‘Supermum’ on return trip to the scene of her finest hour
Catriona Matthew recalls with James Corrigan her 2009 British Open win – 11 weeks after giving birth
It was 3am, nine hours after Catriona Matthew had become the first Scottish woman to win a major, and the drink was flowing. “Yes, Sophie did require a bottle,” Matthew recalls. “So my mum and I just sat in the kitchen drinking tea and chatting, with the trophy there on the table, until she had finished.” Sophie was 11 weeks old and had been under her grandmother’s care when Matthew was finishing off her three-shot win at the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes, with husband Graeme on the bag. From giving birth on May 16, 2009, to beating the world’s best on Aug 2, the story inevitably attracted headlines far and wide and the ‘Supermum’ moniker duly stuck.
And what made it all the more remarkable was that the week before, at the Evian Masters, her first comeback event in five months, Matthew and Graeme were forced to flee a burning hotel.
It truly was the mother of all wins, but to the heroine herself, it all seemed completely natural. Although now, as she prepares to return to the scene of her glory for the 42nd edition of the major, she can understand what all the fuss was about.
“I was totally into my golf and my girls – with Katie also being a toddler at the time – and did not really think about everything the media was saying. I just played my rounds, and when I was done, rushed back to tend to the children.
“There needed to be a very quick switching of priorities. There was no time to think about anything apart from the immediate job at hand, whether it was changing a nappy or playing a chip.
“It’s not until you look back that you probably realise, ‘Yeah, that was quite amazing’, but at the time, I was not thinking, ‘Oh, I had a baby only 11 weeks ago, aren’t I doing great?’. If I’d been in that mindset, I probably wouldn’t have won. I didn’t think it was any reason for me not to play well. I was fully in competitive mode.”
Matthew had been so throughout her pregnancy. It is often overlooked that the then 39-year-old won a tournament in Brazil when almost six months pregnant. “Sophie’s very pleased about it all,” Matthew says. “She is always telling her sister that she’s got the better record.”
Matthew had taken a whole six months to win after giving birth to Katie two years before, although as Matthew points out: “After I had her, I finished second and third on my first two outings – and the second birth wasn’t as difficult as the first.”
The Matthew girls, now 11 and nine, will be there on the Lancashire coast this week as their parents once more take to the famous links. Matthew is not one for overt emotional outpourings, but this is sure to be a resonant trip.
“It’s incredible, really, but not only have I not played at Lytham since 2009, but I haven’t even been there. It’ll be nice to see the course again and reminisce. It’s funny, but although that was the week where I probably got it in the hole the best I ever have, it wasn’t the best I’ve ever hit the ball, and you find that players often say that. I was proud with the way I came back in that final round.”
It had seemed as if Matthew had blown her chance, having conceded a three-shot overnight advantage by the turn. And when she stood on the 10th peering at her ball in the bush, Supermum looked broken. Yet, somehow, she escaped with a bogey and from there birdied three in a row from the 13th, allowing herself the biggest luxury in golf – the unflustered victory walk.
“That was an amazing feeling, After I got my tee-shot away down the fairway, I knew that was it – ‘It’s all over’. I had a tear in my eye and whispered to myself to keep it together, but it was special to have my husband walking up the 18th with me and thinking about the girls and everything.
“The reaction from the galleries was fantastic, but when I think back, I can see the Scottish girls’ team who were down by the green and all had their faces painted with the Scottish flag. It’s those little things you kind of remember.”
It was the standout moment in a garlanded career that has brought 11 wins worldwide and so nearly yielded another major in 2013 when she was beaten in a play-off for the LPGA Championship by Inbee Park.
Matthew is in her professional twilight, but despite Friday’s missed cut at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open, the 48-year-old is not travelling south merely for the nostalgia. There have been glimpses of form this year – a top 10 in Virginia, a top 15 in Canberra and a top five in the British Open two years ago to present some hope. And as the Solheim Cup captain for next year’s match at Gleneagles, Matthew has a vested interest in the entire European challenge.
Matthew is the last Briton to lift a major title, but in Charley Hull there is an obvious contender to end the barren decade. “Charley has finished top 10 in each of the three majors so far this year and definitely has the game. But majors are tough to win. You need that bit of luck and for it all to come together. Sometimes, it’s just your week.” Nappies or no nappies.
‘I wasn’t thinking, Oh, I had a baby 11 weeks ago. It wasn’t any reason for me not to play well’