Tag: Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open

Lydia Ko takes two-shot lead at Women’s Scottish Open after second straight 65 at Dundonald Links

Ko is searching for her first win since March.

Lydia Ko said she felt her second round Friday wasn’t as strong as her opening round on Thursday. Her score indicates otherwise.

Ko fired her second straight 7-under 65, taking a two-shot lead at 14 under following the second round of the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open. She leads Lilia Vu by two shots and Eun-Hee Ji by three heading to the weekend.

For Ko, who posted her tour-leading 12th bogey-free round of the season, she’s getting closer to conquering links golf. Last year, she finished tied for second at this event.

With 36 holes to play, Ko is in the driver’s seat and looking for another victory.

“I had a few more birdie opportunities today that I missed,” Ko said. “When I made the turn, I made a really good par actually on the 18th hole, which was my ninth. Then hit a good drive down the first, and I got really good momentum.”

After going out in 1-under 35, Ko fired a 6-under 30 on her back nine, which was highlighted by a near hole-in-one on the par-3 fourth and an eagle on the par-5 fifth.

Ko hasn’t won a major on the LPGA since 2019 and hasn’t won a tournament since March.

The round of the day belonged to Ji, who shot an 8-under 64 to climb 15 spots on the leaderboard. Hye-Jin Choi, who led following the first round, is tied for sixth after a 1-under 71 performance.

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‘I used to call the fescue haggis’: Lydia Ko trails by one at Women’s Scottish Open, where she’s hoping to finally master links golf

Ko posted a tour-leading 11th bogey-free round of the season on Thursday.

Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh called it the calmest Scottish Open she’s ever seen after her morning round.

The afternoon wave certainly couldn’t say the same after a storm dumped rain across Dundonald Links.

Rookie Hye-Jin Choi set the pace early in the day with her opening 8-under 64, holding a one-shot lead over Lydia Ko, Celine Boutier and Lilia Vu at the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open.

Georgia Hall and Narin An are two shots back. Choi, who said she doesn’t have many fond memories of links golf, made three birdies and an eagle over her last five holes.

“It’s proper links,” said Hall, the 2018 AIG Women’s British Open champion. “It’s really tough holes, as well, when you get kind of near the sea, the other side, I find it fairly easy to visualize shots.”

Ko, who posted a tour-leading 11th bogey-free round of the season, admitted that she hasn’t played links golf as well as she would’ve liked in the past, though she has enjoyed the learning experience. Last year, Ko tied for second at this event and had mixed feeling about it moving to a new venue.

“I used to call the fescue haggis,” said Ko of her early days in Scotland, “and then I remembered I had like a Scottish caddie once, and he was like, ‘What are you talking about? Like that’s something you eat.'”

This marks Vu’s first time in Scotland, and she has given herself a bit of an attitude adjustment from last week.

“I was a little bit of a party-pooper last week,” said Vu. “I was just in a bad mood. And then I had some self-reflections. I missed the cut by one, but anyone would kill to be in my position to play in France, and Evian, it’s so beautiful there.

“I was telling my mom, I was in such a bad mood, I complained about everything. And I’m just trying to be – just appreciate everything and be grateful for where I am, honestly.”

World No. 2 Minjee Lee, Andrea Lee and Leonie Harm Harm are three back after posting 67s.

“The conditions are pretty perfect,” said Lee after her morning round.

“There’s like kind of not a breath of wind. We didn’t even get any rain. We’re feeling just droplets now. It was really calm out there so I could be quite aggressive on some of the shots, like I had a lot of pitching wedge to probably like 8-iron shots.”

World No. 1 Jin Young Ko shot 70, while 2021 champion Ryann O’Toole shot 68. Ko first played in the Scottish Open in 2018 and said she enjoys playing in front of a Scottish crowd. She’s also a big fan of the food.

“I really love to visit here,” said Ko. “I love to eat sausage roll, I had already at the course, and yesterday I had two.”

Ko spent three hours on Tuesday working on her putting after coming off the course at the Amundi Evian on Sunday so frustrated that she wanted to cry.

What did she discover in that time?

“I don’t know,” she said on Wednesday. “I want to find that.”

Ko hasn’t won a major on the LPGA since 2019 and hasn’t won a tournament since March.

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Austrian golfer returns to competition at Women’s Scottish Open after four-month backpacking trip

Wolf carried a 48-pound backpack throughout her adventure and was happy to give her golf bag back to a caddie.

A three-putt on the last hole couldn’t deter Christine Wolf, who shot 2-under 70 in her first round since February at the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open on Thursday.

The 33-year-old Austrian has returned to competition after a four-month break from golf.

“I took some time off and I traveled the last four months,” said Wolf, “all through South America, something I always wanted to do, but I didn’t want to give up my golfing. So I thought I would just come be ready to come back for this one and play the rest of the season.”

Wolf carried a 48-pound backpack throughout her adventure and was happy to give her golf bag back to a caddie.

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“We flew into Buenos Aires and stayed there for a few days, before heading to Chile,” Wolf told the Ladies European Tour. “There we went all the way south to Patagonia, where we did some hiking and biking, and I actually also got to play a round of golf there.

“From there we made our way north through Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia – where I played a championship course with the highest altitude – then on to Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, and all the way to Guatemala.

“It’s really hard to say what the best part was, because it was so diverse, and every country we have visited was beautiful. But one of my favorite things was the Galápagos Islands. You felt like you were in a zoo all day long, but also the hikes around Patagonia and Machu Picchu were breathtaking.”

Wolf opened the season in February at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open, where she finished 16th. She now plans to play the next three months on the Ladies European Tour, noting that the time off has given her fresh perspective.

“If you hit a bad shot, it’s just a bad shot sort of thing,” she said. “I’m just enjoying being out here with the girls and having a good time.”

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American Ryann O’Toole wins first LPGA title at Women’s Scottish Open in 228th career start

Ryann O’Toole closes in 64 to clinch her first LPGA victory in here 228th career start at Dumbarnie Links.

Ryann O’Toole looked like she’d done this sort of thing – win – a thousand times as she made her way down the stretch at Dumbarnie Links. But this was a first for the veteran American, who captured her maiden LPGA title in her 228th career start.

O’Toole, 34, joined the LPGA in 2011 and in her 11th season on the LPGA clinched the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open with a magnificent 8-under 64 to win by three.

“I can’t even describe it,” said O’Toole. “I have obviously been working my whole life for this. I’ve been dreaming about it since I was a kid.”

O’Toole came into the final round tied for the lead at 9 under with former No. 1 and 2018 Scottish Open winner Ariya Jutanugarn and England’s Charley Hull. Atthaya Thitikul, 18, and Lydia Ko put pressure on O’Toole, who never flinched and ultimately pulled away with three birdies on the last six holes and a bogey-free scorecard.

Ko carded a course record-tying 9-under 63 to finish tied for second with Thitikul, who posted a 66 to join her at 14 under. Thitikul, a member of the Ladies European Tour who also finished runner-up on the LPGA earlier this year in Thailand, needed to win to earn her LPGA card.

“So unbelievable to me,” said Thitikul. “I’m not a big fan of links, but I can shoot under par every day.”

O’Toole, a ULCA grad with more than $2 million in career earnings, had never held a share of the lead going into the final round of an LPGA event. She felt nervous about that fact Saturday evening and tried to keep her cell phone time to a minimum.

There was no sweeter call, however, than the FaceTime with her mom after the round when she was drenched in champagne. O’Toole’s fiancé, Gina Marra, happened to be in Scotland to celebrate. The couple plans to wed in December.

There were times when O’Toole wondered if she’d ever win on the LPGA. In fact, she’d been wondering lately if 2021 might be her last season on tour. She wants to start a family with Marra, and playing the tour as a mom never had appealed to O’Toole. The idea of stepping away from the LPGA sometime in the future, perhaps at the end of this year even, helped her to let go of the pressure of trying to make something happen. There’s more to life, she decided.

“I’m Ryann in a lot of different ways rather than just Ryann the golfer,” she said.

Even so, walking away without a title would’ve eaten at her.

“I definitely feel like it would have been unfinished business and something I never would have known what the feeling is,” she said. “Now that I’ve had a taste, I feel like that’s going to be a hard one to give up.”

O’Toole hit 13 fairways and 18 greens in her final round. She clicked well with her new caddie, Michael Curry, who stepped in after her previous caddie, Reid Martin, retired last week. O’Toole said Martin informed her of the decision Sunday at the Amundi Evian Championship, saying he’d grown weary of life on the road.

O’Toole liked the looks of the brand new Dumbarnie Links from the start and got a kick out her mom saying it looked like she was playing on the moon. In her first try at links golf in 2012, O’Toole admittedly had her “butt kicked” at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. She has since learned how to maximize her creativity, hit a low tee shot and play the contours of the greens.

Last year O’Toole had to skip the Scottish Open and AIG Women’s British Open after testing positive for COVID-19. One year later, so much has changed.

“I still think I’m in shock,” said O’Toole. “The hours spent, the grind, the heartache that the sport brings, the constant travel. … For this moment, I hope that it only happens again and again.”

Ariya Jutanugarn slips to share of Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open co-lead with Ryann O’Toole, Charley Hull

Ariya Jutanugarn gave up some ground at Dumbarnie Links and Ryann O’Toole and Charley Hull were there to catch her.

Ariya Jutanugarn couldn’t quite get it to the clubhouse in the third round of the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open. The Thai star had a three-shot cushion to start the day at Dumbarnie Links in Fife, Scotland, but the double-bogey she made at the par-4 10th forced her to dip into that lead. A bogey-bogey finish at the final two holes left her at even-par 72 and suddenly part of a three-way tie for the third-round lead with Charley Hull and Ryan O’Toole.

“I had a pretty tough day today. Kind of got everything,” Jutanugarn said. “Feel pretty good, make some birdies and also have double on No. 10. But I still have so much fun today because like I have really good commitment but ball end up just not in the right place. You know, it’s just not my good days but still have so much positive to go on.”

In typical form, Jutanugarn walked away from that double-bogey on No. 10 with a big smile on her face. You rarely see the former world No. 1 not smiling on the golf course.

A couple of mistakes in a bunker led to the big number, but Jutanugarn said she remains committed and focused playing Dumbarnie Links this week. She’s already won on a links course, having claimed the AIG Women’s British Open at Woburn in 2016.

Hull had a third consecutive round of 69 to move to 9 under and a share of the lead. O’Toole, meanwhile, had 68.

This marks the first lead or co-lead of 34-year-old O’Toole’s career as she looks to become the sixth Rolex First-Time Winner of the 2021 season. Her day was marked by a late eagle on the Aon Risk Reward Challenge Hole, No. 15.

“I had just been playing 15, take the drive down just that center-left side,” she said. “Today with the wind direction, it was helping a bit more versus left-to-right, so I was able to bite off more on the corner. The back pins, that’s the risk is that if you come in on that left side, you have a short club in but it’s a hard position to hold that green up top.”

“I put myself in a good spot. I had an uphill lie with pitching wedge in and was able to hold the green nicely and make the 9-footer.”

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Ariya Jutanugarn resting easy with three-shot lead at Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open

Ariya Jutanugarn birdied five of her last seven holes to take a three-shot lead into the weekend at the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open.

Ariya Jutanugarn birdied five of her last seven holes to take a three-shot lead into the weekend at the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open. Her second-round 66 puts the 2018 Scottish Open winner at 9 under for the tournament. She has good vibes at the new Dumbarnie Links in Fife.

“I want to say my whole life, like my dream is I want to win on a links course because I won (the 2016 AIG Women’s British Open) at Woburn,” said Jutanugarn, “but it’s not links. I felt like one time in my life, I want to win on a links and I did it in 2018. Just bring back all the great memory I have here and you know, still lots of golf to go, so we never know what going to happen.”

A trio of players are at 6 under including England’s Charley Hull, Emily Pedersen and young Thai star Atthaya Thitikul. Pedersen called her putting an “absolute disgrace” the last two days.

“I have nine bogeys and six of them are because of three-putts,” she said.

Hull said she’s staying relaxed in the windy conditions by thinking about the spa/shopping weekend she plans to have in London with Georgia Hall after next week’s British Open. Hull said she’s already planning what she’ll buy.

“I have in my mindset now, golf is golf at the end of the day, it’s sport,” said Hull, “don’t get too down on yourself because sometimes this year, I got too down on myself, like I’m too obsessed with golf, breathe golf, eat golf, sleep golf, everything’s golf.”

Hull, who describes herself as having an addictive personality, said given that her current obsession is shopping, she’ll need to play well to fund it.

Thitikul plays full time on the Ladies European Tour and finished runner-up to Jutanugarn at the Honda LPGA Thailand event, while rookie hotshot Patty Tavantankit took a share of third. Trust Golf, a Thai company, is in its first year sponsoring the event.

Thitikul, currently ranked 56th in the world, rattled off four consecutive birdies from Nos. 12-15. She’s on a string of six straight top-5 finishes, including a solo fifth at the Amundi Evian Championship.

 

Jutanugarn, the first Thai player to win on the LPGA and rise to No. 1, was asked after the round about her tendency to sit down during play.

“I like to sit on all the time because I’m lazy,” she said, “tired all the time. I feel like to sit down and enjoy the view and enjoy other players playing, it’s so much fun. You have nothing to do, just like rooting for them. When you sit down and have some time, you see amazing shots, like Patty yesterday, she makes so much like really good up-and-down and I feel like so impressed.”

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Michele Thomson opens with 65 at Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open; Anne van Dam, Yuka Saso close behind

Michele Thomson bogeyed her first hole, eagled the second and birdied seven of her last 11 holes in her opening round.

Michele Thomson bogeyed her first hole, eagled the second and birdied seven of her last 11 holes to post a 65 and take the first-round lead at the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open.

“Probably had a little bit of a nervous start I would say. Obviously being at the Scottish Open, it’s my fourth one now but obviously still got the nerves off the first tee and hit a bit of a ropey drive,” said Thomson. “Stood up on the second tee and just restarted, hit a great drive down the middle and had 240 and just thought, ‘I’ve got adrenaline here, just going to go for it’ and hit it on, made eagle and from there it snowballed.

“Hit a lot of good wedges into holes and drove well off the tee. The only shot really I missed all day was probably my drive at the first.”

Yuka Saso, who won the U.S. Women’s Open in June, is in close pursuit, two shots back. She’s tied for second with Anne van Dam and Jasmine Suwannapura.

Van Dam is seeking her first win. Two years ago, she posted her career-best finish, a tie for 6th, in the then-Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open. Suwannapura has two LPGA wins on her résumé.

Trust Golf, part of the Thai-based TCT Corporation, took over as title sponsor earlier this year.

The tournament also has a new venue, the new Dumbarnie Links in Fife, Scotland.

Next week is the AIG Women’s British Open.

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