Springboard to a Major

The winner of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open at Gullane will earn an exemption into the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes next week.

Not only that, the top three Ladies European Tour members, not otherwise exempt, will gain entry into the championship. In the event of a tie for third place, the third spot will be determined by the player’s position on the order of merit.

Michelle Wie, who has five wins and 59 overall top-10 finishes in her LPGA career, finished 19th at last year’s Ladies Scottish Open and followed that with a T3 performance at the 2017 Ricoh Women’s British Open tying her best finish in the event.

“I love playing links golf,” the 28-year-old said. “I really enjoyed myself last year, and I felt like it was a great British Open prep. So I made sure that I put it in my schedule again this year, and I’m very excited for this week.”

Eight of the ten players who finished in the top 10 in the 2017 Ricoh Women’s British Open at Kingsbarns had used the Scottish Open at Dundonald to prepare for the season’s fourth major championship:

Gullane offers the players a new challenge and Wie continued: “I’ve seen it twice now, and it’s gorgeous. It’s definitely a little bit different with all the elevation changes. Wasn’t quite expecting that. It looked flatter on TV. But it’s a beautiful golf course. It’s challenging. And I think it’s great.

“I mean it’s kind of what you expect when you come over here and play links golf courses, you know, little hills everywhere. It’s firm. Really depends on what bounce it takes, and I think that makes it exciting. You know, we played — I mean over in the States this year it’s been raining every week. We’ve been playing some really soft golf courses, so this is a nice change of pace.

“What I remember from last year the weather was just horrendous. It’s a little bit nicer here. I was actually expecting it to be cold, but the weather is fantastic. I hope I don’t jinx it by saying that, but it’s beautiful. It’s so beautiful here when the weather is great and you can actually enjoy the views.

“You know, coming down the stretch is always really important, I think 16, I remember watching it on TV and all the guys being aggressive and going for it. It’s all really going to be weather dependent. Seemed like they had good weather. But I think the par-5s here, there’s only three of them. So I think try and make birdie when you can. It’s a good mixture of holes, short and long. The first hole is a good tough opening hole. So if I could just come out steady, I think that would be great.”

Michelle Wie will begin her challenge tomorrow at 12.10pm when she plays alongside the world number two Sung Hyun Park and local star Catriona Matthew from North Berwick.