There will be something of a generation game going on as far as the Scots are concerned in this week's US Women's Open at Pinehurst.
Catriona Matthew, the nation's standard bearer on the global stage, has seen it, done it and probably has a wardrobe full of t-shirts. This will be the 44-year-old's 18th appearance in the American showpiece.
For her young compatriot Kelsey MacDonald, the trip to North Carolina will mark the start of her Major adventure.
The Nairn rookie has been close to qualifying for the Women's British Open but her recent success in the 36-hole shoot-out for the US equivalent at The Buckinghamshire has finally given her a shot at the big time. MacDonald, the former Scottish Ladies' Amateur champion who is slowly finding her feet in the paid ranks, is relishing the prospect.
"I have twice missed out by a single shot to compete at the British Women's Open, but I believe that the longer you wait for something, the sweeter it is when you achieve it," said the 23-year-old.
Matthew, meanwhile, remains as competitive as ever. She posted two top-10s in the Majors last season, including a runners-up finish in the LPGA Championship, and having finished in a share of 11th in the opening Major of this season, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, the 2009 Women's British Open champion will be expected to be involved at the sharp end again this week.
With a stellar cast list, including the likes of Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis, Suzann Pettersen, Michelle Wie, Lydia Ko, Paula Creamer and defending champion Inbee Park, the tournament should be an intriguing, keenly-fought affair. The appearance of the 11-year-old qualifier Lucy Li will add a further layer of curiosity to proceedings.
So, too, should the setting. For the first time, the US Women's Open is being played immediately after, and on the same course, as the men's championship. Let's hope the blokes don't leave too many divots.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article