From university to the qualifying school. This golf lark is always an education, isn’t it?

Lorna McClymont has already graduated from her degree course at Stirling. With flying colours? “Eh, well,” she said with a wry, chuckling summing up. “The studying side of it wasn’t my favourite part.”

Over the next couple of weeks, McClymont will be looking to make the grade again when she begins her push for a Ladies European Tour card at the daunting q-school.

The nine-round process – there’s a 72-hole first stage to negotiate before you can even begin to think about the five-round final – can be such a mind-mangling test, it could make the All Souls fellowship exam at Oxford University look like the pub quiz.

McClymont, still on a high after a thrilling season in the amateur scene, is certainly up for the challenge.

The 24-year-old Milngavie member has just returned from a reconnaissance mission of the host courses in Morocco and has now accumulated the kind of meticulous detail you’d get on an Ordnance Survey map.

“I just wanted to be as prepared as possible,” said the reigning Scottish Women’s Amateur champion from Dumbarton. “It will make my practice rounds more worthwhile when I get back there for the qualifier.

"I now already know the courses, the surroundings, even the simple things like where to get food. And where the toilets are.

“Little things like that can make a big difference and save a lot of time. A qualifying school is very different to a normal tournament. But it’s exciting. It's a new adventure.”

Where this adventure takes McClymont remains in the lap of the golfing gods. The Scot has entered the qualifying school as an amateur but her switch to the professional ranks is coming.

“It was a bit easier to get in as an amateur,” noted McClymont, who currently sits 79th on the world amateur golf rankings.

“I think in the past some girls have turned pro and not been able to get into q-school. Sometimes higher-ranked amateurs get in before lower-ranked professionals.

"I was wary of that and didn’t want to make the pro leap just yet. Whatever happens at q-school, though, I will be turning professional.”

McClymont will not be short of Scottish company in the q-school scramble. It’s not been a vintage year for the very small tartan army on the Ladies European Tour with Kylie Henry and Laura Beveridge both losing their cards.

There won’t be any Scots coming up from the second-tier Access Series either, with the likes of Louise Duncan, the former Women’s Amateur champion, still struggling to make inroads in the demanding, unforgiving world of pro golf.

“Golf is not easy, as everyone knows,” said McClymont, as she mulled over the toils and troubles of her compatriots. “There are always going to be ups and downs.

“I know everyone has struggled and that is something that I’m aware of too. It will happen at some point in a career, and you have to be prepared for that.

“I’m very close to Louise. Pro golf is still all new to her. It’s a big step up and a big learning experience. Trying to take in all that it involves while trying to perform at the same time is very hard. It’s important not to put too much pressure on yourself.”

McClymont’s 2024 has already been one of grand accomplishment. As well as landing the Scottish title, she was narrowly beaten in the final of the Women’s Amateur Championship and went on to help Catriona Matthew’s GB&I team win the Curtis Cup for the first time since 2016.

“It was the best team I’ve been involved in,” said McClymont. “Catriona created a wonderful environment for us all to be ourselves. It was very special.”

The indefatigable Matthew, of course, was Scotland’s female standard bearer on the global stage for donkey’s years. For a new generation trying to fill those mighty shoes, it’s a daunting task akin to filling in the Clyde Tunnel with Lego.

“We’re fortunate to have someone like Catriona at the end of a phone,” said McClymont. “Everybody looks up to her and hopefully myself and others can have plenty of good years on the tour. But if I don’t make it through the qualifying school at the first time of asking, then it’s not the end of the world.

“I’d be willing to chip away, and I think the Access Series would be a good way to compete, travel and learn about professional life. Whatever happens, there will be golf to play somewhere. This is just the start.”