Update - Catriona Matthew - Our Ambassador

East Lothian based Catriona was a very successful amateur, winning the Scottish Girls title, the Under-21 Scottish Strokeplay as well as the Scottish and British Amateur titles. She also graced the international setup as member of the 1990, 92 and 94 Curtis Cup teams. Catriona is highly respected on the LPGA roster and is a constant contender at events with numerous top ten finishes. Her first of two LPGA victories came in February 2001 when she claimed the Hawaiian Ladies Classic.

Catriona's Update

Now that the festive season is finally past, I have to admit that my mind has been wandering back onto the golf course. It’s been about a month now since I played competitively and that is usually about my limit before I start to get a bit restless. Which is no bad thing, of course, especially as I will soon be off to Sun City in South Africa along with Mhairi McKay to represent Scotland in the Women’s World Cup of Golf. It goes without saying that we’ll be trying our best to emulate the brilliant performance put in by Colin Montgomerie and Marc Warren in the men’s event last year and bring the trophy back to the home of golf.

Having said that, I must admit I have not played much social golf over the last few weeks, since my 2007 season ended in Dubai just before the holidays. Apart from the fact that I needed some time away from the clubs, having a one-year old at home made it easy to forget golf over Christmas. And that is no bad thing. A break from the game is as much a mental thing as it is physical.

I haven’t forgotten golf completely, however. Most days I have spent a few minutes working on my swing in front of a mirror at home. My coach, David Whelan, takes a lot of pictures during my lessons with him and I use those photographs as a guide when we are not together. My tendency is to stand a little too upright at address and, in turn, take the club away a little ‘closed’ on the backswing. So those are things I am constantly checking. My feeling is that, if you get the set up position right, everything else should follow without too much thought.

After the World Cup, my husband and caddie, Graeme, and I will be returning to North Berwick for another month or so, before we head off to first Singapore, then Florida before rejoining the LPGA Tour at the beginning of March. By then I’ll be more than keen to get back into some serious competition.

Beyond that, I have three golfing wishes for 2008:
1) To win my first major championship
2) To get into the top-ten on the world-ranking list
3) And, most importantly, to not fall out with my caddie!
Until next month, bye for now.