Catriona Matthew, skipper for the victorious European teams in 2019 and 2021, explains what practices are really like, how to manage expectations and making tough decisions.
Wherever one stands on the debate over how far leading professionals should be able to hit modern golf balls, one aspect is undeniable: the biggest victims of the distance explosion have been so many of the game’s truly great courses, including Walton Heath, the venue for this week’s AIG Women’s Open.
Nicklaus first saw the most historic course on the planet in 1964, when he finished runner-up behind the late Tony Lema in what was his third Open appearance. He loved it then and he loves it still.
Somehow, though, America’s team members kept their cool, found their footing, weathered those early European salvos, and finally injected some drama into the 17th Solheim Cup on day two.
Two-hundred-seventy-five years later, and more than two years after Muirfield’s Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers announced that it would open its membership to women, it has extended invitations to 12 women, the club announced today.
As the eyes of the world turn to a currently sun-drenched Caledonia over the next few weeks, the state of Scotland’s game leaves a lot to be desired.