Scotland’s Catriona Matthew, who once picked up trash at a men’s British Open at Muirfield, now set to hit historic first tee shot

Catriona Matthew will hit the first tee shot at the 2022 AIG Women’s British Open at Muirfield at 6:30 a.m. local time Thursday. The historic moment fully belongs to Matthew, who grew up on the Wee Course at nearby North Berwick Golf Club, where she still lives with her husband and their two girls, Katie and Sophie.

Matthew understands better than most what it means for the best women in the world to finally compete at Muirfield, site of 16 men’s British Opens. She volunteered at several of those championships growing up, picking up trash the first time.

“I think probably one of the first times I remember I was a litter picker for one of The Opens here,” she said, “and then I was actually a scorer a couple of times.”