Last year’s Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open quite literally changed Ryann O’Toole’s life. The now 35-year-old was pondering retirement before her winning week at Dumbarnie Links, questioning just how long it would be until all her hard work finally paid off and if she was willing to wait that long. But the three-shot victory turned things around for O’Toole as she returns to Scotland this week looking to defend her title in a country that she loves dearly.
“I was able to just play my game and I didn't feel like I did anything special. I didn't feel like it was some miracle. I showed up, I stayed out of my own way and I ended up walking home with a trophy,” she said. “The cat was out of the bag as far as the possibility of me retiring. Being 34 at the time, realizing, okay, what's going to be the next chapter in my life. I've been busting my butt trying to get to this win and trying to win multiple times, and it wasn't coming. To finally have that happen, it felt so good.”
O’Toole rode that momentum through the rest of 2021, carding five top-20 finishes, and it’s continued well into the 2022 season as Ryann has notched two top-10s and two additional top-15s in 14 events this year. Although she missed the cut at last week’s Amundi Evian Championship, O’Toole has been trending in the right direction and she’s hoping to continue that good form in her title defense.
“I've been analyzing that, wondering, was it this elephant off my back, this feeling of pressure being released or whatnot,” she said. “Yes, obviously winning. But winning came with other elements as far as, okay, now I won and I thought now once I broke that seal, I thought I would win again and again and it would be easier, and that's not the case. I'm still trying to figure out how to get back there or how to keep myself from getting in my own way to be back there.”
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