Catriona Matthew yesterday admitted that she wouldn’t turn down the chance to lead Europe into the defence of the Solheim Cup on American soil in two years’ time.
The 50-year-old Scot was still basking in the glory of Europe’s thrilling 14 ½ - 13 ½ victory over the USA at Gleneagles on Sunday as the biennial contest drew to the most dramatic conclusion of its 29-year history.
The Europeans, who ended America’s bid for a third successive cup win, will defend the trophy at the Inverness club in Ohio in 2021.
After her triumphant stint as captain in her home country, many are backing Matthew to reprise the role on the other side of the Atlantic.
Matthew remained coy on the subject but admitted the offer would be a hard one to turn down.
“I will let this one sink in first but you never know, I wouldn’t say no,” said the Scot when asked about the prospect of a second term as captain.
Matthew believes that winning the Solheim Cup in her own country will not be topped and she admits the showpiece at Gleneagles had surpassed all her expectations.
READ MORE: Europe win thrilling Solheim Cup at Gleneagles
The manner of the victory – Suzann Pettersen won the final match on the final hole to give Europe a one point victory – was the icing on the cake.
Matthew added: “This exceeds it. The crowd there on the last green and at the closing ceremony was unbelievable.
“I think on the last green I’ve never seen anything like it, to be honest. For it to be so close and to go to the last putt just makes it all the more exciting.”
Pettersen, who had not long returned to golf after having a baby, swiftly revealed that she would be retiring in the jubilant aftermath of Europe’s win and Matthew admitted the Norwegian’s announcement had taken her by surprise.
“She hadn’t told any of us,” added Matthew. “But, you know, she’s had such a great career. I can see why she wants to go out on a high.”
Asked if Pettersen may reconsider once the dust settles, Matthew said: “No, I can’t see Suzann changing her mind.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here