Catriona Matthew facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Catriona MatthewOBE |
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Victory at the 2009 Women's British Open
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| Personal information | |
| Full name | Catriona Isobel Matthew |
| Born | 25 August 1969 Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) |
| Nationality |  Scotland |
| Residence | North Berwick, Scotland |
| Spouse | Graeme Matthew |
| Children | Katie, Sophie |
| Career | |
| College | University of Stirling |
| Turned professional | 1995 |
| Current tour(s) | LPGA Tour (joined 1995) LET (joined 1995) |
| Professional wins | 11 |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| LPGA Tour | 4 |
| Ladies European Tour | 6 |
| ALPG Tour | 1 |
| Other | 1 |
| Best results in LPGA Major Championships (Wins: 1) |
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| Kraft Nabisco C'ship | T2: 2007 |
| LPGA Championship | 2nd: 2013 |
| U.S. Women's Open | T4: 2001 |
| du Maurier Classic | 5th: 1999 |
| Women's British Open | Won: 2009 |
| The Evian Championship | T36: 2016 |
| Achievements and awards | |
| Ladies European Tour Player of the Year |
2009 |
| Heather Farr Player Award | 2009 |
Catriona Isobel Matthew, born on August 25, 1969, is a famous Scottish professional golfer. She plays golf mainly on the LPGA Tour in the USA and is also part of the Ladies European Tour. She is known by her friends and fans as "Beany."
Contents
Early Life and Amateur Golf Career
Catriona Lambert was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. She grew up in North Berwick, a town famous for its golf courses. She started playing golf on the Children's Course and the North Berwick West Links.
Catriona had a very successful junior and amateur golf career. In 1986, she became the Scottish Girls champion. She also won the Scottish Under-21 Stroke Play championship in both 1988 and 1989. She won the Scottish Amateur title three times: in 1991, 1993, and 1994. In 1993, she also won the British Amateur title.
She won the St Rule Trophy twice, a competition held at St Andrews, a very famous golf location. Catriona was also a member of the Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup teams in 1990, 1992, and 1994. The Curtis Cup is a big team golf competition for amateur women golfers. She studied accountancy at the University of Stirling and graduated in 1992. This university was one of the few in Britain that offered golf scholarships.
Becoming a Professional Golfer
Catriona Matthew became a professional golfer in 1995. She joined the LPGA Tour in the USA after doing very well in the 1994 LPGA Qualifying Tournament. She quickly became a strong player on the tour. Her best years were 2001 and 2005, when she earned a lot of money and ranked high on the money list.
She also joined the Ladies European Tour in 1995 and plays in several events there each year. Her first professional win was in 1996 at the Holden Women's Australian Open. In 1998, she won the McDonald's WPGA Championship on the Ladies European Tour.
Playing for Europe: The Solheim Cup
Catriona has been a key player for the European team in the Solheim Cup. This is a team competition between the best women golfers from Europe and the USA. She was part of the team in 1998, and then again in 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. In 2003, she even won the point that secured the Cup for Europe!
She also represented Scotland with Janice Moodie in the Women's World Cup of Golf in 2005 and 2006. She was also on the winning International team in the first Lexus Cup.
Big Wins and Milestones
In 2007, Catriona won the Scandinavian TPC hosted by Annika. In January 2009, she won the first-ever HSBC LPGA Brasil Cup. What made this win extra special was that she was five months pregnant with her second child at the time!
On August 2, 2009, Catriona Matthew made history. She won the Ricoh Women's British Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club. This was her first win in a major golf tournament. It was even more amazing because she won just 11 weeks after giving birth to her second daughter, Sophie. She was the first Scottish player to win a women's major golf tournament.
In November 2011, she won her fourth LPGA title at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational in Mexico. In 2013, she almost won another major at the 2013 LPGA Championship. She finished second after a close playoff against the world's top player, Inbee Park. Catriona had a fantastic final round, coming from seven strokes behind to tie for the lead.
Leading the Team: Solheim Cup Captain
In July 2016, Catriona was chosen as a vice-captain for the 2017 Solheim Cup. However, she ended up playing in the match because another player got injured.
On September 21, 2017, it was announced that Catriona Matthew would be the captain for the 2019 Solheim Cup. This big event took place at Gleneagles in Scotland. Under her leadership, Europe won the Cup in 2019! She was then chosen to be the Solheim Cup captain again for 2021. On September 6, 2021, she led the European team to another victory against the USA in Ohio.
Personal Life
Catriona Matthew is married to Graeme Matthew, who is also her caddy (the person who carries her golf clubs and helps her on the course). They have two daughters: Katie Jessica, born in December 2006, and Sophie Lauren, born in May 2009.
In July 2009, Catriona and Graeme had to escape a fire at their hotel while she was playing in the Evian Masters tournament. Graeme suffered some burns to his feet, which meant he couldn't caddy for two rounds.
Catriona has been recognized for her contributions to golf. She was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2010 and an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2020. These are special honors given by the British monarch.
Professional Wins
Catriona Matthew has won 11 professional tournaments in her career.
LPGA Tour Wins (4)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up | Winner's share ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 Feb 2001 | Cup Noodles Hawaiian Ladies Open | 67-71-72=210 | −6 | 3 strokes |  Annika Sörenstam |
112,500 |
| 2 | 22 Aug 2004 | Wendy's Championship for Children | 72-67-71-68=278 | −10 | Playoff |  Hee-Won Han |
165,000 |
| 3 | 2 Aug 2009 | Ricoh Women's British Open1 | 74-67-71-73=285 | −3 | 3 strokes |  Karrie Webb |
335,000 |
| 4 | 13 Nov 2011 | Lorena Ochoa Invitational | 69-68-68-71=276 | −12 | 4 strokes | I.K. Kim Anna Nordqvist |
200,000 |
Ladies European Tour Wins (6)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner(s)-up | Winner's share (€) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 Aug 1998 | McDonald's WPGA Championship | 71-69-67-69=276 | −12 | 5 strokes | Helen Alfredsson Laura Davies |
45,000 |
| 2 | 12 Aug 2007 | Scandinavian TPC hosted by Annika | 71-74-66-68=279 | −10 | 3 strokes | Sophie Gustafson Laura Diaz |
78,750 |
| 3 | 2 Aug 2009 | Ricoh Women's British Open1 | 74-67-71-73=285 | −3 | 3 strokes | Karrie Webb |
235,036 |
| 4 | 20 Aug 2011 | Aberdeen Ladies Scottish Open | 70-65-66=201 | −15 | 10 strokes | Hannah Jun |
33,000 |
| 5 | 5 Aug 2012 | Ladies Irish Open | 67-71-71=209 | −7 | 1 stroke |  Suzann Pettersen |
52,500 |
| 6 | 1 Sep 2013 | Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open | 71-67-70=208 | −8 | 2 strokes | Hannah Burke |
31,537 |
Other Wins (2)
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | To par | Margin of victory |
Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 Nov 1996 | Holden Women's Australian Open (ALPG Tour) | 72-74-68-69=283 | −12 | 3 strokes | Karrie Webb |
| 2 | 25 Jan 2009 | HSBC LPGA Brasil Cup (unofficial LPGA event) | 69-69=138 | −6 | 5 strokes | Kristy McPherson |
1 The Ricoh Women's British Open was co-sanctioned by the LPGA Tour and the Ladies European Tour.
Majors championships are shown in bold.
Major Championship Win
Catriona Matthew won one major championship:
| Year | Championship | Winning score | Margin | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Ricoh Women's British Open | −3 (74-67-71-73=285) | 3 strokes | Karrie Webb |
Career Summary
Catriona Matthew has had a long and successful career in professional golf. She has played in many tournaments and earned over $9.7 million in prize money. She has consistently ranked among the top golfers in the world.
Team Appearances
Catriona Matthew has represented Scotland, Great Britain & Ireland, and Europe in many team golf events, both as an amateur and a professional.
Amateur Teams
- European Lady Junior's Team Championship (representing Scotland): 1988
- European Ladies' Team Championship (representing Scotland): 1989, 1991, 1993
- Vagliano Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1989 (winners), 1991 (winners), 1993 (winners)
- Curtis Cup (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1990, 1992 (winners), 1994 (tie, Cup retained), 2024 (non-playing captain, winners)
- Espirito Santo Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1992
- Commonwealth Trophy (representing Great Britain): 1991 (winners)
Professional Teams
- Solheim Cup (representing Europe): 1998, 2003 (winners), 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 (winners), 2013 (winners), 2015, 2017, 2019 (non-playing captain, winners), 2021 (non-playing captain, winners)
- Lexus Cup (representing International team): 2005 (winners), 2007
- World Cup (representing Scotland): 2005, 2006, 2008
- Handa Cup (representing World team): 2015
- The Queens (representing Europe): 2015, 2016
- European Championships (representing Great Britain): 2018
See also
In Spanish: Catriona Matthew para niños
