MUM’S THE WORD
Scottish star Catriona Matthew has come back from maternity leave in sensational style

When Catriona Matthew announced last year that she was pregnant, it seemed natural to assume that her magnificent career would suffer a little hiatus. After all, she would be taking on new responsibilities, would have to adjust to a new lifestyle and there was the question mark hanging over her husband’s duties as caddie.

But how wrong can you be? Baby Katie Jessica duly arrived in December and yet, just three months later, Catriona and Graeme (in his familiar on-course role) were back raiding the purses on the LPGA Tour. In fact, not only does she appear to be back to her best – she seems to be even better.

On her comeback at the Safeway International in Phoenix, the two-time LPGA winner was in contention from first to last and eventually finished in a tie for fifth. The next week, she came oh so close to becoming the first Scot to win a women’s ‘Major’ title.

At the Kraft Nabisco Championship at Mission Hills in Palm Springs, Catriona opened with a 70 – two off the lead – and was just three behind going into the last day. Tied at the top with nine holes to play and the organisers were already searching for the tartan bathrobe (de rigeur attire for a Kraft champion after she takes the winner’s leap into the lake).
Unfortunately, it wasn’t quite to be. The fearless 18-year-old, Morgan Pressel, with a gutsy, flawless final round of 69, snatched the title to become the youngest winner of a women’s ‘Major’. A three-putt bogey at the last left 37-year-old Catriona a shot behind and in a tie for second.
But, forgetting the last-hole slip-up, it was a truly extraordinary return for someone who can surely claim to be Scotland’s finest-ever female player, and it bodes so well for the rest of the season. Can she keep up this pace?

Catriona – and Graeme - admit that, as new parents, even they were surprised by how quickly she has re-adjusted to the demands of world-class golf. “We really just played the Safeway to get our feet wet again and hope that we could play four full rounds before the ‘Major’,” explained a proud husband and dad.

“It was the same going into the Kraft week. Expectations weren’t too high. The only real goal was to put four solid rounds together.”
Catriona succinctly summed it up: “If someone had told me a fortnight ago that I was going to have a top five and a joint-second, I would certainly have grabbed it with both hands.”

The impressive comeback has certainly set up intriguing possibilities for the rest of the year. A jump of 21 places up the Rolex World Rankings – 52 to 31 – has guaranteed her places in the Evian Masters and the Weetabix Women’s British Open and has all but secured a fourth Solheim Cup appearance at Halmstad in Sweden in September. How must that please skipper Helen Alfredsson?