A stellar year on course for uni ace
Golfer aims for more success in 2023
From smashing course records to besting the Americans for the second time – it’s been a big 2022 for Stirling University golfer Lorna Mcclymont.
The 22-year-old, who is one of 12 players enrolled on the highperformance scholarship at the university, has enjoyed a stellar year which included topping the R&A Student Tour Order of Merit and claiming top titles including the Irish Women’s Open.
In total, Lorna – originally from Dumbarton – took home five titles in 2022 and a second place at the Scottish Women’s Amateur Championships at Trump International back in June.
The successes have allowed her to sample some of the top events in European amateur golf – including competing at the prestigious Women’s Amateur Championship against the cream of the crop and also take part in her second Arnold Palmer Cup for the internationals against the might of the US.
The team event, which mimics the format of competitions such as the Ryder and Solheim Cups, sees men and women competing in fourball and foursome matches over the first two days, before finishing up with Sunday singles.
The 2022 competition took place at the Golf Club de
Geneve, with Lorna claiming one-and-a-half points as the internationals took home victory.
It was the second time Lorna had competed in the Palmer Cup after making her debut in Arkansas in 2019.
She said: “It’s kind of hard to start, I feel like this year has been one of the best years in terms of experiences and performancewise as well.
“The Irish, for example, was huge and it was nice to actually win a big one like that – especially birdieing the last three holes.
“The R&A events earlier on in the year and end of last season, those wins were pretty good and having that consistency through them all and the final was pretty excellent as well. It was nice to win the Order of Merit and get on to the [Arnold] Palmer Cup team.
“That was a really good experience – I did in 2019 as well and it was really good then, it was America on that occasion and it was in Switzerland this time.
“I guess it’s just the atmosphere that makes it special, the team that you’re with, it’s something that I might not get in my team at Stirling, for example, because everyone is coming from different parts of the world, no one really knows each other beforehand – winning it again was pretty nice as well!”
Lorna’s season has taken her to some of the top courses in the game – including Royal Troon and Le Golf National in Paris – and she made waves back in September after carding an incredible 13-under round of 60 at Montrose on the way to claiming the R&A Student Tour Series title there.
“Without me knowing it, I’m gaining all of that experience of those events, not realising this is helping me a lot when I’m in them”, Lorna added.
“It puts you under the pressure of wanting to do well and teaches you how to deal with certain kinds of pressure.
“You have to take a minute when you step on to some of these places and think there’s so many worse things you could be doing! I’m literally on some of the world’s best golf courses and getting to play a good few rounds on them, so it’s just really fun.
“When you do your practice rounds, you create a plan for what you want to do and when you’re doing that, the course is just the course and you try to stick to it and play one shot at a time.”
Going forward into 2023 and beyond, Lorna is hoping to repeat her good season and secure a spot on the Curtis Cup squad for 2024.
In doing that, she’s aiming to take inspiration from Scottish talents including fellow Stirling scholar Louise Duncan, who is set to embark on her first full season on the Ladies European Tour this year.
Lorna said: “It’s good to see and being so close to the likes of Louise, you can see what she’s doing and practice with her and learn from her, which is just really good.
“A player I try to model myself on would be Gemma Dryburgh. I played with her in the pro-am at the Scottish Open and I was really impressed with her game, just the way she handled herself and if it isn’t going her way, then you can’t really tell and I think in golf, that’s something that you need.”