ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Dame Laura Davies held court Wednesday at the Ricoh Women’s British Open, where the 30-year veteran of the LPGA Tour, talked about everything from her chances this week to Tom Watson.

But what got everyone else talking this week was Davies’ qualification for this week’s championship, the first time in 36-years Davies had to qualify. Monday, she teed it up at the Castle Course at St. Andrews where she was one of 111 players competing for 22 spots in the field. She posted a two-under par, 70 in the morning and then waited to see if it would be enough.

To find out, Davies had to play more. She returned to the course to compete in a 14-person playoff for the remaining 11 spots in the field.

“About 3:30 p.m. I started thinking about going back up there, my caddie was asleep, so woke her up,” Davies said. “We got there about 6:00 p.m. and teed off at 8:00 p.m., but only took one hole, so that was nice.”

By the time she qualified for her 37^th consecutive championship there were no tee times left for practice rounds at Kingsbarns Golf Links, so when she tees it up on Thursday it will be the first time she's played the course. But she’s taking the challenge in stride. Tuesday afternoon she walked the course to get a feel for the tee shots and watched a few players hit some putts. That’s all the preparation the Dame needed.

“I had a good look at every tee shot, which is all you can really worry about on a golf course because you don’t know [where] you’re going to be after that,” said Davies. “It’s a pretty straightforward course, which is nice.”

The 53-year-old is keeping her expectations realistic this week and even referred to the idea of winning on Sunday as “ridiculous.” She went on to compared her chances to those of Tom Watson, who at the age of 59, nearly won at Turnberry in 2009.

“I’m not quite 59. I’m 53. I think you could say it would be the same sort of thing. It would be as big a shock when Tom was in there,” Davies joked with the media. “I’m no Tom Watson, that’s for sure. So, I don’t think there will be any excitement like that.”

She’s missed the cut in three of her last four starts in this event and in that fourth start she tied for ninth. But it’s been awhile since Davies has been in contention and was nervous just competing in the qualifier.

“Even if I got into contention, I don’t know if I’d be able to handle it,” Davies said. “I’m just pleased to be here and making the cut’s the first priority and having a good weekend is all you can think about.”

A good weekend from Davies would get everybody talking.

Davies Compares Herself to Tom Watson, Makes 37th Start in Ricoh Women's British Open

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