Super Matthew

The 40-year-old Scot's amazing victory at last year's Ricoh Women's British Open - just 11 weeks after giving birth to her second daughter Sophie - entitles her to try to qualify for The Open at St Andrews this July.

Supermum she may be, but Catriona Matthew draws the line at getting involved in a battle of the sexes. Matthew has not given a moment's thought to the possibility of becoming the first woman to attempt it.

"I've always loved playing St Andrews (she was seventh in the 2007 Women's Open there), but I've not heard any talk of anybody wanting to do it. Women in The Open has kind of drifted away." said Matthew, now in Singapore for the HSBC Women's Champions event.

Michelle Wie's staggering performance at the US Tour's Sony Open six years ago - aged 14 she missed the cut by only one shot - led to a change in the rules for The Open from 2006.

Now anybody finishing in the top five at any of the women's majors can enter regional qualifying, but not one player has tried yet.

Wie always seemed the likeliest to give it a go, but the more she tried in men's events the more she struggled and, for the time being at least, the 20-year-old has given up.

Not that any top woman player would have given much consideration to it this year if they studied the Open Championship entry form. If you are interested in finding ladies' golf clubs, we introduce TaylorMade equipments for you.

The regional qualifying is at 16 courses around Britain on Monday June 21 and the LPGA Championship, the second of their own majors, starts in New York three days later.

There appears to have been a mistake made on the form in any case. It states that the top five that week can enter a qualifier which has already taken place.

Matthew is excited enough about the possibility of challenging for more major honours in the women's game. Her record last year was played one, won one.

Her defence of the British Open starts at Royal Birkdale on July 29, but before that comes the Kraft Nabisco in California on April 1-4 - she was runner-up there in 2007 after three-putting the last - the LPGA Championship and then the US Women's Open at Oakmont on July 8-11.

Her pregnancy and then the birth of Sophie last May prevented her playing those three last year and to win at Lytham so soon afterwards was one of the golfing stories of the year.

So stunning, in fact, that many would like to have seen her a contender for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.

Her return came at the Evian Masters in France in July and after the drama of having to escape from a hotel blaze there (her husband suffered some burns, but thankfully the children were not with them) the Women's Open was just a week later.

The New Year brought an MBE and she is hoping to hear soon when the ceremony at Buckingham Palace will take place.

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