AIG Women's Open: Catriona Matthew starts strongly at Royal Troon
Thursday 20 August 2020 20:57, UK
Solheim Cup captain Catriona Matthew rolled back the years to sit four shots off the lead after the opening round at the AIG Women's Open.
The 50-year-old, who won the Women's Open in 2009, mixed four birdies with as many bogeys in brutal conditions to card a level-par 71 at Royal Troon.
Winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour made scoring extremely difficult for the opening women's major of the year, with Matthews birdieing three of the her last four holes before bogeying the last.
"Obviously delighted with my round," Matthew said. "I played well. I don't think I missed a fairway today, which gives you just the opportunity to try and hit the greens.
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"Going out was obviously super long, going back out into the wind, and then coming back downwind sometimes isn't that easy, either, it was such a strong wind.
"Drove the ball well and putted well from probably 10 feet and in, which I think are probably the two key things you have to do well on days like this."
Georgia Hall, the most-recent British winner after her victory at Royal Birkdale in 2018, is a further two strokes back after recovering from bogeying three of her first five holes to post a two-over 73.
Some holes I could barely stand up, it was so windy all the way round but especially at the start," Hall told Sky Sports. "I'm pretty happy with how I played today.
"I played quite conservative with my approach, I just know that whatever happens I've got to keep going and keep grinding because you never know what's going to happen on a links course and the conditions couldn't be much tougher I don't think.
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"I was hitting a lot of three irons off the tee, I think I hit driver twice the whole round. I want to stay out of all the fairway bunkers and feel that my irons into the greens are fairly strong so want to rely on that a bit more.
"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. I'd much rather have a greenside bunker shot to try and save par."
Watch the AIG Women's Open throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues on Friday from 10.30am on Sky Sports Golf, Sky Sports Mix and the Sky Sports YouTube channel.
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