixed for the first two rounds and she added: “The wind looks like it’s going to be even stronger this week. Hopefully it will stay dry. You know, if it’s just the wind, then we’ll hopefully be able to deal with that.”
This will be Dryburgh’s fifth appearance in the event, having played at Troon, Carnoustie, Muirfield and Walton Heath last year, but it was a childhood dream to play in the AIG Women’s Open at the Old Course and she continued: “Lorena was a hero of mine growing up. I just loved way she played and her attitude and obviously when she won at St Andrews, it doesn’t get more iconic than that, and obviously watching Stacy win as well.
“I was in the Dunvegan two weeks ago and I saw Stacy’s photo right in front of the bar. It’s just so cool to have those moments in women’s golf, and I think women’s golf going to more venues like St Andrews and Pebble Beach last year, just iconic places where people know all these shots and all these moments, and it’s just great that we can make our own history.
“I think this course plays really well for us. 16 today — the other day, we played it downwind, and I could actually carry those bunkers but today it was maybe in off the right, so a lot of kind of bailing out left into that rough. So they are definitely more in play for us, and I think even 14 we were today having to go down to the 4th fairway, to the left there, to avoid Hell’s Bunker. I think it will play a lot better for us. The men can obviously carry a lot of that trouble. I think it will be good.
“This is why you practise all those hours when it’s freezing cold, raining outside. This is why it’s all worth it, for moments like these. I’m just going to really enjoy this week.”
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