AIG Women's Open R1

Catriona Matthew has wind in her sails at blustery Royal Troon
Posted on
August 20, 2020
by
The Editorial Team in , ,
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

August 20-23
Royal Troon Golf Club, Troon, Scotland
$4,500,000
Round 2, Round 3, Round 4


AIG Women's Open R1 - Catriona Matthew has wind in her sails at blustery Royal Troon
Catriona Matthew at The Renaissance Club. (Jane Barlow/PA Wire)


Five days away from her 51st birthday, Solheim Cup captain Catriona Matthew rolled back the years to tame Royal Troon and raise hopes of a second AIG Women's Open victory.

Eleven years after winning her sole major title at Royal Lytham, Matthew carded a superb level-par 71 in winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour to lie four shots off the lead held by American Amy Olson.

Matthew was two over par with four holes remaining before making a hat-trick of birdies from the 15th and completing her round with a bogey on the 18th.



"I think coming in here with how I've been playing lately, probably making the cut would be good," Matthew said. "But obviously a day like today, the conditions probably helped me that it's not going to be super low (scoring).

"No reason why I can't go on from here. Obviously there's still a huge way to go, but just need to keep plugging away."


Matthew's performance was aided by a new putting grip and she added: "It's quite a radical change. Over the years I've tried various different grips but this 'saw' grip is quite a radical one.

"I've obviously fiddled about with it in practice and never taken it to a tournament, but I thought there was nothing to lose this week."

Olson was one of just three players to break par in the difficult conditions, the 28-year-old carding five birdies and a solitary bogey in a superb 67 to lead by three shots from compatriot Marina Alex and Germany's Sophia Popov.

"The conditions out there honestly were so tough that I've said that was the best ball-striking day of my life," Olson said. "I kept the trajectory on every shot what I wanted."



Olson, who finished second in the Evian Championship in 2018 after a double bogey on the 72nd hole, added: "I seriously love major championship golf. I love the difficult conditions. I just really feel like the cream rises to the top.

"You can't get away with anything and so it requires every part of your game to be sharp, and I love that challenge. I relish it."

Former champion Georgia Hall ended the day six shots off the pace but was was happy with a hard-fought 73 after being three over after five holes.

"Some holes I could barely stand up, it was so windy all the way round but especially at the start," Hall, who won at Royal Lytham in 2018, told Sky Sports. "I'm pretty happy with how I played today.

"I played quite conservative at Lytham and tried to stay out of the bunkers and that was my aim for today. When you go in a pot bunker you are literally chipping out and then it puts pressure on your third shot."





Canada's Alena Sharp was in the first group out at 6.30am and hit her opening tee shot out of bounds on her way to a dispiriting double bogey, but she played the remaining 17 holes in two under to finish level par.

And the Phoenix-based 39-year-old revealed she had extra reason to enjoy her efforts thanks to her Scottish roots.

"I was so ecstatic to see that we were going to get to play Royal Troon and it wasn't going to get cancelled," Sharp said. "My grandmother was born in Greenock and my uncle was born in Glasgow. I feel like they were watching over me today and giving me a little help out there."

Dame Laura Davies, who hit the opening tee shot to mark her 40th appearance in the event, birdied three of the last six holes, but the 56-year-old could still only return a nine-over-par 80.




Pos.
Player
To Par
R1
1
Amy Olson
-4
67
T2
Marina Alex
-1
70
T2
Sophia Popov
-1
70
T4
Dani Holmqvist
E
71
T4
Nuria Iturrioz
E
71
T4
Emily Kristine Pedersen
E
71
T4
Gaby Lopez
E
71
T4
Catriona Matthew
E
71
T4
Anna Nordqvist
E
71
T4
Lee-Anne Pace
E
71
T4
Alena Sharp
E
71
T4
Jasmine Suwannapura
E
71
T4
Lindsey Weaver
E
71
T14
In Gee Chun
1
72
T14
Austin Ernst
1
72
T14
Katherine Kirk
1
72
T14
Lydia Ko
1
72
T14
Nelly Korda
1
72
T14
Alison Lee
1
72
T14
Caroline Masson
1
72
T14
Yealimi Noh
1
72
T14
Elizabeth Szokol
1
72
T23
Jodi Ewart Shadoff
2
73
T23
Laura Fuenfstueck
2
73
T23
Johanna Gustavsson
2
73
T23
Georgia Hall
2
73
T23
Ariya Jutanugarn
2
73
T23
Stephanie Kyriacou
2
73
T23
Lizette Salas
2
73
T23
Angela Stanford
2
73
T23
Michele Thomson
2
73
T23
Amy Yang
2
73
T33
Nicole Broch Larsen
3
74
T33
Ashleigh Buhai
3
74
T33
Cydney Clanton
3
74
T33
Gemma Dryburgh
3
74
T33
Sandra Gal
3
74
T33
Eleanor Givens
3
74
T33
Nasa Hataoka
3
74
T33
Celine Herbin
3
74
T33
Minjee Lee
3
74
T33
Andrea Lee
3
74
T33
Ally McDonald
3
74
T33
Becky Morgan
3
74
T33
Azahara Munoz
3
74
T33
Haru Nomura
3
74
T33
Sanna Nuutinen
3
74
T33
Marianne Skarpnord
3
74
T33
Jennifer Song
3
74
T33
Kelly Tan
3
74
T51
Lina Boqvist
4
75
T51
Perrine Delacour
4
75
T51
Maria Fassi
4
75
T51
Kristen Gillman
4
75
T51
Hannah Green
4
75
T51
Caroline Inglis
4
75
T51
Yui Kawamoto
4
75
T51
Sarah Kemp
4
75
T51
Megan Khang
4
75
T51
Karolin Lampert
4
75
T51
Camilla Lennarth
4
75
T51
Xiyu Lin
4
75
T51
Pernilla Lindberg
4
75
T51
Stephanie Meadow
4
75
T51
Katja Pogacar
4
75
T51
Monique Smit
4
75
T51
Klara Spilkova
4
75
T51
Linnea Strom
4
75
T51
Momoko Ueda
4
75
T51
Angel Yin
4
75
T71
Hannah Burke
5
76
T71
Olivia Cowan
5
76
T71
Lindy Duncan
5
76
T71
Maria Fernanda Torres
5
76
T71
Charley Hull
5
76
T71
Tiffany Joh
5
76
T71
Felicity Johnson
5
76
T71
Danielle Kang
5
76
T71
Minami Katsu
5
76
T71
Cheyenne Knight
5
76
T71
Mi Hyang Lee
5
76
T71
Stacy Lewis
5
76
T71
Haley Moore
5
76
T71
Emma Nilsson
5
76
T71
Su Oh
5
76
T71
Hinako Shibuno
5
76
T71
Patty Tavatanakit
5
76
T88
Brittany Altomare
6
77
T88
Carlota Ciganda
6
77
T88
Kendall Dye
6
77
T88
Dana Finkelstein
6
77
T88
Julieta Granada
6
77
T88
Brooke M. Henderson
6
77
T88
Mone Inami
6
77
T88
Moriya Jutanugarn
6
77
T88
Brittany Lang
6
77
T88
Yu Liu
6
77
T88
Leona Maguire
6
77
T88
Olivia Mehaffey (a)
6
77
T88
Inbee Park
6
77
T88
Morgan Pressel
6
77
T88
Jenny Shin
6
77
T88
Emma Talley
6
77
T88
Christine Wolf
6
77
T88
Jing Yan
6
77
T88
Anne van Dam
6
77
T107
Dottie Ardina
7
78
T107
Aditi Ashok
7
78
T107
Peiyun Chien
7
78
T107
Jenny Coleman
7
78
T107
Julia Engstrom
7
78
T107
Kylie Henry
7
78
T107
Esther Henseleit
7
78
T107
Whitney Hillier
7
78
T107
Cristie Kerr
7
78
T107
Jennifer Kupcho
7
78
T107
In Kyung Kim
7
78
T107
Meghan Maclaren
7
78
T107
Mel Reid
7
78
T107
Madelene Sagstrom
7
78
T107
Sarah Jane Smith
7
78
T107
Yujeong Son
7
78
T107
Charlotte Thomas
7
78
T107
Lexi Thompson
7
78
T125
Diksha Dagar
8
79
T125
Caroline Hedwall
8
79
T125
Alice Hewson
8
79
T125
Tvesa Malik
8
79
T125
Gabriela Ruffels (a)
8
79
T125
Charlotte Thompson
8
79
T131
Carly Booth
9
80
T131
Jennifer Chang
9
80
T131
Laura Davies
9
80
T131
Christina Kim
9
80
T131
Bronte Law
9
80
T131
Luna Sobron Galmes
9
80
T137
Celine Boutier
10
81
T137
Manon De Roey
10
81
T137
Nanna Koerstz Madsen
10
81
T137
Annie Park
10
81
T137
Gerina Piller
10
81
T137
Louise Ridderstrom
10
81
T137
Ursula Wikstrom
10
81
144
Tonje Daffinrud
14
85
The Editorial Team Avatar

About The Editorial Team

The editorial team at Golf Today strives to provide readers with captivating content that celebrates the rich heritage and exciting developments in the world of golf. Their collective expertise and dedication ensure that Golf Today remains a premier destination for golf enthusiasts seeking the latest news, insightful analysis, and engaging stories from the world of golf.

Join the discussion

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Read Next

Texas Children's Houston Open 2024 R1

Taylor Moore & Wilson Furr take opening lead

Texas Children's Houston Open R1

PowaKaddy reveals 2024 cart bag collection

The brand-new collection features the brand’s game-changing new technology: Mag-Lok®.

The R&A launches One Club membership initiative for golf fans worldwide

One Club is free to join and provides members with a comprehensive array of year-round benefits.
magnifiercrossmenuchevron-downcross-circle
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram