Tag: Gemma Dryburgh

LPGA players revealed their favorite swings on tour — and one name kept coming up

It’s tough to beat Nelly’s.

At the LPGA Drive On Championship last week, the first full-field event of the season on tour, Golfweek asked several players to name their favorite swing on tour (outside of their own). Not surprisingly, one name kept popping up – Nelly Korda.

The hometown favorite would go on to win her ninth LPGA career title in a playoff against Lydia Ko in Bradenton, Florida. Danish player Nanna Koerstz Madsen even noted that she has used videos of Korda’s swing in the past to help her get into certain positions.

The No. 2 player in the world wasn’t the only name mentioned, of course. Here are the favorites:

How each American, European player fared at the 2023 Solheim Cup in Spain

Three players went unbeaten over the three days but only one earned 4 points over the five sessions.

CASARES, Spain — The 2023 Solheim Cup couldn’t have been closer.

The 18th edition of the biennial bash between the United States and Europe was all square at 8-8 entering Sunday singles, and after the final 12 matches – five won by the both teams and two ties – the competition ended in a 14-14 tie, and the Europeans retained the Cup.

In the event’s 23-year history, the Americans have taken home the trophy on 10 occasions, with the Europeans earning the other eight. Team Europe hasn’t lost since 2017 in Iowa.

Spain’s Carlota Ciganda was the only player to score four points this week (4-0-0) and was one of four players who went unbeaten, joining Gemma Dryburgh (0-0-2), Megan Khang (3-0-1) and Cheyenne Knight (2-0-1). Two players went winless for each team, but only one failed to earn a point.

Here’s a breakdown of how each player fared this week by event at the 2023 Solheim Cup.

MORE: Sunday singles results | Best shots | Crazy fans

European records

Player Overall (W-L-T) Singles (W-L-T) Foursomes (W-L-T) Fourball (W-L-T)
Celine Boutier 0-3-0 0-1-0 0-2-0 0-0-0
Charley Hull 1-2-0 0-1-0 0-1-0 1-0-0
Linn Grant 3-2-0 0-1-0 1-1-0 2-0-0
Georgia Hall 1-2-1 0-0-1 0-2-0 1-0-0
Leona Maguire 3-2-0 1-0-0 0-2-0 2-0-0
Carlota Ciganda 4-0-0 1-0-0 1-0-0 2-0-0
Anna Nordqvist 1-3-0 1-0-0 0-2-0 0-1-0
Maja Stark 2-1-1 1-0-0 1-1-0 0-0-1
Madelene Sagstrom 1-1-1 0-1-0 0-0-0 1-0-1
Gemma Dryburgh 0-0-2 0-0-1 0-0-0 0-0-1
Emily Pedersen 2-2-1 0-1-0 1-1-0 1-0-1
Caroline Hedwall 1-1-0 1-0-0 0-0-0 0-1-0

American records

Player Overall (W-L-T) Singles (W-L-T) Foursomes (W-L-T) Fourball (W-L-T)
Lilia Vu 1-3-0 1-0-0 0-1-0 0-2-0
Nelly Korda 2-2-0 0-1-0 2-0-0 0-1-0
Allisen Corpuz 2-1-1 0-1-0 2-0-0 0-0-1
Megan Khang 3-0-1 1-0-0 2-0-0 0-0-1
Lexi Thompson 3-1-0 1-0-0 2-0-0 0-1-0
Jennifer Kupcho 0-2-1 0-1-0 0-1-0 0-0-1
Ally Ewing 1-3-0 0-1-0 1-0-0 0-2-0
Rose Zhang 0-3-1 0-1-0 0-0-0 0-1-1
Danielle Kang 2-2-0 1-0-0 1-1-0 0-1-0
Angel Yin 2-1-0 1-0-0 0-0-0 1-1-0
Andrea Lee 1-2-1 0-0-1 1-1-0 0-1-0
Cheyenne Knight 2-0-1 0-0-1 1-0-0 1-0-0

[lawrence-auto-related count=4 category=451202858]

Late-day heroics pull Europe within two points at 2023 Solheim Cup

“I’m immensely proud of the way the entire team fought back in the afternoon,” said European captain Suzann Pettersen.”

It could’ve gotten ugly real fast. Instead, Team Europe holed out three shots – including only the second ace in Solheim Cup history – in the afternoon fourball session to claw their way back and secure momentum after the U.S. team’s historic morning sweep.

In fact, it looked for a moment like Europe might get a sweep themselves in the afternoon. With three of four matches extending to the 18th as sunlight dwindled, Europe managed to put up three points, and now trail the Americans 5-3 with two days left of competition.

“I have to say, I’m immensely proud of the way the entire team fought back in the afternoon,” said European captain Suzann Pettersen. “It’s not easy to stand on that tee in the afternoon knowing you’re down four after the first session. So I got to say, hat’s off to all my players, the way they fought and the way they showed their character on this Friday afternoon. I think the level of golf that was played in the afternoon was unbelievable.”

Solheim Cup: Photos

Leona Maguire, the undisputed MVP of the 2021 Cup at Inverness, chipped in on the 18th hole to secure Europe’s first full point alongside partner Georgia Hall.

“She turned around to me and said, ‘How would you have done it?’ ” said Pettersen. “And I said, ‘just the same.’ ”

Both Maguire and Hall played 36 holes at hilly Finca Cortesin but dug deep.

“It was really tough with the wind,” said Maguire. “I don’t think I ever hit as many 3-woods in my life. But every half point, every point, is really hard-earned and just really proud of the whole team for fighting back this afternoon.”

Emily Pedersen struggled early on Friday but gave the home crowd a jolt of energy with an ace on the par-3 12th and nearly a second one on the 17th.

Gemma Dryburgh of Team Europe reacts on the 12th green during Day One of The Solheim Cup at Finca Cortesin Golf Club on September 22, 2023 in Casares, Spain. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

It wasn’t long after that rookie Gemma Dryburgh chipped in from 30 yards on the 16th playing alongside Madelene Sagstrom. Rose Zhang drained a birdie putt on top to halve the hole, but it was still a building block of momentum for Pettersen’s squad.

“I loved every minute of it,” said Dryburgh. “That chip-in on 16 was the pinnacle, but I had to calm myself down for the next hole, so that was a new experience for me.”

Spain’s Carlota Ciganda waited her entire life to tee it up in a Solheim Cup in Spain, and then she had to wait all morning before Pettersen put her in the lineup. The Spaniard didn’t disappoint, teaming up with Sweden’s Linn Grant to give Europe its most decisive victory, 4 and 2.

“Carlota, I’m just trying to put a leash on this week,” said Pettersen. “I mean, she would jump off and fly if she could. So I’m really just trying to keep her grounded. She’s playing fantastic.”

Why is Gemma Dryburgh wearing a blank hat at the LPGA Tournament of Champions? It’s time to get paid

“I guess it’s a message that it’s open.”

ORLANDO, Florida – Gemma Dryburgh broke through in Japan last fall to claim her first LPGA victory and qualify for this week’s Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. There’s something noticeably different, however, about her look this week: She’s wearing a blank hat.

“I guess it’s a message that it’s open,” said Dryburgh, of the blank billboard on her head.

When Scotland’s Dryburgh, 29, earned her LPGA card for the 2018 season, the rookie asked Callaway for some hats. She’d been playing Callaway clubs since high school but hadn’t actually signed with the company. She was wearing their hat for free.

“I didn’t mind supporting them,” she explained, “and they support me a lot with clubs. But I think it’s time to get paid for the hat.”

[parone_video_player hide-all=”true” autoplay=”true” feed=”20-lpga-video” campaign=”8df8BAA25F6228aE447B” content-key=”8df8BAA25F6228aE447B”/]

Dryburgh said her agent is currently in talks with one potential sponsor. While the value of a player’s hat varies greatly, Dryburgh estimates she’s looking at north of $20,000.

“It’s so nice to be able to actually have expenses maybe covered before the season starts,” she said of a luxury she has yet to experience in her career thus far, and she’s not quite there yet either.

Mel Reid is feeling a little less pressure after finishing third at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. (Gabe Roux/LPGA)

Dryburgh is hardly the first, of course, to be in the market for a hat sponsor. Veteran Solheim Cup player Mel Reid wore a blank hat at big events in the summer of 2019. Meg Mallon won the 2004 U.S. Women’s Open wearing a USGA hat.

Dryburgh won the 2022 Toto Japan Classic last year by four strokes and finished 34th on the CME points list and 45th on the money list with $662,000. That’s more than three times what she’d earned in her previous four seasons on tour combined.

[vertical-gallery id=778317444]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01f5k5vfbhv59szck1 image=]

Top 10 LPGA moments in 2022: A stirring revival, a stunning collapse and big-money Sundays

There were plenty of storylines that captured our attention throughout the year.

The 2022 LPGA season will be known as Lydia Ko’s comeback year. And while the one-time prodigy rightly grabbed all the headlines as the season came to a close, there were plenty of other storylines that captured our attention throughout 2022.

The Jin Young Ko/Nelly Korda budding rivalry was abruptly stopped due to health reasons. The two combined for nine LPGA titles in 2021 and won a total of two in 2022.

In their stead, a wave of first-time winners who ranged from rookies to thirtysomethings created plenty of feel-good moments. In fact, two first-time winners included on this list took home major championship trophies.

Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh became the LPGA’s 11th first-time winner of 2022 in Japan (winning a toilet!), which matches a tour record set in 1995. The players hailed from nine different countries.

In many ways, it was a milestone season, marked by record-setting purses, historic venues and plenty of memorable moments.

Here are the 10 best:

Gemma Dryburgh reflects on her breakthrough victory in Japan, where she dined on octopus and won a toilet

“So they asked me, where do you want the toilet sent?”

In addition to getting into the CME Group Tour Championship, the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, the majors and that $300,000 winner’s check, Gemma Dryburgh won a Toto toilet thanks to her breakthrough victory in Japan.

“So they asked me,” said Dryburgh, “where do you want the toilet sent?”

Given that the Tulane grad is renting a place in New Orleans, Dryburgh asked if they could hold off on shipping the toilet.

Though winning is something that players dream about all their lives, reality can look much different. Like the fact that, according to Dryburgh’s Whoop, the final round of the Toto Japan Classic was one of the calmest, least strenuous rounds she’s ever had. Her caddie’s dad jokes surely played a role.

She dined on champagne and octopus after the victory and made plans for her soon-to-be prized toilet.

Dryburgh, one of a record-tying 11 first-time winners on the LPGA this season, left Japan on a 7 a.m. flight and was on the ground in Florida for the Pelican Women’s Championship by Monday afternoon.

“To be honest, I was still a little drunk, hungover on the flight,” said Dryburgh, “so I’m not sure how long it took. Maybe I shouldn’t be telling the media that, but I had some champagne, you know.”

Dryburgh, who became only the fourth Scot to win on tour, is still buzzing from excitement. She vaulted 107 spots in the Rolex Rankings to No. 92.

She plans to send a message of thanks to Justin Rose and his wife Kate for the confidence gained from competing in the Rose Ladies Series during the COVID-19 pandemic, when professional golf tours were shut down. Dryburgh won three of the events.

“In that period during COVID, and that next year, it was just invaluable to have those playing opportunities,” she said. “And they were pretty decent fields considering they were small events. So Georgia (Hall) and Charley (Hull) were playing them and a lot of LET players. Those wins meant a lot to me.”

Dryburgh is a first-time player at the Pelican, and she played nine holes on Tuesday and another nine in the pro-am. A number of players asked Dryburgh if she might withdraw from this event to rest for next week, but her parents were already coming to watch her play in Belleair, and she’s enjoying catching up with players and caddies to revel in the win.

“Still can’t believe I’ve done it,” she said.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Gemma Dryburgh wins maiden title in Japan, becomes fourth Scot to win on LPGA

“I was nervous, I’m not going to lie. But I was incredibly calm to be honest.”

[parone_video_player hide-all=”true” autoplay=”true” feed=”20-lpga-video” campaign=”D7cEebFd0cB99D2C4af6″ content-key=”D7cEebFd0cB99D2C4af6″/]

Gemma Dryburgh continued a trend of a first-time winners on the LPGA in 2022. The 29-year-old Scottish pro shot her second consecutive 7-under 65 to capture the Toto Japan Classic by four strokes at Seta Golf Course.

“I was in Korea last week with friends and I said to them ‘I’ll mention you in my speech’ as a joke,” said Dryburgh. “But it’s overwhelming to be honest. This has been a dream of mine for a long time. A lot of hard work has gone into this, so it means so much.”

Dryburgh, who has one additional top 10 this season, finished at 20-under 268 for the tournament, shattering her previous record, a 276 from the 2019 Pure Silk Championship. She’s the 11th Rolex First-Time Winner of the season, tying the tour record for most Rolex first-time winners in a single year, which last occurred in 1995.

Gemma Dryburgh of Scotland hits her tee shot on the 7th hole during the final round of the Toto Japan Classic at Seta Golf Course North Course on November 6, 2022 in Otsu, Shiga, Japan. (Photo by Yoshimasa Nakano/Getty Images)

“I was surprisingly calm,” said Dryburgh. “When I dreamt of this moment, I thought I’d be super, super nervous. I was nervous, I’m not going to lie. But I was incredibly calm to be honest. Kind of focused on my breathing and that really got me through.”

Japan’s Kana Nagai finished second at 16 under while Sweden’s Linn Grant bogeyed the last hole to take solo third.

Dryburgh, playing her first time in this event, began the day one stroke behind 54-hole leader Momoko Ueda. The Scot took the lead at the turn after Ueda bogeyed the ninth. A double-bogey on the 11th from Ueda pushed Dryburgh further ahead as she hit to hit a hybrid to 4 feet, setting up the first of four birdies over the next five holes.

“That’s kind of a turning point in the round I’d say. I had a really good shot there yesterday and hit the same club today, so I was confident I could do it again,” said Dryburgh. “But yeah, had an incredible shot there and it was a nice birdie on that one. It was quite a tough one.”

Dryburgh moved up from 78th on the CME points list to 41. (She has never previously before finished higher than 100th.) The top 60 qualify for the CME Group Tour Championship.

A former Tulane standout, Dryburgh becomes the fourth Scot to win on the LPGA and the first since Catriona Matthew at the 2011 Lorena Ochoa Invitational. Prior to this, she won the 2017 Oatlands Ladies Pro Am on the ALPG and three events on the Rose Ladies Series, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dryburgh is the 25th different winner this season. The record for most different winners in a year is 26, in 1991 and 2018. There are two events left in the 2022 season.

[listicle id=778305292]

LPGA: Momoko Ueda leads by one at the Toto Japan Classic after third-round 68

In total, eight Japanese players sit inside the top 10 heading into Sunday.

With 18 holes left to play, Momoko Ueda leads the Toto Japan Classic by one shot over Gemma Dryburgh.

On Saturday, Ueda made her share of birdies (seven) around Seta Golf Course, however, she mixed in three bogeys to sign for a third-round 4-under 68. She sits at 14 under through three rounds.

Dryburgh has played better each day so far this week. She opened with a 71, then shot a 67 on Friday and signed for a 7-under 65 on day three. She’s one back at 13 under and searching for her first win on the LPGA.

In total, eight Japanese players sit inside the top 10 heading into Sunday.

World No. 1 Atthaya Thitikul struggled in the third round, shooting a 1-over 73 and now sits T-23, nine back.

[parone_video_player hide-all=”true” autoplay=”true” feed=”20-lpga-video” campaign=”Fa6d8cb3E2c3d9B8c97e” content-key=”Fa6d8cb3E2c3d9B8c97e”/]

Three tied atop the leaderboard at the Cambia Portland Classic on the LPGA Tour

Pajaree Anannarukarn, Gemma Dryburgh and Carlota Ciganda sit atop the leaderboard after the first round.

The Oregon Golf Club in West Linn, Oregon, is hosting the LPGA Tour this week for the Cambia Portland Classic.

Pajaree Anannarukarn, Gemma Dryburgh and Carlota Ciganda are tied atop the leaderboard after the first round.

Anannarukarn played a nearly flawless round with just one bogey on the card, offset by five birdies for an opening 4-under 68.

Dryburgh had a more up-and-down day compared to her fellow co-leaders. She carded three bogeys, but those were erased with five birdies and an eagle. The big bird came on the par 4 7th.

Ciganda made a boatload of birdies during her round today (seven), but they were neutralized by a bogey on two and a double on 14.

World No. 2 Jin Young Yo is just one shot back, sitting at 3 under. United States Solheim Cupper Jennifer Kupcho struggled throughout the day, ending her round with a 1-over 73.

[listicle id=778058320]

[lawrence-related id=778156308,778143657,778131018]

Early risers take advantage of calm conditions to lead fog-delayed Scottish Open

Tee times were ultimately delayed two hours at The Renaissance Club for the Ladies Scottish Open, but the early risers still did well.

Gemma Dryburgh’s alarm went off at 3:30 a.m., local time on Thursday as she was set to hit the first tee shot at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open at 6:30 a.m. But eight minutes out from walking to the tee, officials delayed the event due to heavy fog. Tee times were ultimately delayed two hours at The Renaissance Club.

Dryburgh, who admittedly isn’t a morning person, got off to a hot start with five birdies in a six-hole stretch. The Scot, who is playing some of the best golf of career this summer, finished at 2-under 69, two strokes behind leader Nicole Broch Larsen.

“I just started using AimPoint at the start of this year,” said Dryburgh. “I think that’s really helped a lot just kind of focusing on a specific line, I think beforehand, like in the past, I’ve kind of always second-guessed myself.”

Play was suspended at 8:35 p.m., due to darkness, with 27 players (nine groups) yet to finish. The first round will resume at 8 a.m., on Friday, with the second round beginning on time at 6:30 a.m.

Nicole Broch Larsen of Denmark during the first round. Credit: Tristan Jones.

Broch Larsen, who also teed off in the morning’s calm conditions, had only 26 putts in her opening round. It’s her second start of the 2020 season. She tied for 21st at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.

“I’m a home person and I love being home. So to me, it’s definitely been a good period, even though I of course wanted to play tournament golf,” said Broch Larsen, who got engaged to boyfriend Kasper Estrup over the break. “For me personally, it’s been really good, and it’s not a different Nicole, but I feel like I’m in a better place and I felt that on the course today. I was more relaxed and whenever I hit a bad shot, I kind of moved on faster than normally.”

Five players are one shot back in a share of second: Amy Olson, Jennifer Song, Olivia Cowan, Emily Pedersen and Azahara Munoz.

Pedersen won on the ECCO Tour against the men in Denmark over the break, carding rounds of 66-67 to clip Oliver Suhr by one at Romo Golf Club and earn about $5,150. She also won an amateur event on the Danish Golf Union’s Elite Tour. In Denmark, pros are allowed to compete in amateur tournaments.

Danielle Kang, winner of the past two events in Toledo, opened with an even-par 71 and is tied for 22nd.

[lawrence-related id=778060688,778060579,778058949]