Dundonald, Tuesday 30th May, 2017 – World No. 1, Lydia Ko, looking ahead to ground-breaking Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open at Dundonald Links from the 27th - 30th July.
Speaking ahead of her second appearance at the Championship this summer, which will be played at the same venue as the Men’s Scottish open for the first time for an increased prize fund of US$1.5m Ko, said, ‘I’m really excited to be coming back to the Scotland, ‘The Home of Golf’ to compete against the best players from both the LPGA and LET and play at Dundonald Links. The course is extremely different to what we play week-in-week-out in the US and it’ll be interesting to see how the men play the course a few weeks before us. I’ll be keeping my eye on the coverage to see if I can learn anything from them.’
Looking back to her past links’ experience 20-year-old Ko, said, ‘I love that you have to be creative at a links course and there’s so many factors that can affect your game. The last time that I played this event I went on to record my best finish in the Ricoh Women’s British Open so I’m hoping that it will help prepare me for this year’s Championship.’
Ko spoke to media as part of a joint-promotion of the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open and the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, which will both be played at Dundonald over the coming weeks.
Joining her in support of the championship was Scottish Ladies European Tour player, Gemma Dryburgh, who is looking to qualify for her second appearance in the event, and former Open Champion Paul Lawrie, with both professionals hosting a clinic at for Scottish sports stars Steven Naismith and Eve Muirhead.
Talking about the co-sanctioning agreement between the LET and LPGA, Dryburgh said, ‘It’s amazing to have the chance to play such a big tournament in my home country and It’s exciting to have the opportunity to play against some of the best players in the world. I played my first Scottish Open here last year and had three steady rounds but I hope I can put on a good show for the locals and I’m up for the challenge.’
Dryburgh will be joined by confirmed global stars including world no. 2 Ariya Jutanugarn, Major champions Michelle Wie, Suzann Pettersen and Catriona Matthew, 2016 Ladies European Tour No. 1, Beth Allen, English sensation, Charley Hull, and of course 2016 champion, Isabelle Boineau, who looks to defend her title.
Taking place the week before the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Kingsbarns in 2017, the Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open will kick off a superb two weeks of women’s links golf in Scotland. The back-to-back stretch of events echoes the successful strategy employed by the Men’s Scottish Open taking place the week before The Open – an approach proven to be a competitive advantage for those players competing in both Championships. The Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open is also a key element of Scotland’s commitments to the staging of The 2019 Solheim Cup at Gleneagles.
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