Professionally and personally, it’s going to be a busy couple of weeks for Anna Nordqvist.
With the kind of breathless whirl that would make a dervish look static, Nordqvist will compete in the Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open here at Dundonald Links this week, defend her AIG Women’s Open at Muirfield next week and finally get round to a proper wedding celebration the week after. “I’ve had my dress for almost three years so I hope it still fits,” said the smiling Swede of an occasion that was scuppered by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
Nordqvist did actually tie the knot last year with her Scottish husband Kevin McAlpine - the son of the celebrated former Dundee United goalie, Hamish – but it was a scaled down affair in Arizona with only six folk looking on. The all-singing, all-dancing shindig on Scottish soil in a fortnight or so should be a more lively do. “My mind is a little bit everywhere at the moment as we’ve been planning this thing since we got engaged back in December 2018,” added the 35-year-old.
Nothing focuses the golfing mind, though, like a links test. This week’s contest at Dundonald Links is a sizeable showpiece in its own right, with a $2 million prize purse and a star-studded field. But there’s no escaping the Muirfield major that’s looming on the horizon, especially for the woman who is defending the title next week.
“I still feel like pinching myself when I think that I pulled through last year to win The Open,” she said of that conquest at Carnoustie. “It was a childhood dream for me and it still feels pretty surreal to have won it.”
Putting on a good show here at Dundonald would be the ideal preparation. Nordqvist didn’t play in the Women’s Scottish Open the last time it was at the Ayrshire links back in 2017 but the three-time major champion has always savoured this kind of golfing examination.
“Having a Scottish husband and Scottish caddie helps with it,” she added of the battleplan for the week ahead. “We’re just trying to figure out the lines off the tees, and depending on the wind, what might change, where you can miss it and where you're going to put yourself. If you miss it on the wrong side of these sloping greens, you're going to have some really tough shots.”
And if the Swede does find some of those tricky positions or pesky bunkers, don’t be surprised if the cursing, muttering reaction is of a typically Scottish variety. “With my husband and my caddie, I now know all the bad words in the Scottish language,” she chuckled.
On the home front, meanwhile, Gemma Dryburgh has returned to her native land as the leading Scot on the global order. The US-based 29-year-old is enjoying a solid season on the LPGA Tour but is keen to make a name for herself among her ain folk. That’s easier said than done, of course. “You tend to put more pressure on yourself when you come home because you’re so desperate to do well,” admitted the former Curtis Cup player. “You just need to get that out of your mind and play like you do at every other event.”
Dryburgh has missed just two cuts on the hugely competitive LPGA circuit this season. In an unforgiving profession that’s as cut-throat as a booking at Sweeney Todd’s salon, the Scot continues to grow in stature. “This is probably the most confidence I've had coming into the Scottish before,” said Dryburgh, who is joined in the line-up by fellow Scots, Kylie Henry, Michele Thomson, Hannah McCook and Louise Duncan, who makes her pro debut. “I’m feeling good with my swing and my putting as well and hopefully that stands me in good stead.”
The tee-sheet includes seven of the world’s top-10 with Jin Young Ko, the current global No 1, headlining the field. The Korean is delighted to be back on Scottish soil and not just for the links golf. “I love the sausage rolls with brown sauce,” she drooled. There’s always food for thought in this game.
