It is just as well that Catriona Matthew is level-headed and sensible, in golf
as in life; otherwise the extraordinary succession of events of which she
has been the epicentre this year might have made her believe she has become
a kind of walking magnet for the supernatural.
Stephen King might hesitate to cram this lot into the plot: she won a
tournament in Brazil when five months pregnant; gave birth and returned to
action nine weeks later; escaped with her life from a blazing apartment;
fluked a hole in one that helped her win her first major title and
guaranteed her place in Europe’s Solheim Cup team, and drew breath to
celebrate her 40th birthday.
The drama, though, masks a more considered assessment: that after many years
of excellence and dedication, Matthew has finally reaped her reward and
proved herself one of the world’s most accomplished golfers.
Not that Matthew, a graduate in financial studies who has a gift for
understatement, would ever blow her own trumpet. “It’s been an incredible
year, and I really can’t believe it,” Matthew said shortly before her
first-round 68 in the Canadian Open in Calgary, Alberta, last week. “It has
given my career a huge boost but the most important thing is that all of us
are healthy.”
The immediate family comprises Matthew, her husband Graeme, who usually acts
as her caddie but is presently looking after their two children, Katie, aged
2Å, and Sophie, who was born in May. While Catriona competes in Canada,
Graeme, at home in North Berwick, East Lothian, is wrestling with bottles of
formula milk and nappy changes.
Behind every successful woman, one might say. It is certainly a team effort
and the tumultuous events of 2009 have been a shared experience for the
Matthews. After the uncomplicated birth of Sophie in May, Catriona returned
to competitive action in the Evian Masters in July. The night before the
tournament, she was asleep in a first-floor apartment of the Hotel Pavillons
du Golf in Evian-les-Bains, a resort in the French Alps, while Graeme worked
on the computer, sending e-mails. Catriona awoke and thought she heard heavy
rain. She called out to Graeme, who investigated and found the building
ablaze. They just had time to grab one bag, containing their passports, and
run downstairs. The Swiss chalet-style hotel was razed to the ground.
On the way out, Graeme burnt his foot, had to go to hospital for treatment and
was unable to caddie for his wife. The following week, when they arrived at
Lytham St Anne’s for the British Women’s Open, he was able to resume.
Expectations were low. Although Catriona won the British Amateur
championship at Lytham in 1993, she had always played poorly there as a
professional. This time, she hoped to make the cut.
That remained her immediate ambition when she spoiled her steady first round
by losing a ball on the 17th hole, topping her approach shot into a mound of
impenetrable grass. Halfway through her second round, she was still plodding
round, an also-ran. She then produced a remarkable sequence of brilliance,
mixed with some good fortune. On the long 11th, she made an eagle three. On
the short 12th, she had a hole in one, struck with an eight-iron. Further
birdies followed and she completed the back nine in 30 strokes, seven under
par, the best score by anyone, man or woman, over that treacherous stretch
of holes in any championship. “It was out of character really,” she said.
“I’m not usually a flamboyant player; I like to be steady, making par after
par.”
Catapulted into the lead, the remainder of the championship would test her
regular virtues, her steady nerve and unflappable temperament. She passed
with flying colours, conducting herself and controlling her game with a
quiet purpose, as well as looking after the kids, who were in tow that week.
She lost her lead on the third day, regained it and set out as the leader on
the final round, and she could not have looked more composed. “Actually, I
was churning up a bit inside. There were plenty of jangling nerves,” she
admitted. Nevertheless, she earnt the admiration of her husband and caddie,
a former Scottish Boys champion. “She was fantastic,” he said. “Winning from
the front is hard but she was so calm. I wish I had had that temperament.
It’s perfect for the game.”
Matthew stumbled slightly during that last round and faced a crisis when her
ball landed in a gorse bush on the 10th hole. Dropping just one shot from
that predicament was a bonus and Matthew, optimism renewed, made three
consecutive birdies from the 13th hole to become the first Scottish winner
of the championship. With a major championship on her record, and firmly
back in the top 20 of the world rankings, Matthew is looking forward to a
new lease of competitive life after turning 40. “We are not planning to have
any more children,” she said. “But I want to win more majors, and I want to
compete in the 2016 Olympics, when golf will be included. That would be the
perfect end for me.”
Matthew may have come late to the very top, but there’s a lot more golf in her
yet.
The Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Awards
The 2009 Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year awards are now open to
nominations from readers and people and organisations involved in British
sporting life. The awards include administrators who work behind the scenes,
PE teachers whose passion encourages a lifelong love of sport among pupils,
and coaches who, often unpaid and unheralded, nurture the talent of young
athletes.
The Sunday Times initiated the awards in 1988 and some of the greatest names
in sport have been among our winners, including last year’s Sportswoman of
the Year, Nicole Cooke. We are delighted to recognise the huge contribution
of the four sporting bodies who have joined us in organising and sponsoring
these prestigious awards — Sport England, UK Sport, the Central Council of
Physical Recreation (CCPR) and the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation
(WSFF).
The awards will be celebrated at a star-studded lunch in London on Tuesday,
November 3. The venue will be announced shortly. Readers can nominate the
women who have had the most impact during the past year in their appropriate
category. To nominate, please go to: www.timesonline.co.uk/sportswomen
Nominations will close at midday, September 23. There are no nominations for
the main category of Sportswoman of the Year.
A shortlist will be drawn up by our judges and readers will be invited to vote
for their favourite sportswoman later in the year.
The categories
-Team of the Year
-PE Teacher of the Year
-Young Sportswoman of the Year
-The Helen Rollason Award
-Community Club Volunteer Award
-Sponsorship of the Year
-Sport businesswoman
-Lifetime achievement
-Sports leader of the year
-Disabled Sportswoman of the Year
-Sportswoman of the Year
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