Scotland's Gemma Dryburgh qualifies through Q School to reach LPGA Tour

Dryburgh made her major debut in the 2019 PGA Championship and has also played in the past two Women's Open Championships

It is professional golf in its rawest form - a test of endurance and nerve as much as an examination of technique.

To come through Q School is the badge of honour that is perhaps the hardest of all to earn.

For Scotland's Gemma Dryburgh there is an enormous sense of delight and relief at emerging with LPGA Tour playing privileges after eight tortuous rounds over the past fortnight in Alabama.

But for fellow Britons Anita Uwadia and Meghan MacLaren there was the ultimate disappointment, as both missed the all important top 45 by narrow margins. Uwadia was a single stroke shy and MacLaren missed by three after a final-round 75.

"It's very gratifying," 28-year-old Dryburgh told BBC Sport after finishing 22nd of 46 qualifiers.

"When we finished it was such a relief, it was just like a weight off your shoulders. It's obviously very different from a normal tournament.

"Q school is way more intense, everything matters because it is for your job next year. It's like re-interviewing for your job every time, so its very stressful."

Dryburgh comfortably made it through to the initial stage after a fourth-round 65. Then last week she shot 71-74-70-73 to finish nine under par.

The Beaconsfield-based Aberdonian becomes eligible for the vast majority of tournaments on the most lucrative tour in women's golf so there is much to celebrate.

But she also had sympathy for the Britons who missed out, especially MacLaren who had earlier come close to securing a full LPGA card by finishing 18th on the feeder Symetra Tour.

To illustrate the stress of the past fortnight, midway through Q School MacLaren wrote in a blog about the importance of what you believe in yourself while in the cauldron of qualifying.

"What you believe about yourself can change in the time it takes to hit one three-foot putt - or again in the slightly longer time it takes to hit the return four-foot putt - its exhausting," she wrote.

"You spend inordinate amounts of energy thrashing like mad under the surface just to stay afloat."

Last Sunday the Wellingborough pro was still firmly in the hunt as she began the final 18 holes of her eight-round marathon. She started on the 10th and sadly collected consecutive double bogeys before adding another dropped shot at the par-five 15th at Highland Oaks in Dothan, Alabama.

With those slips her hopes and dreams were sunk.

By contrast Dryburgh's future is clear and she feels "better equipped" to capitalise on this new high in terms of playing status.

"I felt I had a pretty good season considering the limited status I had," she said. "There were a couple of good results and I just want to build on that.

"I've got a lot more confidence in my game, especially when I look back to when I was a rookie in 2018. I felt a little bit out of my depth at that point, but now I feel very confident and comfortable.

"I know all the girls out there, I know I can play with them and compete against them so I feel very confident, really."

Dryburgh was speaking as her parents drove her from Alabama to Florida for a well-earned holiday before returning to the UK for Christmas. "Everything has improved really," she added.

"I'm hitting it slightly longer than I used to, I'm definitely hitting way more greens than I ever used to and my wedges have improved along with my putting. So I feel really good with my overall game to be honest."

Most pleasing was the way that she passed the brutal mental test posed by Q School. A gameplan aimed at avoiding big numbers on her card paid off, with only one double bogey throughout the eight rounds.

"You've just got to believe in yourself and commit to every shot," she said before acknowledging the key presence of mum and dad.

"That was really helpful because I could come home to them.

"They'd cook for me and take my mind off things. We were watching Netflix and stuff and trying to get away from the golf course. You've got to get away from it in some way because it's obviously quite a stressful two weeks."

Dryburgh emerged with recommendations for Netflix's Virgin River and Apple TV's hit Ted Lasso but, more importantly, emboldened by successfully securing a livelihood for 2022.