Kathryn Imrie on Solheim Cups, historic LPGA win and Condoleezza Rice

Kathryn Imrie and Catriona Matthew pose for a photograph after the announcement of the European Solheim Cup team at Gleneagles in August , 2019. Picture: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images.

Kathryn Imrie’s name will forever be etched in the record books, having been the first Scottish golfer to win on the LPGA Tour in 1995.

She also made her Solheim Cup debut alongside Annika Sorenstam before being enlisted by her long-time friend, Catriona Matthew, as a vice captain for the memorable match at Gleneagles in 2019.

Add in the fact she now coaches the former US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, in California and Imrie has lots to talk about, as she does here in an exclusive interview.

Did you know from an early age that you were destined for a career in golf?

Kathryn Imrie in action during the 43rd LPGA Championship at the DuPont Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1997. Picture: Jamie Squire/Allsport/Getty Images.

KI: Probably destined for a career in sport, but I didn’t really know it was going to be in golf until I was 14 or 15. Football was my first love and I was sure I was going to be the first female to play for Dundee (laughing). I actually trained with the Dundee Strikers, the ladies’ team, for a while and hockey was the big love after football before golf basically took over.

Are you from a golfing family?

KI: Yeah, my mum, Addie, took up the game after raising the four of us while my dad, Bob, always played and also my eldest brother Graham, who was pretty decent as well. I started on the Ashludie, the shorter course at Monifieth, and it was perfect for me back then. I think most courses should have somewhere like that around 5,000 yards to let people learn the game.

You enjoyed an impressive junior career. What was the highlight during that period?

Kathryn Imrie lifts the trophy aloft after her win in the 1995 Jamie Farr Toledo Classic. She was the first Scot to record a victory on the LPGA Tour

KI: I think it has to be when I won the Scottish Schools at Monifieth when I was 14. That was definitely a highlight, beating all the older competitors who didn’t have a clue who this young squirt from Monifieth was. The three successive Scottish Junior Stroke-Play Championships were good, too, especially when I came from 10 shots back in one of those to win.

When did you first come across Catriona Matthew, who is a couple of years younger than you?

KI: I know there was definitely a bit of scuttlebutt about this really good player from North Berwick and it was one of the Scottish Championships in the early to mid-80s. There was definitely a lot of talk about her before I first met her and it was through the Scottish national camps that we got to know each other. One of our first trips together was a road trip to Lindrick for the British Open in 1988 with fellow Scot Julie Forbes. We all met in Edinburgh at a multi-story car park. Unfortunately, the car got pretty banged up on the way out of the car park (due to the tight circular ramps and Beany’s driving) and, as you can imagine, this was all quite hilarious to the three of us. Good news was, we all made it to Lindrick and had a ball that week.

You were also team-mates in the 1990 Curtis Cup. How nice was that at the time?