Westhill's Gemma Dryburgh part of Team Europe 'legends' after Solheim Cup glory
- Ciaran Shanks
- Jul 18
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 29
By Ciaran Shanks Reporter
The north-east golfer was part of the European team that staged a stunning comeback on the Costa del Sol, drawing 14-14 with their American rivals to retain the famous trophy
There were wild celebrations in Spain as Westhill golf star Gemma Dryburgh helped Team Europe retain the Solheim Cup.
Watched on by the King of Spain, the Europeans staged an incredible comeback at Finca Cortesin to secure a dramatic 14-14 draw with the United States.
Home favourite Carlota Ciganda sealed her fourth win from four matches in the penultimate singles clash with Nelly Korda which ensured the trophy would remain on European soil. In the event of a draw, the previous winners retain the trophy.
Dryburgh was the first Scot to play in the tournament since future double-winning captain Catriona Matthew and was a surprise omission from the Saturday sessions.
The 30-year-old secured a lifelong dream of competing at the tournament and went one better by being part of a winning team. Dryburgh, one of three European rookies, halved her day one fourball.
The Scot was looking to show off her skills in the single with Cheyenne Knight but unfortunately surrendered her lead to the American as the pendulum swung narrowly in favour of the United States.
However, Sweden's Caroline Hedwall, a controversial captain’s pick who had sat out the first three sessions, turned her match against Ally Ewing around with five birdies in the last six holes before Ciganda birdied the 16th and 17th to make sure of at least a tie.
A delighted Suzann Pettersen, the European captain who holed the winning putt at Gleneagles in 2019, said after Europe secured a Solheim Cup hat-trick: “Does it get any better than this?
"I mean, this is a dream come true. We had a massive challenge ahead of us today. We’ve created history yet again in the Solheim Cup, and these girls are legends.”
“We got off to a rocky start, but I wonder if it was almost a nice wake-up call for all of us. We’ve all been on a pretty much high road for a few years now, and maybe that was a good… I believe in fate, so maybe that was meant to happen."
“I just said (to the players), you get knocked down, you stand back up. You know what, life can be tough, but it’s how you stand back up, and that shows character. I think it really shows the character of this team sitting here.
“I can sit here and talk about each and every one of them, but today, I also would like to give some extra credit to Caroline Hedwall that turned around the match. I feel like she had the crucial point. She teed it nicely up for Carlota to just bring it home on 16 and 17.”
Pettersen and United States captain Stacy Lewis will lead their sides again in 12 months’ time as the Solheim Cup switches to even years to separate itself from the Ryder Cup, and Lewis is relishing the chance to regain the trophy.
Dryburgh now joins Pam Wright in being only the second north-east golfer to have competed in and won the Solheim Cup
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