Former champion Catriona Matthew has introduced that she can be taking part in in her remaining Girls’s Open on the Previous Course at St Andrews this week.
Marking her thirty first look within the main championship, the 2009 champion will wave goodbye to her house followers within the house of golf along with her husband, Graeme, as her caddie.
Her acknowledged objective is to make the reduce, largely in order that her teenage daughters, who return to high school on Thursday, can watch her play over the weekend.
At 54, Matthew is eligible to play within the Girls’s Open till she’s 59, however has determined that she doesn’t wish to play if she’s not aggressive. She’s going to rejoice her fifty fifth birthday on Sunday.
“I’ve no illusions. I’m not going to be profitable the occasion, however I believe a objective for me this week can be to attempt to make the reduce. You don’t wish to come and hold taking part in within the occasion whenever you’re not aggressive. It simply felt being in St Andrews, in Scotland, the Dwelling of Golf, what higher place to play my final one?” she mentioned.
When requested if she’s going to make an emotional farewell on the Swilcan Bridge, she added: “I don’t learn about that; I’m nonetheless form of aggressive.
“I believe in all probability in a means, it will likely be a bit of little bit of a combination of reduction, realizing myself that this would be the final one I’m going to play in. Clearly, you’ll be a bit of unhappy that you just’re not within the occasion. It’s so huge now and it’s such a buzz whenever you come to those occasions to play in them. However I’ve realised, you’ve simply bought to, at 55, you’re not going to be aggressive sufficient as I wish to be. All the pieces involves an finish.”
Matthew made her debut within the Girls’s British Open, because it was identified then, in 1994 at Woburn, taking part in as an newbie, alongside Trish Johnson, along with her mum as her caddie. She has recorded eight top-10 finishes within the championship, together with the spotlight, her victory at Royal Lytham in 2009, simply 11 weeks after giving delivery to her second daughter.
“I believe on the time in 2009, 11 weeks after I’d had Sophie. Clearly the second was a bit of bit simpler so it was simpler to come back again, however on the time you simply get on with it and also you don’t actually realise. It’s in all probability not till you look again and replicate on it you suppose, God, how did I do this?”
The double-winning European Solheim Cup captain, who led Europe to victory in 2019 and 2021, and in addition made 9 appearances as a participant, can be grouped with 2023 and 2024 US Staff Captain Stacy Lewis and Australian Corridor of Famer Karrie Webb for the primary two rounds, taking part in at 7.33am from the tenth on Thursday.
Matthew’s management legacy will proceed when she leads the GB&I Curtis Cup Staff in opposition to america aspect at Sunningdale in England subsequent week. On Tuesday, she performed a practise spherical with GB&I crew member Lottie Woad.
