Rock steady Catriona Matthew stays keeps at a wet and wild Evian Masters

AFTER a very long day at the Evian Masters in France, Catriona Matthew emerged with a one-over-par 73 to just about to stay in contention at the halfway mark.

With torrential rain causing two stoppages that added up to over two hours of delay, the Scot finished on one under par and was eight shots behind the total posted by leader Mika Miyazato.

The ever-steady Matthew covered the first ten holes in par before picking up a shot at the 11th. She then made three bogeys in four holes from the 13th before rebounding with a two at the very short downhill 17th where she hit her tee shot with a wedge to five feet.

Janice Moodie, the only other Scot in the field, drew the short straw. She was last out, and dropped a shot at the first. But, finishing in near darkness, she made birdies at the 15th, 16th and 17th for a 70 and was just a stroke behind Matthew on level par.

Miyazato - no relation to world No?1 and this week's defending champion, Ai Miyazato - shot a 67, the last of her half-dozen birdies falling from short range at the long 18th and putting her into the weekend a shot ahead of the local favourite, France's Gwladys Nocera (67).

A 20-year-old who lives in Florida and went to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Mika Miyazato is in her second year on the LPGA Tour with a fourth place her best finish. While her English is patchy, she clearly understood the question as to whether she is ready to win. Beaming broadly, she replied: "Almost."

Other star names had a mixture of fortunes. The Miyazato who won last year had a 72 for three under, while US Women's Open Champion, Paula Creamer, posted a 73 for even par. Cristie Kerr, the American world No?2, dropped a shot at the last for a 73 and one over.

Michelle Wie, second as a 15-year-old in 2005, was in contention at three under par through nine holes, but then ran up a nine via some bushes at the tenth and finished with a 77 and down in the pack on one over par. As one of the richest events in the game - the winner takes home 319,000 from the 2.1 million pot - there is a chance that the Evian Masters could become a fifth women's major. Founder Franck Riboud and LPGA Tour Commissioner, Michael Whan, will have discussions over the next few months and a decision will be made by October.

A good number of players, American Creamer and world No.3 Suzann Petersen included, have questioned whether the course is suitable as a major venue. While it is a stern test, is nestled among mountains and has spectacular views over Lake Geneva. Matthew also has her doubts. "It's just not really a major course," was the opinion of the North Berwick 40-year-old who will defend her major, the Ricoh Women's British Open, at Royal Birkdale next week. "I actually don't think we need a fifth major.

"If they do want to have another tier in women's golf it would be good to be like the men and introduce world championship events. This is a great tournament and so is the HSBC Women's Champions in Singapore."