Gemma Dryburgh continued a trend of a first-time winners on the LPGA in 2022. The 29-year-old Scottish pro shot her second consecutive 7-under 65 to capture the Toto Japan Classic by four strokes at Seta Golf Course.
“I was in Korea last week with friends and I said to them ‘I’ll mention you in my speech’ as a joke,” said Dryburgh. “But it’s overwhelming to be honest. This has been a dream of mine for a long time. A lot of hard work has gone into this, so it means so much.”
Dryburgh, who has one additional top 10 this season, finished at 20-under 268 for the tournament, shattering her previous record, a 276 from the 2019 Pure Silk Championship. She’s the 11th Rolex First-Time Winner of the season, tying the tour record for most Rolex first-time winners in a single year, which last occurred in 1995.
“I was surprisingly calm,” said Dryburgh. “When I dreamt of this moment, I thought I’d be super, super nervous. I was nervous, I’m not going to lie. But I was incredibly calm to be honest. Kind of focused on my breathing and that really got me through.”
Japan’s Kana Nagai finished second at 16 under while Sweden’s Linn Grant bogeyed the last hole to take solo third.
Dryburgh, playing her first time in this event, began the day one stroke behind 54-hole leader Momoko Ueda. The Scot took the lead at the turn after Ueda bogeyed the ninth. A double-bogey on the 11th from Ueda pushed Dryburgh further ahead as she hit to hit a hybrid to 4 feet, setting up the first of four birdies over the next five holes.
“That’s kind of a turning point in the round I’d say. I had a really good shot there yesterday and hit the same club today, so I was confident I could do it again,” said Dryburgh. “But yeah, had an incredible shot there and it was a nice birdie on that one. It was quite a tough one.”
Dryburgh moved up from 78th on the CME points list to 41. (She has never previously before finished higher than 100th.) The top 60 qualify for the CME Group Tour Championship.
A former Tulane standout, Dryburgh becomes the fourth Scot to win on the LPGA and the first since Catriona Matthew at the 2011 Lorena Ochoa Invitational. Prior to this, she won the 2017 Oatlands Ladies Pro Am on the ALPG and three events on the Rose Ladies Series, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dryburgh is the 25th different winner this season. The record for most different winners in a year is 26, in 1991 and 2018. There are two events left in the 2022 season.
