Nigeria’s teenage golf sensation, Georgia Oboh, has been invited to compete at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open taking place next month, Aug 13 – 16 at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick.
This comes as professional women’s golf returns to Scotland for the first time since Europe’s remarkable triumph in the 2019 Solheim Cup last September.Oboh, the first Nigerian golfer to win her card on the Ladies European Tour (LET), was selected for a coveted tournament invite by the title sponsor, both for the accolades she has received in her short professional career and to provide inspiration and opportunities for the next generation of talented women to participate in events of this importance.
The invitation excites the 19-year-old Nigerian golfer. In her reaction, the teenage golf sensation said, “I’m really grateful to receive this invitation into such an important event on the LET and LPGA Tours. “I have been working very hard to be ready to play amongst so many of the world’s best players and I think it will give me invaluable experience as I work towards achieving my dream of being the first Nigerian to win on the professional golf circuit.
”The other beneficiary of the final two invitations is Scotland’s Gemma Dryburgh. Dryburgh is Scotland’s highest-ranked player at No.227 on the Rolex Rankings and, with two back to back wins on the recent Rose Ladies Series, she has undoubtedly proven herself to be Britain’s most in-form player. Clearly thrilled to be given the opportunity to compete at home, Dryburgh appreciated the sponsors for the opportunity to feature.
She said, “I would have hated not being able to play in what is one of my favourite events of the year, especially when I have been playing so well lately. “I know that Aberdeen Standard Investments, Visit Scotland and IMG have had to work really hard to put all the health and safety protocols in place to ensure the tournament can go ahead and we are all very grateful and excited to get back to The Renaissance Club.
”The organisers are thrilled to welcome Gemma and Georgia into the Ladies Scottish Open field and Jill Maxwell, Head of Brand Activation explained the reason for the selection in a statement. Maxwell said, “Gemma has been in hot form of late and inviting Georgia as one of the highest-ranked African golfers means that our sponsorship of the Ladies Scottish Open is an opportunity for the development of talented players and that golf, as a sport, is increasingly accessible to everyone.
“Both Gemma and Georgia are great female role models, paving the way for other girls from all backgrounds to achieve their dreams too. ”The field for the 2020 event is even stronger than last year with three of the world’s top 10 ranked players on the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings in the field – Japan’s Nasa Hataoka (No.4), America’s Danielle Kang (No.5), and Australia’s Minjee Lee (No.8).
There are 22 players ranked within the World’s Top 50, seven of the top 10 players currently leading the LPGA Race to CME and all of the top 20 on the final 2019 LET Order of Merit. The other two tournament invitations were awarded last week to Japan’s Hinako Shibuno, the AIG Women’s Open’s defending Champion and Scotland’s Catriona Matthew, a two-time winner of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open in 2011 and 2013, and a Women’s British Open winner in 2009.
The decision to move forward with the 2020 Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open was taken only once organisers and stakeholders could ensure delivery of an event with all relevant safeguarding and protocols in place. The tournament has a robust operational plan, which has been established with medical and health and safety specialists to make sure that all appropriate measures were in place and met the high standards required by the Scottish Government, as well as adhering to all World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines.
