Get to know the popular Scottish golfer a little better...
18 Things You Didn’t Know About Catriona Matthew
Catriona Matthew has done about everything there is to do in the women’s game, both professionally and as an amateur. She is a major champion, a British Amateur champion, as well as a winning Solheim Cup player and captain, among a great many other things.
The 51-year-old from Scotland is one of the most popular figures in the game and will once again captain Europe in 2021 as they look to retain the Solheim Cup trophy they won in such style at Gleneagles.
Get to know her a little better with these things you might not have known about her.
18 Things You Didn’t Know About Catriona Matthew
1. Matthew was born in Edinburgh on August 25, 1969
2. Her nickname is ‘Beany’
3. Growing up, she learned to play on the Children’s Course and North Berwick West Links
4. As mentioned, she had a glittering amateur career. She was the 1986 Scottish Girls champion and the Scottish Under-21 Stroke Play champion in 1988 and 1989
5. Into the 90s and more success would follow. Matthew is a three-time Scottish Amateur champion, lifting the trophy in 1991, 1993 and 1994, and also tasted success in the highly coveted British Amateur in 1993
6. She also won the St Rule Trophy twice and represented Great Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup on three occasions: 1990, 1992 and 1994
7. Academically, Matthew studied accountancy and graduated from the University of Stirling in 1992
Beany (back left) made her first Solheim Cup appearance in 1998
8. She turned pro in 1995 having earned her LPGA Tour card by finishing in a tie for fifth at the 1994 Final Qualifying Tournament
9. It didn’t take Beany long to taste success on tour, winning her maiden title at the 1996 Holden Women’s Australian Open
10. She first appeared in the Solheim Cup in 1998 and went on to feature on nine teams as a player, three of them being winning ones (2003, 2011 and 2013), picking up 22 points
11. Matthew won the 2009 HSBC LPGA Brasil Cup, an unofficial LPGA event, while five months pregnant
12. Also in 2009, Matthew and husband Graeme escaped a fire at the hotel they were staying at for the Evian Masters. Graeme, who is also his wife’s caddie, suffered burns to his feet that ruled him out of bag duty for a couple of days
13. On August 2, 2009, 11 weeks after giving birth, Matthew won her first major at the Ricoh Women’s British Open, becoming the first player from Scotland to win a women’s major
Matthew celebrating her three-shot Women’s British Open victory at Royal Lytham & St Annes
14. Matthew has two daughters, Katie and Sophie, who were born in 2006 and 2009 respectively
15. At the 2013 Women’s PGA Championship, she lost out in a play-off to World No. 1 Inbee Park, having started the final round seven shots back
16. In 2019, Matthew captained the European Solheim Cup team to a home victory at Gleneagles in one of the most dramatic contests in the tournament’s history. It came down to the final match on the final green as controversial captain’s pick Suzann Pettersen holed from six feet to win 14.5-13.5
17. Matthew will once again captain Team Europe in 2021 for the 17th edition of the Solheim Cup
18. Outside of golf, Beany’s achievements have been recognised as she received an MBE in the 2010 New Year honours list, and in 2020 she received an OBE, also in the New Year honours list
This article 18 Things You Didn’t Know About Catriona Matthew appeared first on Golf Monthly.