In the week preceding her 41st birthday, Kathryn carded rounds of 73, 69 and 71 for a level-par 54-hole aggregate of 213 in conditions more favourable to those contenders who carried the ball off the tee considerably further than her 235 yard average over the sodden turf.

Despite her high finish, the former Angus Ladies champion admits it is becoming ever more difficult for her to keep pace with a new breed of athletes who can hit the ball up to 40 yards past her.

"The standard is so good now, the fact is I'm just not long enough," she confessed.

"The women's game is like the men's inasmuch as so many tall athletes are playing the game. Golf is attracting people now who used to be attracted to tennis or volleyball or swimming. Even someone like Lorena Ochoa, who is so slimly built, is just incredibly strong. Through the ball, she generates amazing speed."

With a coaching post on offer from the Jim McLean Teaching School in California, Kathryn feels the pressure to perform is less than it was in previous seasons.

"If I'm going to stop, I want to go out playing well," she reasoned.
"I'm trying to pursue a career in commentating, though that can sometimes feel a little bit like banging your head against a brick wall. Nothing concrete has come up for me yet.

"I took some time off to go down that road last year, but I only commentated at two events."

Based at Palm Springs in California, Kathryn thought by now she might have been given a chance on the Golf Channel in America. She did work on air for Sky Sports during the Solheim Cup and in Dubai last season.
That said, the Monifieth golfer has a new coach, Mike Mitchell, who has given her fresh hope about enjoying an Indian summer as a player. A professional for 17 years, the winner of the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic in 1995 blazed a trail in America, which Janice Moodie and Catriona Matthew subsequently followed. Her performances have tailed off in recent seasons, making her top ten finish at the Carrick all the more enjoyable.