Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open 2018
The Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open 2018 took place at Gullane Golf Club; just a fortnight after the gents of the European Tour and The PGA Tour participated in their own event over the same course.
The Ladies Scottish Open attracted the world’s best from The LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour. This included a number of Major winners to compete for one of the largest purses on the European circuit. It was also a chance to hone their links golf skills prior to The Ladies Open Championship; which is being held at Royal Lytham St Anne’s this week.
The Pro-Am Gullane
We were fortunate enough to be invited along by our friends at Visit Scotland to take part in the Pro-Am on the Wednesday before the tournament to play alongside the top Pro’s and experience the best of Ladies Professional Golf….and it didn’t disappoint.
Having grown up watching elite level golf on the men’s circuit and being blown away by their ability, power and talent I didn’t quite know how that would compare on the ladies’ circuit. I arrived early to the practice area to warm up. I found myself hitting balls next to some of the most well know female golfers on the planet; Michelle Wie, Paula Creamer and Laura Davies to name but a few. The thing that struck me is the deceptive power the girls have. Also just how effective and consistent their swings are and that’s before you are given a masterclass around the chipping and putting greens.
Georgia Hall
We were paired with a young English Pro Georgia Hall, who is rocketing her way up the world rankings. Having secured her LPGA Tour card in 2017 she finished tied for 3rd at The Ladies Open Championship at Kingsbarns. After a string of strong tournament finishes she found herself in the European Solheim Cup team. Georgia was a fantastic person to play with! We had great fun on the course and she gave great insight into her tour life.
After playing 18 holes with Georgia you could she had immense confidence in her own ability and quite rightly so. She has technically one of the best golf swings I’ve seen. In addition to that she packs immense power yet has a short game to die for. In my opinion Georgia has one of those swings that will keep her on tour at the highest level for many years to come; making Solheim Cup appearances and collecting Major wins along the way.
We played solid enough throughout our round posting -23 under par on the Tour team competition format. However we were blown out the water by a team headed up by a legend in the ladies’ game, Paula Creamer.
Ariya Jutanugarn…Ladies Scottish Open Champion 2018!
Playing a similar layout as the gents a couple of weeks earlier, the ladies experienced a very parched fast and firm Gullane Golf Club. The leaders found themselves at -13 after 36 holes. The wind and weather then made an appearance on round 3. Which in turn caused scores to increase and peg back the leaders to -8 in this star-studded field. Ariya found herself tied for the lead going into the final round with Korea’s Amy Yang. Just one shot clear of the chasing pack. After carding a sensational final round of -5 under 66, Ariya kept the chasing pack at bay during a wet and windy day on the links and claiming her crown as Queen of the Gullane Links.
Visit Scotland 2019
The Ladies Scottish Open follows suit of the men in 2019 and travels a few miles down the road to the spectacular Renaissance Club and is sure to be another fantastic event in Scotland.
If you would like to attend any of these top events next year please contact us for details
