Tag: Dundonald Links

2023 Women’s Scottish Open prize money payouts for each LPGA player

Celine Boutier is the third LPGA golfer to surpass the $2 million mark in 2023.

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One week after banking $1 million for her first major, Celine Boutier cashed another big check after winning the 2023 Women’s Scottish Open.

Boutier won at Dundonald Links in Ayshire, Scotland, by two shots over Hyu Joo Kim and by three over Ruoning Yin.

It’s Boutier’s fifth LPGA victory and second in two weeks after she claimed the 2023 Amundi Evian Championship in France. She’s the first LPGA golfer in seven years to win a major and then win the next week’s event. She’s the first on the LPGA to win consecutive tournaments in two years. And she’s the first to win three times in 2023, after having also won the LPGA Drive On Championship in Arizona in March.

Her $300,000 payday in Scotland pushes her past the $2 million mark for the 2023 season.

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Position Player Score Money
1 Celine Boutier -15 $300,000
2 Hyo Joo Kim -13 $167,294
3 Ruoning Yin -12 $111,529
T4 A Lim Kim -11 $75,282
T4 Maja Stark -11 $75,282
T6 Caroline Hedwall -10 $52,047
T6 Nicole Broch Estrup -10 $52,047
T6 Patty Tavatanakit -10 $52,047
T9 Ally Ewing -9 $41,824
T9 Andrea Lee -9 $41,824
T9 Sarah Kemp -9 $41,824
T9 Madelene Sagstrom -9 $41,824
T13 Minjee Lee -8 $35,318
T13 Stephanie Kyriacou -8 $35,318
T13 Arpichaya Yubol -8 $35,318
T16 Jenny Shin -7 $31,135
T16 Jennifer Kupcho -7 $31,135
T16 Xiyu Lin -7 $31,135
T16 Hinako Shibuno -7 $31,135
T20 Esther Henseleit -6 $27,185
T20 Linn Grant -6 $27,185
T20 Yu Liu -6 $27,185
T20 Yuna Nishimura -6 $27,185
T24 Sarah Schmelzel -4 $22,771
T24 Linnea Strom -4 $22,771
T24 Nasa Hataoka -4 $22,771
T24 Mi Hyang Lee -4 $22,771
T28 Megan Khang -3 $17,324
T28 Angel Yin -3 $17,324
T28 Minami Katsu -3 $17,324
T28 Jeongeun Lee6 -3 $17,324
T28 Eleanor Givens -3 $17,324
T33 Celine Herbin -2 $14,127
T33 Eun-Hee Ji -2 $14,127
T35 Charley Hull -1 $10,575
T35 Ana Pelaez Trivino -1 $10,575
T35 Lee-Anne Pace -1 $10,575
T35 Gaby Lopez -1 $10,575
T35 Maddie Szeryk -1 $10,575
T35 Frida Kinhult -1 $10,575
T35 Cara Gainer -1 $10,575
T35 In Gee Chun -1 $10,575
T35 Lilia Vu -1 $10,575
T44 Soo Bin Joo E $8,736
T44 Gemma Dryburgh E $8,736
T44 Narin An E $8,736
T47 Perrine Delacour +1 $7,714
T47 Casandra Alexander +1 $7,714
T47 Kim Metraux +1 $7,714
T47 Elin Arvidsson +1 $7,714
T47 Annie Park +1 $7,714
T47 Ayaka Furue +1 $7,714
T47 Agathe Sauzon +1 $7,714
T47 Amanda Doherty +1 $7,714
T55 Jasmine Suwannapura +3 $6,413
T55 Aditi Ashok +3 $6,413
T55 Emily Kristine Pedersen +3 $6,413
T55 Lydia Hall +3 $6,413
T55 Paula Reto +3 $6,413
T55 Lauren Coughlin +3 $6,413
T61 Pernilla Lindberg +4 $5,669
T61 Louise Duncan +4 $5,669
T63 Caroline Inglis +5 $5,298
T63 Mel Reid +5 $5,298
T63 Ginnie Ding (a) +5 $0
T66 Marissa Steen +6 $4,647
T66 Alice Hewson +6 $4,647
T66 Bronte Law +6 $4,647
T66 Bailey Tardy +6 $4,647
T66 Alison Lee +6 $4,647
71 Leonie Harm +8 $4,089
T72 Magdalena Simmermacher +12 $3,811
T72 Emma Grechi +12 $3,811
74 Klara Davidson Spilkova +16 $3,532

 

Fresh off major win, Celine Boutier in front at Women’s Scottish Open

Celine Boutier is on fire.

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AYRSHIRE, Scotland — Celine Boutier is riding such a wave of confidence these days, you half expected her to march up the 18th at Dundonald Links whistling a jolly tune of surfing satisfaction by the Beach Boys.

A week on from her maiden major victory in the Evian Championship, the Frenchwoman is on course for a notable double whammy of triumphs as she forged a sturdy advantage on the penultimate day of the Freed Group Women’s Scottish Open.

A composed, classy and clinical performance led to a 6-under 66, a 13-under total and a three-stroke lead over Thailand’s Patty Tavatanakit and Maja Stark of Sweden.

Seven days ago on the shores of Lake Geneva, Boutier led by three after 54-holes and went on to win by six. Here on the Firth of Clyde, her latest three-stroke lead could prompt another procession to a coronation.

There is a lot of golf to be played, of course, but in this particular parish, Boutier, last year’s runner-up, is in her element. This was her seventh consecutive round in the 60s at Dundonald.  Her position of authority at the summit is so fortified, her name on the leaderboard could be shielded by a portcullis.

The home of golf certainly brings out the best in Boutier. Four years ago at Gleneagles, she won four out of four during a thrilling Solheim Cup debut to help Europe claim a famous victory. Here in 2023, individual glory beckons in the game’s cradle.

It was one of those days when all the golfing cogs and pistons were working and finely tuned. “Sometimes you envision shots and they don’t always happen,” said Boutier. “But today, it happened the way I saw it.”

When she did make the odd deviation from the straight and narrow, Boutier took the positives from it. “I made a bogey on the ninth, which actually fired me up,” she added. “It was nice to get some more energy going.”

Boutier had been five shots off the halfway pace set by Japan’s Hinako Shibuno but she chomped into that deficit with gusto. Four birdies on her first seven holes had her bounding along nicely as Shibuno stumbled and stuttered. Stark, the 23-year-old who was leading the chasing pack after 36-holes, would take up the front-running and did briefly move into a two-shot lead before her round unravelled on the run-in.

Shibuno, a wonderful Women’s British Open champion at Woburn back in 2019, endured a trying day, meanwhile, and a double-bogey on the short 15th prompted a pained grimace from the woman known as the Smiling Cinderella. It would get worse for the 24-year-old. A bogey on 17 was followed by a trip into the water on the last and another leaked shot in a 77 left her six shots off the lead.

Those late lapses were pounced on by Boutier, whose poise and purpose was rewarded with a brace of birdies at 17 and 18 as she conjured a telling late thrust. Stark also found the wet stuff on the 18th and dropped a costly shot in a level-par 72.

Stark may have been left scunnered by that sore one, but the six-time Ladies European Tour winner remained determined to make amends on the final day. “I want revenge,” she hissed through clenched teeth as she plotted a closing offensive. “I think it’s just a ‘screw it’ mentality now because it’s the final day and you know where you’re standing. It’s all about getting the win.”

Boutier, meanwhile, will be hoping to stay in the winning habit, but she will also stay in the moment. “I definitely have to keep my expectations in check and not get too far ahead of myself,” she said.

Tavatanakit, a major champion in 2021, is not out of it and she energised her title tilt with a charging 66 that was illuminated by eagles on the third and 14th.

On the home front, Gemma Dryburgh, the Scottish No 1, moved up a couple of gears with a four-under 68 which hoisted her up into the leading 30 on two-under. Four birdies in five holes from the third was an enjoyable flurry for the LPGA winner. “I got on a pretty hot run there and that was fun,” she said after a decent stride up the order.

Hinako Shibuno still smiling as she leads Women’s Scottish Open

The 24-year-old from Japan famously earned the nickname “the Smiling Cinderella.”

Golfers can often display the kind of inscrutable countenance that would make the fizzog of the Sphinx of Giza look positively animated.

Not so, Hinako Shibuno. With a constant, glowing beam you tend to get with a LED bulb, the 24-year-old from Japan famously earned the nickname “the Smiling Cinderella” during her giggling, grinning march to glory in the AIG Women’s Open at Woburn in 2019.

Here at the Freed Group Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald Links, Shibuno was still smiling. She had every reason to be, of course. A delightfully assembled 8-under 64 on a largely bright and increasingly breezy Ayrshire day thrust her into a two-shot lead over Madelene Sagstrom. Local tour rookie Louise Duncan, meanwhile, was the pick of the Scots on one-under after a spirited late rally.

Shibuno’s smile may remain but it seems the twinkling moniker has gone. “Nobody calls me the Smiling Cinderella anymore,” said Shibuno with something of a wistful, well, smile.

Presumably, the fickle fans in Japan, who tend to shower successful female golfers with the adulation you would get during a ticker-tape parade, have focussed their affections on someone else. Shibuno has not won since that wonder of Woburn while a niggling finger injury has hindered her progress. Living with the expectation that comes with being a major champion in her golf-mad homeland adds another layer of professional pressure.

The Smiling Cinderella may be no more but there is a new nickname. “Lydia Ko called me the Assassin once which I like better than Smiling Cinderella,” added Shibuno. She certainly had her sights fixed on Dundonald yesterday.

Before the wind started to really get going, Shibuno made hay while the sun keeked through some light clouds. Starting on the 10th, Shibuno made an early statement of intent with a birdie on her first hole then bolstered her assault with four birdies on the spin from the 13th. “I surprised myself with four in a row,” she said of that profitable push. Shibuno then finished with a flourish, picking up birdies at three of her last four holes to streak away from the field.

Shibuno missed the halfway cut in last year’s championship here. “The course looked different this time, a little wider,” she noted. It’s amazing what eight birdies can do to the outlook eh?

The sprightly standard Shibuno set was going to be a hard act to follow. Sagstrom gave it a good go and the Swedish Solheim Cup player got herself motoring with three birdies in a row from her 10th tee start. It was an impressive round of poise and patience for a 30-year-old who has taken time to figure out the quirks, curiosities and occasional absurdities of the links game. The fact she has finished fourth and second in the last two AIG Women’s Opens at Muirfield and Carnoustie shows that she is finally getting to grips with it.

“As an amateur, I hated coming to Scotland,” she said of her initial relationship with golf by the seaside. “But my caddie is Irish and over the last couple of years we’ve been really working on it. I’m much more creative on the course and he has helped me see different shots. It’s a journey.”

On the home front, meanwhile, Duncan harnessed the growing gusts to fine effect and was justifiably chipper with her battling 71. The 23-year-old from West Kilbride, who made her professional debut in this event last summer, made an early stumble with a bogey on the first but she remained resolute. “A year ago, I may have squirmed at that, but I managed to hold it together,” said the former Women’s Amateur champion.

Duncan’s finish underlined her sense of purpose. She cracked a 3-iron into 10 feet on the 15th to set up a birdie and, despite a bogey on 16, a brace of sturdy birdies to finish at 17 and 18 stirred the local galleries and a strong contingent of watching family members.

“It wasn’t easy out there, the greens were faster than the practice days and the wind was brutal,” added Duncan of the exacting nature of the test.

Gemma Dryburgh, the Scottish No 1, ignited her day by holing a greenside bunker shot for birdie on the 15th to dip under par. A couple of loose drives at 17 and 18, though, brought her back down to earth and the 30-year-old had to settle for a one-over 73 after a bogey, bogey finish.

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Video: Dundonald Links offers modern twists in classic Scottish golf country

Recent renovations have Dundonald Links in prime condition to host the 2023 Women’s Scottish Open.

As Scottish golf is booming with international travelers flocking to the well-known historical links courses — consider booking extremely early for any trip, as in get your plans in order now for 2024 — it’s worth noting there are several modern courses around the game’s home country that are more than worthy of a round.

Count Dundonald Links in Gailes, on the western side of Scotland, among them.

Designed by Kyle Phillips and opened in 2003, Dundonald Links ranks No. 35 on Golfweek’s Best list of best modern courses in Great Britain and Ireland. It hosted the Women’s Scottish Open in 2015, 2016 and 2017, and it will again be the site of the co-sanctioned LPGA/Ladies European Tour event this August. It also was site of the DP World Tour’s Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open in 2017.

The club – which serves as a handy base for golf excursions to other courses such as Royal Troon, Prestwick and Western Gailes – has recently undergone major renovations to its clubhouse and accommodations.

Golfweek videographer Gabe Gudgel was there recently to take it all in. Check out his accompanying video to see how modern golf looks in a classic land.

Ayaka Furue fires course-record 62, captures first LPGA victory at Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open

Furue fires a 10-under 62 to set a new course record at Dundonald Links.

Sunday’s final round at the 2022 Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open is one LPGA rookie Ayaka Furue won’t soon forget.

Furue torched Dundonald Links on Sunday in Ayrshire, Scotland, firing a course record and tournament record of 10-under 62 to overcome a four-stroke deficit and capture her first LPGA victory. Japan’s newest LPGA winner finished at 21 under, three shots better than Celine Boutier, who was tied for the 54-hole lead with Lydia Ko.

“My all-around game was really good,” Furue said. “The putts I needed to make, I made. My putting was really good.”

The stats back that up. She hit 17 of 18 greens and 13 of 14 fairways. She putted 26 times, recording 10 birdies and no bogeys en route to her course record. Furue made six straight birdies from Nos. 6-11. She shot 5-under 31 on each side. And she did it without lighting up the par 5s, as she birdied only one of the four three-shotters, the finishing hole.

Women's Scottish Open
Ayaka Furue of Japan plays her tee shot at the 18th hole in the final round of the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald Links  on July 31, 2022 in Troon, Scotland. (Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

Furue, 22, began the final round four shots behind the leaders but quickly made up that ground. She birdied the par-4 first before recording four straight pars. Then the birdie streak started, and more followed on Nos. 15, 17 and 18 to finish at 21 under.

By the time the final group came to the 18th tee, Furue had locked up the victory.

Boutier shot 3-under 69 in the final round, which included seven birdies. Ko, who led after 36 holes, shot her second straight 1-under 71 after back-to-back rounds of 65 to open the tournament. Ko finished five shots behind Furue in a tie for fifth place.

Hyo-Joo Kim and Cheyenne Knight finished tied for third at 17 under, four shots behind Furue.

The win could be pivotal for Furue heading into the final women’s major championship of the season next week, the AIG Women’s British Open at Muirfield.

“It builds up a lot of confidence,” Furue said. “I look forward to more tournaments and next week.”

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Celine Boutier, Lydia Ko tied at Women’s Scottish Open heading to final round

There are 12 players within four shots of the lead.

If the leaderboard following the third round is any indication, the 2022 Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald Links in Ayrshire, Scotland, is in for a thrilling finish come Sunday.

Twelve players are within four shots of the lead, but Celine Boutier and Lydia Ko pace the field at 15 under following 54 holes in the week before the final women’s major championship of the season.

Ko, who fired consecutive rounds of 65 to open the tournament, shot a 1-under 71 on Saturday, and her highlight of the day came on the 18th. Her approach shot landed just past the hole before spinning back and nearly dropping for eagle. The ball settled a couple feet from the hole, and she tapped in the birdie to close her round on a high note. After not recording a bogey through the first two rounds, Ko made three on Saturday to her four birdies.

“I drove it a little better than I did the past couple of days, but my irons just weren’t as sharp,” Ko said. “It wasn’t the best golf I’ve played, but I was able to scramble around and it wasn’t as bad as I think.”

Boutier, however, was spectacular. She went out in 5-under 31, including three straight birdies on Nos. 5, 6 and 7. Boutier also birdied the third and ninth holes. On the back nine, she had one birdie and one bogey, but it was good enough to vault her into a tie for first heading to Sunday.

“It was a very solid day,” Boutier said. “The conditions were a bit more windy and a bit tougher, so it was really good to get a good start.”

Boutier has had plenty of success on links courses before. During the 2019 Solheim Cup, she went 4-0-0 for Team Europe in her first appearance, helping the Europeans win by a point.

“I really like playing in windy conditions,” said Boutier. “I feel like my ball flight is pretty low, so I never have trouble keeping it down, which is an advantage here.”

Maude-Aimee Leblanc, who tied for low round of the day at 6-under 66, is one of two players one shot back in a tie for third. Leblanc also went out in 5-under 31 and birdied both of the par 5s on the back nine to vault up the leaderboard. Leonie Harm shot 5-under 67 and moved to 14 under for the tournament, tied with Leblanc.

Harm, 24, is searching for her first career victory. The German, who turned pro in 2020, has shot rounds of 67-68-67 this week.

“I really enjoyed today’s round,” Harm said. “It got a bit windier, so it actually was a lot more difficult than the previous two rounds. And I’m very, very proud of myself that I still got a low scorecard to sign off.”

Eun-Hee Ji and Lilia Vu are tied at 13 under in a tie for fifth. The duo played with Ko in the final pairing, shooting 2 under and 1 under, respectively.

Ko is searching for her first victory since March while Boutier hasn’t won since October of 2021.

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A dream day at the Old Course for Georgia Hall included a putting tip from Rory McIlroy that’s paying off

On the eve of the Trust Golf Scottish Open, Hall talked about a conversation she had with McIlroy during that four-hole loop.

Georgia Hall dreamed of one day playing with Tiger Woods. She lived it out at the R&A’s Celebration of Champions over the Old Course earlier this month, joined by Rory McIlroy and Lee Trevino.

“I’m definitely going to get that picture framed sooner rather than later for sure,” said Hall of their epic group photo with Jack Nicklaus taken at the Swilcan Bridge, “and definitely one of the best moments of my career.”

On the eve of the Trust Golf Scottish Open, Hall talked about a conversation she had with McIlroy during that four-hole loop that led to a change in her putting. Both have gone to Brad Faxon for putting lessons and similarly struggle with left-to-right putts.

“I started using a line on the golf ball last week for the first time in a couple of years,” said Hall, “because we briefly spoke about that, and I putted probably the best I have this year. So I’m going to continue to do that. It’s just nice to get some inside information as well and speak to someone who has done it all.”

Hall, who tied for eighth last week at the Amundi Evian, also spent a good deal of time focusing on Woods’ putting while playing alongside him.

Hall, 26, called Dundonald Links her favorite venue for the Scottish Open and links her favorite style of golf. The 2018 AIG Women’s British Open champion said she appreciated the fact that McIlroy shows an interest in the LPGA.

“He says that he watches women’s golf and how kind of U.K. players are doing,” said Hall, “and it’s really nice just to meet someone really genuine and interested in our part of the game as well.”

Hall won earlier this year on the LET at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International. Her top-10 finish at the Evian was the first of the year on the LPGA.

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What’s a portakabin? And why are Scottish golfers sad it’s gone from Dundonald Links?

The hand dryers in the loos are pretty fancy, too.

Those of you keen on the history of cherished, triumphant edifices will probably know that the Eiffel Tower was originally intended as a temporary exhibit when it started to get rattled up back in 1887.

And look at it now? Still plonked there as a majestic beacon for patriotism, resistance, romance and long bloomin’ queues of camera-clicking tourists. Now, we’re not saying the old portakabin clubhouse at Dundonald Links — which sits less than an hour southwest of Glasgow, Scotland — was anything remotely like this grand Parisian pile but, having stood as a stopgap facility for almost two decades at the Ayrshire venue, it too became something of a treasure.

“People had a real soft spot for it and by the end, we thought it would just about have listed status,” said Dundonald Links general manager, Ian Ferguson, with a reflective chuckle as he looked back on a hardy make-shift assembly which has welcomed some of the world’s best golfers in both the men’s and women’s Scottish Opens.

“It was actually quite emotional when they took it away. They took it off in sections, from one end to the other, and you could see it disappear day by day to the point where you could glimpse the exposed hand dryers in the loos. As much as people loved it, there were others who didn’t. Some people wouldn’t bring a corporate event here as it just wasn’t as grand as some other places so we had to move on.”

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The portakabin is no more but in its place has emerged the bricks, mortar and shimmering fixtures and fittings of a fully operational and permanent clubhouse. The hand dryers in the loos are pretty fancy, too.

As part of a major, multi-million pound investment by new owners, Darwin Escapes, Dundonald, which was sold by Loch Lomond a couple of years ago, is now ready to return to the big stage of championship golf again with the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open coming back to this neck of the woods in 2022 and 2023.

With the prize fund of the championship rocketing to $2 million next year, this is a terrific time to be involved with a tournament that is going from strength to strength.

“The business model here is pretty straightforward,” added Ferguson, after a VIP night of lavish, glass-clinking indulgence that would’ve made Nero envious. “We are catering for golf tourism from all over the world and want to get people to stay, play, eat, drink and have a good time. But we definitely are a tournament venue and we made sure that what we designed and developed would fit in with significant championships.”

The addition of an abundant cluster of delightfully appointed lodges around the premises clearly has benefits for the stay-and-play side of things but, from a championship perspective, there are added advantages.

Mi Hyang Lee of Korea, winner of the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open, plays her second shot at the 18th hole as she finishes her final round at Dundonald Links Golf Course on July 30, 2017 in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

Golf got used to operating in tightly controlled bubbles during the Covid pandemic. Fingers crossed, we don’t go back to all that palaver but, amid ongoing uncertainty, resurgences, spikes and variants you never know what the future holds. Whatever happens, Dundonald is well placed to cope and cater for any radical changes in operational procedures and protocols.

“It lends itself to these changed times,” added Ferguson. “If we did have to go back to that tournament bubble, it’s now easy to create that isolation here and you can comply with whatever regulations are in place at that point.”

Having staged the Women’s Scottish Open three times from 2015, while hosting the men’s championship in 2017, Dundonald is certainly no stranger to showpiece occasions. “If the European Tour [now the DP World Tour] would like to come back we would be very keen to talk to them,” added Ferguson.

For the time being, the focus is on the Women’s Scottish Open and a stellar cast that will arrive for an event that takes place the week before a historic AIG Women’s Open at Muirfield.

“Having the Women’s Scottish Open here for the next two years adds huge value and it’s a great morale booster for all the staff to work towards,” said Ferguson. “Who knows? Dundonald could become the home of the event.”

As for the dearly departed portakabin?

“It will always have cult status,” smiled Ferguson.

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