Laureation address: Catriona Matthew OBE

Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws
Laureation by Otto Voettiner BBA Postgraduate student, MSc Finance and Management, 600 Club Scholar

Tuesday 12 July 2022

Vice-Chancellor, it is my privilege to present for the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, Catriona Isobel Matthew.  

Catriona Matthew is undoubtedly the best female Scottish golfer of her generation. Catriona was born in Edinburgh and grew up in North Berwick, where she learned to play golf. A student of Finance at the University of Stirling, she was one of the first students on the Golf Scholarship programme and the first female golf scholar. While attending the University of Stirling, she won the Scottish and British Universities’ Championships and represented British Universities at the World Student Golf Championships. 

Catriona had a distinguished amateur career, winning an impressive range of championships including the Scottish Girls Championship. Catriona is a two-time champion of the Scottish Under-21’s, three-time champion of the Scottish Ladies Amateur, and won the British Women’s Amateur title in 1993. She was a member of three Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup teams and a two-time winner of the St Rule Trophy played here at St Andrews. 

Moving on to her unbelievably accomplished professional career, Catriona played in 564 professional events over 25 years from 1995 to 2020. She won her maiden professional tournament at the Holden Women's Australian Open in 1996; thirteen years later, Catriona had her major championship breakthrough win during the 2009 RICOH Women’s British Open. In so doing, she became the first player from Scotland to win a women’s major championship, and her major victory came only ten weeks after she gave birth to her second daughter, Sophie. 

With over 100 career top ten finishes to her name, Catriona was thrilled to be chosen to represent Team Great Britain at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, when golf returned to the Olympics after a 112-year absence. 

Representing Team Europe, Catriona has nine Solheim Cup appearances as a player in 37 matches, securing 22 points. In September of 2017, she was announced as captain for the 2019 Solheim Cup, which took place at Gleneagles. Team Europe would go on to win the cup in 2019. Later that year in October, Catriona was announced as Solheim Cup captain for 2021, and just last September she led the European team that defeated my United States countrywomen at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. In so doing, Catriona Matthew became the first European Solheim Cup captain to lead Team Europe in back-to-back victories. Her second win as captain was also only the second time the European team had won on United States soil. 

In 2009, Catriona was crowned Ladies' European Tour Player of the Year and her commitment to the sport of golf was recognised by her fellow professionals through the Heather Farr award. This is awarded to the LPGA golfer who ’through hard work, dedication and love of the game of golf has demonstrated determination, perseverance, and spirit in fulfilling her goals as a player’. She became the first Freewoman of East Lothian in 2010 and was awarded the named Scottish Golf’s Player of the Year in 2013 – clearly a well-deserved, some might argue long overdue, acknowledgement of prolonged excellence at the highest level. She is the first female winner of this award, and she follows in the footsteps of previous winners including Paul Lawrie and David Law. In further recognition of her services to golf, Catriona was appointed MBE in the 2010 New Year Honours list and later OBE in the 2020 New Year Honours. Catriona is also an honorary life member of both North Berwick and the Gullane Ladies’ Golf Clubs. 

Catriona credits her time at university as playing a key role in developing her golf skills, particularly her experience as the first female Golf Scholarship recipient at the University of Stirling – alongside which she received an international sport scholarship and a bursary from The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews to help with her golf development. Her successes demonstrate that academic studies and sporting excellence can and should be combined, and they serve as an inspiration to generations of aspiring student athletes.

Vice-Chancellor, in recognition of her sporting excellence and legendary example-setting, I ask you to confer the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, on Catriona Matthew.