Gemma can’t wait to buy a place of her own so she can show off THAT toilet
As she reflects on a breakthrough year, Gemma Dryburgh is almost sorry that her 2022 season has come to an end.
Her aims, which she wrote down back in January, were to finish in the top-60 on the LPGA Tour rankings, and win a tournament.
It was “Mission accomplished”in both.
Victory at the TOTO Japan Classic at the start of this month made her just the fourth Scottish winner on the LPGA Tour after Kathryn Imrie, Janice Moodie and Catriona Matthew.
Her success guaranteed her a spot in the season-ending CME Tour Championship in Florida. After a seventh place there last Sunday, she finished 34th on the final money list.
Having battled her way back on to the LPGA Tour 12 months ago, it represents remarkable progress.
“I look back to January when I wrote down those goals, and can reflect that I achieved both,” she told The Sunday Post.
“Now I will need to reset and come up with some new goals.
“But it’s great to look back and think of the grind in the offseason in awful weather, and how that has paid off.
“I’ve been working towards this ever since I decided to take up golf full-time.
“Now I am in all the Majors for next year, and I can pick and choose my events a bit more. I have never had that privilege before.
“When I first heard that, the one that springs to mind is the US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach. That’s like The Open at St Andrews. It’s iconic.
“And it’s a big bonus not to have to go through the 36-hole qualifier as that is so tough.”
Dryburgh’s best result before arriving in Japan had been a quarter-final spot in the LPGA Match Play event in May.
But having seen so many first-time winners on Tour this year – like Ireland’s Leona Maguire and England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff – the 29-year-old seized her chance in a grand manner.
And rather than be racked with nerves, Gemma was amazed at how calm she felt when in the heat of battle, eventually finishing four strokes clear of the field after a bogey-free 65.
“When I dreamed of winning, I imagined that my hands would be shaking, I would have butterflies and feel really nervous,” she reflected.
“But I actually felt ready, and it was fantastic.
“I was in ‘the zone’ from Day Two onwards. I was so confident in my swing and the hole was like a bucket. I felt like I could hole everything.
“It felt like everything was easy and I made birdies on 11, 13, 14, 15 and 18 on the back nine.
“Looking back, what I am most proud of is staying patient with it all.
“I had been getting a bit frustrated in the middle of the season when the results were not coming.
“But there have been a lot of first-time winners this season on Tour, who I felt were at similar stages to me.
“I was chatting to Paula Reto – winner of the Canadian Open in August – and asked her how she had felt about winning.
“That was in Korea, and I then had a conversation with my caddie, saying that I was ready to win. And in the next event, I did it.”
Gemma is now at a career-high
75th in the World Rankings, and can look to kick on even more in 2023 and challenge for a spot in Europe’s Solheim Cup team.
That will be one of her goals for the new year, along with buying a house so she can claim her unusual prize from her Japanese success – a toilet.
Sponsors TOTO produce a toilet seat, which comes with heating, remote control and retails for around £8,000.
Gemma said: “The toilet is allsinging and all-dancing. I just need to buy a house first so I can get it installed!
“I think all my friends will be queuing up to use it when I do get it.
“It was on the 18th hole all week, and I kept thinking: ‘That would be a fun thing to win’ – not imagining it would be me.
“It must have been spurring me on subconsciously!”