Championships - 1999
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02.08.2009
Matthew wins the 2009 Ricoh Women's British Open
Catriona Matthew became the first Scot to claim a women’s Major title when she closed with a one over par 73 to win the Ricoh Women’s British Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes.The 39 year-old from North Berwick, who gave birth to her second daughter, Sophie, only eleven weeks ago, started the final round three shots clear of Christina Kim, dropped shots at the 1st, 5th and 10th but then recovered with three consecutive birdies from the 13th to finish three shots ahead of seven-time Major champion, Karrie Webb, on three under par 285.
America’s Paula Creamer, one of the pre-Championship favourites, took a double bogey down the last to drop into a share third place with Kim, Japan’s Ai Miyazato and South Korea’s Hee-Won Han on one over par 289 while another American, Kirsty McPherson, posted a final round 70 to finish alone in seventh place one shot further behind.
Matthews prime goal at the start of the final round was to get off to a steady start but her hopes were dashed as early as the first hole when her tee shot trickled through the green and she failed to get up-and-down for a par three.
The Scot also dropped a shot on the 419-yard par-4 3rd but the turning point in her round came at the 334-yard par-4 10th were she hit her third shot right of the green and behind a bunker but escaped with nothing worse than a bogey
“I can’t quite believe it,” said Matthew after collecting the £197,059 first prize. “I was definitely nervous this morning and it was a pretty shaky start.
“I played the two par 5s, 6 and 7, pretty badly too, but I made a real good bogey on the 10th and then those three birdies in-a-row sealed it.
“I can’t begin to put into words what I feel like right now,” she added. “Two weeks ago, when I came back (after giving birth to Sophie), I was really just hoping to make two cuts.”
“It’s amazing, unbelievable, I’m not quite sure what I can say but I do know we will have a bit of a celebration tonight.”
Webb, who has won seven Majors and a total of 36 events on the LPGA Tour, turned out to be the Scot’s nearest challenger.
The Australian started the final round back in a share of 14th place but stormed through the field with a flawless closing 68 which included two birdies and a spectacular eagle on the 464-yard par-5 15th where she pitched in for a three from just off the green.
“I thought I’d lost my chance last night,” said the experienced Australian who won the Ricoh Women’s British Open title in 1997 at Sunningdale and again five years later at Turnberry. “But, then, all of a sudden, when I chipped in at the 15th, I knew I was back in with a chance.
“I knew I had to birdie the last four holes to get even. I thought even might make a play-off but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.
“I’ve had a good week,” she added. “I always love playing the British Open and this week has been great fun.”
Creamer, who is known as the Pink Panther as a result of her penchant for all things that colour, also looked likely to mount a challenge when she recorded birdies at the 15th and the 343-yard par-4 16th but she came to grief at the tough 386-yard 18th where she drove into a bunker and then hit her approach through the green and close to the clubhouse wall.
Third-placed Hee-Won Han was by no means the only Asian to feature close to the top of the leaderboard on a day when the weather relented and the sun shone consistently for the first time during the Championship week.
Altogether, five South Koreans and two Japanese finished in the top ten. Behind Han and Ai Miyazato, South Koreans, Na Yeon Choi and defending champion, Jiyai Shin, shared eighth place with America’s Christie Kerr on three over par 291. Two Korean’s, Hee Young Park and Song-Hee Kim, plus Japan’s Mika Miyazato, were also part of the group in 11th place alongside Sweden’s Maria Hjorth, Italy’s Giulia Sergas and America’s Michelle Wie while another South Korean, Kyeong Bye, was tied for 17th place alongside Americans, Michele Redman and Jane Park.
The shot of the day came from the 2005 champion, Jeong Jang, who started her closing round in sensational fashion when she hit her first shot of the day into the hole for a hole-in-one on the 193-yard par-3 1st.
Jang’s ace, the second of the tournament, meant that Ricoh pledged to plant an additional 1,000 trees in Africa as part of its Ricoh GIFT programme. Under the terms of the programme, Ricoh agreed to plant one tree for every birdie, five trees for every eagle and 1,000 trees for every hole-in-one or albatross. Thanks to the two holes-in-one, the total for the week rose to 3,012, compared to 1,800 in 2007.
The first ace of the week was recorded by the new champion, Matthew, during her penultimate round. She recorded an eagle three on the 487-yard par-5 12th hole and then followed that with a hole-in-one on the very next hole. It made the Scot the 17th player in LPGA history to record back-to-back eagles in official tournament play.
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