GOLF WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN:SEEING OUT the closing 36 holes of the Women's British Open should prove a breeze to Catriona Matthew. She has, after all, encountered considerably more testing events during the last 10 weeks.
The 39-year-old swept to the top of the leaderboard yesterday with a back-nine showing which defied not only blustery conditions but any basic theory regarding tournament preparation. This marked Matthew’s sixth competitive round in five months due to the birth of baby Sophie in May.
The first of them, last Thursday at the Evian Masters, was immediately preceded by the Scot and her husband having to flee their Paris apartment block as it was ripped apart by fire. No wonder Matthew displayed a calm exterior here; this golfing affair is unlikely to register on her stressometer at all.
“The fire started about 10.30 on the night before the tournament started,” Matthew said. “We opened the door and there were just flames and smoke outside. It was very scary. We were just thankful we were on our own, if the children were there we would probably have been asleep. But we still kind of panicked.”
The loss of two thirds of the couple’s clothes was the only real damage incurred. That, added to the burnt feet suffered by Graeme Matthew rendering him unable to caddie for the French event. He was back on the bag yesterday as Matthew recorded a staggering run, an eagle three at the 11th promptly bettered by a hole-in-one at the 12th. A back nine of 30 – the putter was only called for 10 times amid this seven-under run – marks not only Matthew’s career-best but one of the finest spells of golf produced by man or woman on this hazardous links. It contributed to a 67 and aggregate total of three under par.
Paris remained in her thoughts, though, on account of the pink sweater Matthew donned on the Lancashire coast. “This is the only jersey I have which didn’t get burnt,” she explained.
Matthew remains on course to next month make her fifth Solheim Cup appearance. Currently her world ranking points would hand her an automatic ticket to represent Europe in the US but, should she be edged out from that route, the captain Alison Nicholas will surely call on Matthew as a wildcard pick.
Despite all this, the professional who spends the majority of her time on the US tour is anxious not to be portrayed as something of a sporting supermum. “After coming back from having my first baby, Katie, I finished second, third then second again,” she smiled. “Maybe I started having babies too late. My mum is here this week and she is the one getting up for the baby in the middle of the night. Things have been fairly easy.”
Michelle Wie is also content with her game, despite slipping down the field with a second-round 76. The 19-year-old American, seeking her first tournament win as a professional, blamed wastefulness on the greens as she slipped to five over. “I missed so many birdie chances from inside nine feet out there,” Wie said.
Giulia Sergas signed for 67 to join Matthew at the summit of the leaderboard. Guardian Service
