Iona Stephen was born on 27 December 1991, near St Andrews, Scotland. She attended St George’s School in Edinburgh, where she competed in squash, hockey, lacrosse and athletics at junior international level, before studying History of Art at the University of St Andrews.

She didn’t take up golf until university, playing four years as an amateur and reaching a +3 handicap. Iona turned professional in 2016, debuting on the Ladies European Tour at the Qatar Ladies Open, but a long-term wrist injury forced her retirement roughly 18 months later.

She moved into broadcasting, first as lead presenter for IMG’s Golfing World, then joining Sky Sports Golf (reports vary between 2019 and 2020), also working with the BBC, CBS and NBC Golf Channel across events including The Masters, The Open, the Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup.

In 2021 she became the first-ever female on-course commentator in EA Sports gaming history. She’s since launched the YouTube channel “On the Road with Iona” (2023) and co-founded golf-and-wellness travel company Tuesday Links, alongside hosting a radio show on Classic FM.