John Huggan

Chatting it up about golf
March 8th, 2006

John Huggan is the European correspondent for both Golf Digest and Golf World. He is also the golf columnist for Scotland on Sunday. He lives in Dunbar, Scotland, where he hits many very bad half-wedge shots from around 75-yards or so.

Today Huggan chats it up about Scotland's best woman golfer, Catriona Matthew and how much her life has changed since the last time she played on the LPGA Tour.

- GolfObserver editors

Matthew returns to the LPGA Tour

This week, Scotland's best woman golfer, Catriona Matthew, will board an airplane bound for the United States. Next week, she will tee up in something called the Safeway International, which will be her first appearance on the LPGA Tour since she walked slowly away from the Wendy's Championship for Children after only one round last August.

Photo: ©Scott Halleran/Getty Image Next week will be the first time Catriona Matthew has played in the LPGA Tour since last August.

It was an appropriate event in which to bow out for the season. The reason for Matthew's lack of speed was becoming increasingly obvious. Five months pregnant, she simply wasn't physically capable of playing 18 holes in the heat of an American summer. Now, however, three months on from the birth of daughter Katie, the now three-strong Matthew clan - husband Graeme doubles as caddie - is ready for a return to competitive action.

"I'm a little nervous about getting back into the playing side of things," she admits. "It has been a while. Long-term, I think this extended break will be good for me, certainly mentally. Playing on tour can be a grind. But I feel refreshed and not a bit guilty about not playing!"

Of course, Matthew won't be teeing up in Arizona completely lacking in preparation. As well as adjusting to her new role in life, the three-time Solheim Cup player has spent the last six weeks or so playing and practising at home in East Lothian. A regular visitor to the range at the Archerfield Links, she has also made daily trips to the gym in North Berwick's Marine Hotel.

Photo: © Andy Lyons/Getty Images Over the summer the grid of being pregnant, summer heat in America and playing the tour starting getting Matthew down so see decided it was time to go home to Scotland.

"I started playing again when we came home; Katie would have been about five weeks old at that point," she continues. "It turned out to be a lot easier than I thought it would be. What struck me was how hard playing had been when I was pregnant. I kept going as I got bigger and bigger and found it so hard to turn properly! My shots were getting shorter and shorter. And it was hard physically, playing in the heat. I was so tired even before the end of a round. By the end, I felt like I was basically wasting my time. Which is why I stopped when I did.

"So it was nice to get started, make proper swings and hit the ball solidly again. That was encouraging right off the bat."

Which comes as no surprise. Always one of the best ball strikers in the women's game, even after such a long lay-off Matthew is still well-placed to qualify for a fourth Solheim Cup in Sweden come September. Indeed, the biennial encounter with the Americans is one of the big targets for the season ahead. Lest we forget, the last time the matches were played in Sweden, it was Matthew who secured the winning point.

"I will play a fairly full schedule with the aim of getting back into the Solheim Cup team," she confirms. "If I play decently, I should make it okay.

Photo: © Andy Lyons/Getty Images Matthew loves playing in the Solheim Cup and is looking forward to this year's match's from Sweden.

"Every time I have played in the Solheim I have enjoyed it more. It's the best thing any woman can play in. The crowds are the biggest we get all year. And, for once, we get worldwide attention. All of which makes it so different from a normal event in that it gives us a taste of what the men get on a far more regular basis. Having said that, I wouldn't want to play in it every week! It is so draining."

The other red circle on the Matthew schedule surrounds the Weetabix Women's British Open in early August. For the first time ever, the biggest event in ladies golf outside of the United States is headed for the Old Course at St. Andrews. Reared on the links at North Berwick and twice a winner of the St. Rule Trophy over the world's most famous course during her amateur days (Annika Sorenstam is another former champion), even the normally undemonstrative Matthew can barely contain her excitement. Like every golf fan, she is intrigued to see how the game's best female players will cope with the oldest challenge in golf.

"I have always loved the Old Course," she enthuses. "It will be just be so fantastic to play there, on a course you recognise from television. It will be fun to play off a lot of the tees I have watched the men play off. We'll have the same drive over the sheds at the 17th, for example.

Photo: ©Al Messerschmidt/WireImage Matthew will be looking forward to the Weetabix Women's British Open going to Scotland and St. Andrews this summer.

"Although I always did well at St. Andrews as an amateur, I won't go there expecting too much of myself. On paper I should have a good chance, but my record in the event is nothing to write home about. Despite playing so much links golf as a youngster, my performances in the WBO have been terrible. The only time I did well was at Sunningdale, which is a long way from the sea. Maybe I try too hard; I just don't know what it is.

"It's odd really. Royal Birkdale is one of my favourite courses. And I like Royal Lytham. But all I seemed to do at both was miss the cut. St. Andrews will be fun though. And, now that the course is so short for the men, it can be argued that we will play it at the length and in the way it is supposed to be played. I just hope the weather is kind and that we get the chance to show how we can play without being blown away!"

In the meantime, however, Matthew has much work to do. Playing bounce games at home is very different from teeing up for real in a proper tournament. Still, she is aiming high.

"My biggest target is to win more often," she maintains. "Although I have had chances, I have won only four times as a professional. A major championship is obviously top of my list so a victory at St. Andrews would be more than nice."

All of that and nappy (diaper) changing, too. Busy times are ahead.

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