FOR those of us crude amateurs eking out a grim existence in the barren yet heavily populated environment of remorseless golfing futility, the sight of Ariya Jutanugarn breaking into a smile as part of her pre-shot routine during her march to victory in last season’s RICOH Women’s British Open at Woburn was all deeply confusing.

It’s very rare, for instance, that you’ll stand on the first tee at the medal and be so at ease with your decision making and so confident of the eventual outcome that you end up beaming from lug to lug prior to address.

The usual scenario, of course, is that great waves of negativity flood your feeble mind on the backswing, a pitiful 3-wood skitters into the whins and you end up cursing and hissing through clenched teeth like Albert Steptoe peering forlornly at a hefty dentist’s bill.

“The reason I do it is that I really want to stay positive so I say something to myself which makes me smile before the shot,” said Jutanugarn ahead of the defence of her title here at Kingsbarns.

That can be easier said than done, particularly in the grimace-inducing conditions of Scotland during this sodden summer. “It’s hard to smile in the wind,” added the world No 3 from Thailand.

A severe drenching and buffeting in last week’s Ladies Scottish Open at Dundonald, which left her in a share of 44th, may have stood the 21-year-old in good stead for the challenge on the east neuk of Fife this week but she’s not in the best of fettle.

“I’m sick, I think it’s a cold,” she reported. A shoulder injury, which she picked up in 2013 and led to her undergoing corrective surgery, is niggling away too. “It started to hurt a little bit last week, I hit a lot of bad shots and my shoulder started to hurt too,” she added.

When Jutanugarn won the LPGA Tour’s Manulife Classic in June, to record her sixth win on the circuit in the space of a year, she moved to the top of the world rankings and ended Lydia Ko’s 85 week reign as the global No 1.

Jutanugarn’s stint at the summit was brief, though. “It’s a real challenge being No 1 and it’s even harder when a lot of people expect me to play good (all the time),” she said of the demands that come with being on such a lofty perch.

Inbee Park, meanwhile, knows all about great expectations. The last time she was in the Kingdom of Fife was during the 2013 Women’s British Open along the coast at St Andrews where she arrived aiming for a fourth successive major win of an astonishing season.

It didn’t happen but her remarkable efforts that year provided a series of defining moments for this 29-year-old Korean.

“I experienced so many things,” reflected Park, who would go on to win the British Open title at Turnberry in 2015. “I was able to test myself under the pressure and I was able to learn how to handle the pressure.

“Over the years, you learn one thing at a time. Sometimes you make your mistakes and you’ve got to take your medicine, but I think that’s kind of made me who I am today.”

Park’s formative years as an amateur back in her homeland certainly helped shape her too.

With another giddy mix of rain, wind, sunshine and fairly modest temperatures expected this week, Park has a built-in resolve that helps her harness everything that crabbit old Mother Nature conjures up.

“I am pretty used to cold weather,” said Park, who won the golfing gold medal at last summer’s Olympics in Rio.

“The experiences I had when I was very young back in the Korean national team really helped me. We trained for a couple of months on Jeju Island in the winter time, which is like minus ten.

“It got really cold and very windy so I guess that kind of trains us pretty well. We didn’t really have a choice. There were maybe 30 to 40 girls and boys training. I couldn’t say ‘I’m going back, this is too cold’.”

Park, the former world No 1 who has seven major titles to her name, finished alongside Jutanugarn in a share of 44th at Dundonald last week.

It was a physically and mentally demanding week in Ayrshire but one that Park took plenty from.

“I got really used to the wind and this changing weather in one day and it’s just getting that into your system and getting used to it,” she said.

“I definitely feel like I’ve prepared myself well. Last week, I was trying to figure out what I needed to do for this week.

“I saw my mistakes last week and I’m now trying to get those fixed for here. From that point of view, I think it was good to see those things instead of just coming here and trying to figure out the problems.”

Park’s win in the British Open two years ago saw her complete the career grand slam.

“I remember 2015 as if it was yesterday,” she said. “The British Open is always special and it is still in my mind. I still live with that memory.”