Former champion Catriona Matthew has announced she will play in her final Women’s Open at the Old Course at St Andrews this week.
Marking her 31st appearance at a major tournament, the 2009 champion will say goodbye to her home fans at the home of golf with her husband, Graeme, as her player.
His goal is to do this, especially so that his teenage daughters, who will return to school on Thursday, can watch him play over the weekend.
At the age of 54, Matthew is eligible to play in the Women’s Open until he is 59, but has decided that he does not want to play if he is not competing. He will celebrate his 55th birthday on Sunday.
“I have no plans. I won’t win this event, but I think my goal this week will be to try to make a difference. You don’t want to keep playing if you don’t compete. I just heard that I’m in St Andrews, Scotland, the Home of Golf, what better place to play my last one?” he said.
When asked if he would say an emotional farewell at Swilcan Bridge, he added: “I don’t know about that; I’m still the competitive type.
“I think maybe in another way, it will be a mixture of relief, knowing that it will be the last time I will play in it. It is obvious that you will feel bad that you are sad. not if it happens. It’s so big now and it’s disappointing when you come to these events to play. But I realized, you have to, at 55, you’re not going to compete as much as I want. Everything ends.”
Matthew made his debut at the Women’s British Open, as it was then known, in 1994 at Woburn, playing as a novice, alongside Trish Johnson, with his mother as his companion. She recorded eight top-10 finishes in the competition, including a highlight, her victory at Royal Lytham in 2009, just 11 weeks after giving birth to her second daughter.
“I think it was around 2009, after 11 weeks with Sophie. Obviously the second one was a little easier so it was easier to come back, but at that point you just get on with it and you don’t really notice. It’s probably not until you look back and think about it, you think, God, how did I do that?”
The two-time European Solheim Cup-winning captain, who led Europe to victories in 2019 and 2021, and also played nine games as a player, will be joined by Team USA Captain in 2023 and 2024 along with Team USA Captain Stacy Lewis and Australia Hall of Famer Karrie Webb for the first time. two rounds, playing at 7.33am from 10th Thursday.
Matthew’s legacy of leadership will continue when he leads the GB&I Curtis Cup Team against Team USA at Sunningdale in England next week. On Tuesday, he played a practice round with GB&I team member Lottie Woad.
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