Graduating golf star Lorna McClymont’s mission to go pro

Golf star Lorna McClymont is set to embark on her biggest challenge yet – a mission to Morocco where she will battle the best amateurs in the world for a place on next year’s professional tour.

The University of Stirling sports scholar – who graduates this week – will jet off to Marrakesh in just a few days’ time as she vies for an exclusive place on the 2025 Ladies European Tour (LET).

The 24-year-old, from Dumbarton, is among more than 250 entrants to the Lalla Aicha Qualifying School (Q-School), which will see the top 20 golfers rewarded with a professional tour card.

Securing a place on the LET would be the icing on the cake for Lorna, whose profile has skyrocketed during her time at Stirling, under the expert tutelage of the University’s Head of Golf Dean Robertson.

Regarded as one of the best British amateur players in the game, Lorna has Scottish, Irish and Welsh amateur titles to her name, and earlier this year played a key part in helping Great Britain and Ireland (GB&I) lift the prestigious Curtis Cup. She also turned heads with a brilliant performance at the 121^st Women’s Amateur Championship – where she marginally lost to American Melanie Green in the final of the historic competition, regarded as the pinnacle of the women’s amateur game.

Lorna McClymont has spent four years on the high-performance golf programme at the University of Stirling.

Lorna, who graduates with a BA Sports Studies degree, believes the four years she has spent on the high-performance golf programme at Stirling – Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence – has given her the perfect grounding to take the next step in her career.

Looking ahead to the challenge at Q-School, she said: “I feel ready now – now that I’ve finished my degree, and I have those experiences of the past four years under my belt. At Stirling, I’ve learned to be in competition environments, to lead tournaments and, most importantly, I’ve learned to win.

“I am going to Q-School and preparing as best I can, trusting the practice I’ve put in. If I could qualify, it would just top everything. It is something that everyone wants and would make life easier because it lets you just focus on golf for the next year.”

Lorna, from Dumbarton, started golfing at a young age with coach Colin Fisher at the then World of Golf in Clydebank. Lorna, who plays out of Milngavie Golf Club, near Glasgow, continues to be coached by Colin, and by Dean, today.

On leaving Dumbarton Academy, Lorna spent two years on a golf programme at Scotland’s Rural College, completing an HNC and HND. It was then she faced a difficult decision – whether to pursue her golfing career here in the UK, or to consider moving to the United States like many of her peers.

“Like lots of girls in my position, I was going to go to America on a scholarship,” Lorna explained. “There were girls in the Scottish team who were, or had been, part of the Stirling programme – including Hazel MacGarvie, Chloé Goadby, Tara Mactaggart, Hannah McCook and Louise Duncan. They were girls I looked up to, so we thought it would be worth having a chat with Dean.

“I remember in our first meeting, Dean said that if I put in the work, he’d put in double – and that’s always been the case, it’s never changed.”

Proud

Lorna admits that the allure of the American system, along with external pressures to follow other talented British golfers to the United States, was intense. Lorna’s decision to remain in Scotland, rather than train abroad, came into focus during this year’s Curtis Cup, when it was highlighted she was the only golfer, including from the GB&I team, to be based outside of the USA.

“When I was travelling there, I felt quite nervous and a bit out of place, because I wasn’t based in America like the others. But as the week went on, and then when I won a point on the last day, it all became real, and it was clear I did belong there.

“It makes me proud to say that you can still do it – win big competitions – without moving to America. To show that you can get to the highest level in amateur golf from a base here in Scotland has hopefully opened doors for young girls coming through.

“I’d say my biggest success at Stirling isn’t the tournaments I’ve won but more about the way I have impacted the future for young girls entering golf. People say I’ve had a big influence on them, and that means a lot – particularly from those who are there and involved. If this is changing perspectives on having to leave the UK to pursue a career in golf, then I feel I’ve done my part.”

Lorna is hugely complimentary about the role coach Dean Robertson has played in her success – as well as the wider package of support available at the University, including sports psychology, strength and conditioning training and academic flexibility. She said: “Dean has helped me believe in me – he is always pushing his golfers to learn, leading them to make good decisions and work things out for themselves. Without Dean’s help and support, I don’t think I would have been as successful.

“To have the opportunities I’ve had at Stirling has been really good for me – including the British and Scottish student competitions, which played a major part in my progression. I was quite fortunate to win a few of them and that built my confidence. It helped me to learn about being in uncomfortable situations – when you’re in play-offs, or when you’re leading, and everyone’s watching as you walk down to that last hole. These are the experiences you need to learn as a golfer.”

She added: “The University could not have been better, in terms of providing support and flexibility around training and tournaments. Without that, and the amazing support I’ve received from family and friends, I probably wouldn’t have made it through.”

University of Stirling Head of Performance Sport David Bond (left), pictured alongside Lorna McClymont and Head of Golf Dean Robertson.

Dean Robertson, Head of Golf at the University of Stirling, said: “I send Lorna my warmest congratulations on her graduation – to say that everyone at the University is incredibly proud of her achievements, in both golf and academia, is an understatement.

“Over the past four years, Lorna has given everything in training and competition. Whether she is training at our campus facility, playing in a student competition, or battling it out in the final rounds of the Curtis Cup, she shows up every day with a brilliant attitude – a passion and willingness to learn and improve in all aspects of her sport.

“It is no surprise that level of consistency and determination produces results. We have watched Lorna compete and triumph at the highest levels of the amateur game and there is no doubt that she is now ready to take the next step and secure her professional tour card. I know that everyone at Stirling is rooting for Lorna as she heads to Morocco, and we all wish her well.”

David Bond, Head of Performance Sport at the University of Stirling, said: “Lorna McClymont is an inspiration to young amateur golfers across Scotland, the UK and worldwide. What she has managed to achieve during her time on our high-performance golf programme is phenomenal – winning the Curtis Cup, taking major amateur titles in Scotland, Ireland and Wales, and finishing runner-up in the historic Women’s Amateur Championship. It’s a record that most golfers would be proud of at the tail end of their career – but we know that for Lorna, this is just the beginning.

“Everyone at Stirling wishes Lorna all the very best on her graduation, and as she travels to Morocco for Q-School in a few days’ time.”

Moroccan mission

Lorna will continue to train at the University’s facilities following her graduation and Dean will caddy for her in Marrakesh next month. To gain her professional card, Lorna will have to negotiate pre-qualifying – which involves 257 golfers battling it out across three rounds (72 holes) – with the top scorers progressing to final qualifiers, which are played out across five rounds (90 holes).

Lorna will play her pre-qualifying rounds at Samanah Golf by Nicklaus between 10 and 12 December, with final qualifiers played at Al Maaden Golf Course and Royal Golf Club between 16 and 20 December. On completion, the top 20 will be eligible for full LET cards. Those outside the top spots will receive partial cards – permitting them to compete in some LET competitions next year.

For more information on high-performance sport at the University of Stirling, visit the website.