Gemma Dryburgh, back on home greens at Women's Scottish Open

The National

2 days ago

Her return to Scottish soil for the ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open, which begins at Dundonald Links in Ayrshire on Thursday, presents a mixture of positives and a few welcome challenges.
The positives first.
For Aberdeenshire's Dryburgh, who has played on the LPGA Tour since 2018 and was part of Europe's Solheim Cup team in 2023, there's few things she embraces more than returning to her home country.
And as Scotland's top female golfer, she's in the position that Catriona Matthew, who Dryburgh looked-up to as a young, up-and-coming player was for countless years which is, she admits, quite something.
'I'm very excited about the Scottish Open. I always love coming back to Scotland because I don't get to do it very often these days, so it will be so nice to see the family and play links golf again,' the 32-year-old says.
"It's very cool going into the Scottish Open as the top Scottish player.
'One of the other Scottish girls has asked me to play a practice round, and it's things like that which are cool because I remember doing that myself with Catriona when I was younger.
'It's a nice position to be in."Encouragingly for Dryburgh, who won the 2022 Japan Classic, her form as she heads to Dundonald is good.
Gema Dryburgh hopes to better her previous best of 34th place at the Women's Scottish Open (Image: Getty Images)
2025 has been what she describes as a 'not spectacular but very solid and consistent season'.
It's an accurate assessment of the first six-and-a-half months of the year, with cuts made in two of the four majors so far, as well as a couple of top-20 placings on the LPGA.
Most pleasingly for the Scot, though, is how much better she feels about her game than she did twelve months ago.
And that form, coupled with her experience and love of links golf will, she hopes, make for a strong showing in Ayrshire next week in what will be her ninth appearance at the Women's Scottish Open.
'My form this season has been pretty solid and I've had some decent results, although nothing that massively stands out. But I have been consistent and I'm trending in the right direction,' she says.
'I'm feeling much more confident in my game at the moment than I was this time last year.
'Confidence is so easy to lose, but then so difficult to build back up. But this year, my swing has been so much more solid and that's helped my confidence off the tee, which is obviously massive. And my putting's been really consistent, too.
'Links golf is so different from the golf I play week in, week out on the LPGA so it's nice to get back to my roots and play some more creative golf.
'And I know the course at Dundonald well, which always helps.'
Dryburgh's return to Scottish soil will, though, present some considerable tests as well.As Scottish number one, hopes of a home winner rest primarily at her feet and shouldering such expectation, particularly given the strength of the field which also includes world number one Nelly Korda, two-time LPGA winner Charley Hull, defending champion Lauren Coughlin and most recent major winner Grace Kim, has not always been something she's found easy.
World number one, Nelly Korda, will play the Women's Scottish Open for the first time this year (Image: Steve Welsh)
But the Scot's growing bank of experience has ensured she's as well-equipped to deal with her status as home favourite as she's ever been.
'I have struggled with the pressure of playing at home over the years, but I feel like I'm gradually getting better at coping with it,' Dryburgh says.
'There definitely is more pressure because being at home, you really want to perform well because you've got your family there, and obviously there's the home crowd there too. So while there is pressure, it's a privilege to have this pressure. This is the position I wanted to be in when I was growing up, watching the tournament on television.'
And Dryburgh's return to links golf this week means she's forced to make subtle but important tweaks to her game if she wants to challenge the leaderboard next week.
'The biggest adjustment is that the greens here are much slower than what I'm used to out in the States, and so I just need to get used to the speed again,' she says.
'It's such a mindset change, and I noticed some of the guys at the men's Scottish Open were talking about that as well. So that's a priority in the days leading up to the tournament starting.'
With the Women's Open taking place at Royal Porthcawl in Wales the week after the Women's Scottish Open, this is two of the most important weeks of the season for Dryburgh. She admits she's desperate for a strong showing, and optimistic that, all going to plan, she has the ability produce some seriously impressive results over the next fortnight, as well as have a little fun.
'It can be difficult to enjoy these home tournaments because, in the moment, the nerves can take over. But in the last few years, I have got better at appreciating it, enjoying it and embracing the feeling of the nerves,' she says.
'Results-wise, obviously two wins over the next fortnight would be the dream.
'But outwith that, top ten in one or both of the next two tournaments would be a nice result as well.
'I feel like making the top ten at the Scottish Open is definitely achievable given my experience with the golf course and how I'm playing so I'm looking forward to it.'