Gemma Dryburgh is crafting quite the tale to share with her son, Léo, as he grows up. Kicking off her return to the LPGA Tour with an eagle on her first hole, she carded a stunning 6-under 66 in the opening round of the Honda LPGA Thailand.
Just seven weeks ago, Dryburgh's partner, Anne-Lise Bidou, welcomed their son, Léo, into the world. Bidou, a physiotherapist who usually travels with the LPGA, stayed home this time.
"It was hard to leave," Dryburgh admitted. The Scot, now based in New Orleans, faces a three-week stretch away from her family but looks forward to reuniting with them soon.
Dryburgh's round began with a spectacular pitch-in from 79 yards on the par-5 10th at Siam Country Club's Old Course, followed by three consecutive birdies. In just four holes, she was already 5 under. Her putting was sharp, needing only 26 putts throughout the day.
"Yeah, changed putters at the end of last year, so just kind of getting more used to it," Dryburgh explained. "Been working a lot on it.
Saw my putting coach, Nick, over the winter and kind of worked a lot on it. Yeah, see the results today."
Back in 2022, Dryburgh made history as the fourth Scot to win on the LPGA, securing victory at the Toto Japan Classic. She was the first Scottish player to win since Catriona Matthew in 2011.
Currently, Dryburgh is tied for third alongside South Korea's Somi Lee and Hye-Jin Choi, just one stroke behind leaders Nasa Hataoka and Thailand's Chanettee Wannasaen.
Meanwhile, World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul sits two strokes back at 5 under, sharing the spot with Thai sensation Ariya Jutanugran. Thitikul is set to celebrate her 23rd birthday on Friday.
Reflecting on her journey, Thitikul shared, "I couldn't believe like time flies so fast. I mean, yesterday I just sitting on the couch in the hotel room and imagine I couldn't believe how far that I have been come from 14 to now.
Tomorrow going to be 23 now. I'm just grateful for everything that I really put the work in, and it just pays off."