"I don't think all of them will," former player and current TV commentator Mary Bryan said when asked if the players will appreciate the meaning of this tournament. "The R&A museum will be dedicated to women's golf that week," Bryan says. "I hope a lot of the younger players go over there. They need to appreciate the history of the game and the history of women's golf."
Bryan first played St. Andrews in 1978 and shared her round with a member of the R&A. "Every hole was like a history lesson," she says. "It would be like, 'This is where Bobby Jones did this' or 'This is where Lee Trevino did that.' I happen to think it's a huge coup for the LPGA to be playing there. It's a statement that the LPGA has truly arrived."
The European players have a special appreciation for St. Andrews. "If I win I might just take my shoes off on the 18th green and retire right there," says Sophie Gustafson, the long-hitting Swede who has finished second in the last two Women's British Opens. The laugh with which she punctuated the sentence made you think she just might not be kidding.
"Everyone over there is very excited about it," says Matthew, who grew up in North Berwick, an easy drive from the Old Course. "There is a real buzz about. When you drive in [to St. Andrews] there is a flowerbed that says 'Women's British Open.' To win the British at St. Andrews would be the pinnacle of your career."
And, for a year at least, it would make her the Queen of Scots.
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