ORLANDO, Fla. — Scotland native Gemma Dryburgh carded a 4-under 68 on Friday at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, a round in the red that was made even more special by the fact that she got to tee it up alongside her longtime friend Hally Leadbetter.
The pair both went to school at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and have been friends ever since they took an improv class together, rooting each other on as each chased their dreams in their respective fields with Dryburgh pursuing a professional career on the golf course while Leadbetter has been forging her own path in the golf media industry.
In fact, out of all the celebrities in the field this week at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club, Dryburgh specifically requested to play with her former classmate, and even though that didn’t happen in the first round, the two finally found themselves in the same group on Friday in Orlando, Fla.
“I was like look at this, Gemma. Who would've thought, you and me playing in an LPGA event? Miracles happen,” Leadbetter said. “I don't know if you had a chance to see (her) last shot on 18. Hybrid to like five feet. I was like, this is why Gemma is a winner on the LPGA Tour. She is so, so good.
“I think it's really impressive too because in high school, Gemma beat me. We were competitive, and now there is no way in hell I could keep up with her. So, it's really cool to see her steady progression from high school to being a winner on the LPGA Tour, and I'm so proud of her.”
Dryburgh has kept up with Leadbetter’s success too.
“(Hally is) absolutely thriving in the game and her space. It's been so cool to see how she's progressed through her career as well, and she is pretty much in the perfect job I would say for her,” said Dryburgh, the 2022 TOTO Japan Classic champion. “Golf has been a huge part of her life, and she has always been hilarious since I've known her, and she has continued to be hilarious on social media.”
After solid second-round scores, and with the weekend on tap at the Tournament of Champions, both players have held their own in their separate competitions thus far at Lake Nona. Making her tournament debut this week, Leadbetter is currently boasting 55 points in the celebrity division’s modified Stableford format, and after carding rounds of 70 and 68 on days one and two, Dryburgh is sitting in a tie for third at 6-under overall, two back of co-leaders Ayaka Furue and Lydia Ko.
This is Dryburgh’s second appearance in the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions, and she will be looking to improve upon her T16 finish in the 2023 edition of the event with 36 holes to play in Orlando, Fla. A second career LPGA Tour victory would of course be a dream result for the 30-year-old, who became a Rolex First-Time Winner in 2022, but a top 10 in the first event of the 2024 season with a stacked field full of stellar champions would be nice to see too and would provide a nice confidence boost for the Scot as she eyes a new season on the LPGA Tour.
“Game feels really solid. Definitely hit it better today, so it was nice to see that," said Dryburgh. "Been working on a couple of things over the off-season. I am just cementing them in tournament golf. Ever since winning on Tour, it just gives you so much confidence you can do it any week out here. It's nice to start this week. It's a limited field so it's among the other winners, so you never know what's going to happen this week or any week.”
But one thing is for sure. Dryburgh will be hard-pressed to have more fun than she did on Friday at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions as she teed it up with Leadbetter, sharing laughs and reminiscing on days gone by while competing together on the biggest stage in women’s golf.
Unless she’s hoisting the trophy on Sunday. That might give Leadbetter a run for her money.
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