Scratch golfer at 16 is one for selectors' notebook

Gemma Dryburgh from Aberdeen is the


second Scot at the Leadbetter Academy

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

In our reports on the progress of Sally Watson, we have given the impression that she is the only Scot on the students' roll at the IMG Leadbetter Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

As Aberdonian John Dryburgh tells me, this is wrong because his daughter Gemma, who celebrated her 16th birthday on June 11, has been a full-time student there since January.

Gemma, pictured above, will be returning to the United Kingdom this summer, playing in the Scottish girls championship at Lanark and the Scottish Under-21 girls stroke-play at Nairn Dunbar and possibly the British open girls championship in Lancashire.

Here's the "inside story" on Gemma from John Dryburgh:

GEMMA DRYBURGH
Date of Birth: 11/6/93. Age 16
Birthplace :Aberdeen
Golf History:
Gemma has been playing golf from age four and had her first clubs at age five but football was her first love and she played for Elrick Primary School,Westhill near Aberdeen.
She didn’t take up the sport seriously until age 12 after I had moved to Beaconsfield in Bucks to open up a London office.

Coached by Lawrence Farmer

She joined the Beaconsfield Golf Club and obtained a handicap of 35. As well as playing in Beaconsfield junior competitions she also played in county competitions and was selected to attend Bucks county sessions at Moor Park,Middlesex with Lawrence Farmer, the GB and I Curtis Cup coach,who is also coach to Mel Reid and other pros.

Very soon thereafter, Gemma began to see Lawrence on a one-to-one basis and has continued to do so.
In that first season Gemma qualified for the Abraham Trophy for the 16 most improved players in the English counties .
In her second season Gemma continued to lower her handicap and played in her first national competitions, finishing fourth in the Abraham Trophy and Silver Medalist in the Scottish Under-14s.

She also won best net at the Ness Open and the Stableford section of the St Andrews Junior Links tournament. She was also runner-up in the girls section of the International schools competition at Foxhill, Surrey.
In her third season Gemma finished fifth Scot in the Scottish open Under-16 girls' championship and qualified for the knock-out stages of the Scottish girl' championship s at her first time of playing.

She also won the girls' section of the International schools competition held in Waterloo, Belgium and best net at the Mackie Trophy at Gullane .

Handicap down to scratch
Before heading to IMG in Florida, Gemma had reduced her handicap to 5.6 in the three seasons .
Gemma joined the Leadbetter Academy at IMG in Bradenton as a full time student in January of this year following several short-term programmes.

She has undergone a number of major swing changes, all of which have benefitted her. Those and being able to focus every day on her golf has resulted in significant improvements in her game. She is now has a US handicap of scratch.
Gemma has been playing on the Future Collegians Tour from March. She was second in her first tournament in a freezing cold and wet Tanglewood in North Carolina and fifth in her next tournament at Golden Horseshoe in Virginia.

Her best scoring was in the tournament at Red Tail, Massachusetts where Sally Watson won. Gemma was unfortunate not to finish higher having scored 73 and 77 on a course rated as 76 by the USGA.

Unfortunately for Gemma, the entire Philippines girls team,who have been so successful, were all playing as well as Sally!
Gemma finished a credible 43 in the Future Collegians Tour rankings.
Future plans
Gemma will be returning to the UK in the summer, playing in the Scottish girls' match-play championship at Lanark and the Scottish Under-21 girls stroke-play at Nairn Dunbar and hopefully the British girls championship in Lancashire.
She will be returning to the Leadbetter Academy and plans to be there until graduation in 2011, when she hopes to win a golf scholarship to a top US Division 1 College.

With kind regards

John Dryburgh
Scotts Atlantic