Interview: Catriona Matthew, golfer

SITTING in the unseasonably warm sunshine outside her North Berwick home the other day, Catriona Matthew was feeling, uncharacteristically, less than energetic. Which was understandable.

Having just completed her monthly three-hour stint as a “helper” at daughter Sophie’s playgroup – as well as enduring seemingly endless questions on the mind-blowing incompetence of the Ladies’ Golf Union over its ommission of world No.9 Charley Hull from the Curtis Cup side – the 2009 Women’s British Open champion was fully entitled to a wee sit down before she jets off to the west coast of America and another three-week stint on the LPGA Tour.

Matthew is well used to the travel, of course. For almost two decades now, she and husband/caddie Graeme have been commuting between East Lothian and all points east and west. Not that it hasn’t been worth their while. Since she turned professional in 1994, the 42-year-old has won eight times around the world and amassed $6,932,284 on the US-based circuit alone.

“The LPGA Tour has changed hugely in the 18 years I’ve been out there,” she says. “When I first started, we would go out to America for six months and play maybe 35 tournaments – all of them on mainland US, except for maybe one in Japan. Now it’s completely different. We start the year with what you could call an ‘Asia-swing’. Then we’re in the States. Then it’s Europe. Then back to the States before finishing up in Asia again.

“A big part of that change has been the struggle to get corporate sponsors in the States. But we’ve also embraced the fact that the women’s game today is global and the tour reflects that reality. I’ve long thought we should have what is, in effect, a ‘world tour’. And that is basically what we have now – I think we go to about a dozen countries – helped by the fact that, unlike many of their male compatriots, the leading Americans are prepared to travel.”

Still, the changing face of the LPGA – while beneficial to established stars like Matthew – has come at a cost. For those early in their professional careers, the combination of fewer events and restricted fields has made establishing themselves on tour that much more difficult.

“My schedule these days has about 19-20 LPGA events and maybe two or three in Europe,” continues Matthew. “The fact that there are now fewer events actually suits me. With two children at home I can’t be playing every week. But, with gaps in the schedule, I can pick and choose where and when I play and not feel like I’m missing out.

“That’s the selfish side of it, of course. While it’s good for our game worldwide that we play in so many different countries – look at how many Koreans have emerged in the last few years – there is a downside for youngsters starting out. They definitely have fewer opportunities. While maybe half of the events I play in don’t even have a halfway cut, rookies aren’t even getting to play. Breaking through in such circumstances is tough. All of which, again, is a long way from how it was when I started. When I got my card I was able to play in at least 30 events in my first year. Now, that number would be down to maybe 10-12.”

As you’d imagine, Matthew has seen a lot in her time on tour, not least the emergence – and subsequent dominance – of three of the greatest players ever seen in the ladies’ game: Annika Sorenstam, Lorena Ochoa and the current number one, Yani Tseng.

“It’s difficult to compare Yani with previous number ones like Annika and Lorena,” maintains Matthew. “They are so different. But Yani has more natural ability than Annika. Annika worked so hard and was so robotic. She rarely hit a bad shot. Yani has more flair and so tends to hit more loose shots. But she has the potential to hit the ball 25 yards longer at will. I’ve seen her do that. I’ve been playing with her and been driving alongside her until, when she needs it, she hits one miles past me. Not many women have been able to do that over the years. But she can. That is indicative of the fact that the formula for success in the women’s game is changing. It is more of a power game than it was ten years ago. Just like the men, all the top players hit the ball at least a decent distance.

“Getting up and down from everywhere is not sustainable over a long period. So you don’t see scramblers like Rosie Jones surviving out there for very long these days. She was a great player, but she’d find it harder now than when she played on tour. You need a higher flight and more carry these days to get at the pins.”

Faced with that fact of golfing life, Matthew has had to adapt her own game over the years. Just as in the men’s game, constant improvement is a must. Those standing still are, in effect, going backwards.

“When I turned pro I was, to a large extent, getting by on natural ability,” she admits. “I’m streets better now. As are many rookies. They arrive on tour with swings that are good enough for them to win. I wasn’t like that. Not even close. But of course we didn’t have the same level of technology and coaching that we have now. I played by feel, so my swing wasn’t so consistent.

“My swing has changed a lot, though. It’s a lot more compact now. I’ve changed a lot of little things that have all added up. I work a lot on my set-up and posture. If you get those correct, you give yourself the best chance to make a good swing. And still I’d like to improve my short game. That will never change.”

Looking ahead, while far from finished as a player, Matthew – who has already played six times in the biennial Solheim Cup matches against the Americans – sees herself teeing up in Europe’s colours at least once more and, hopefully, adding to her tally of one major championship victory.

“There are things I still want to achieve,” she acknowledges. “I want to really contend in more majors. I haven’t done that often enough in my career. My game is suited to harder courses, so I should be able to get myself up there. And if I do, winning something like the US Women’s Open – the biggest championship in our sport – would be a great way to cap off my career.

“My short game will be the key. If anything lets me down it is my work around the greens. I don’t get up and down as often as I could or should. I see that myself. I need to save one or two shots a round. If I can do that, I’ll contend more. Besides, I’m not sure I’ve got much more yardage in me off the tee. I go on the machines and my ‘smash factor’ is up at 1.5, which is the maximum. So I’m hitting the ball as far as I physically can.”

Phew. No wonder she needed to sit down.