A 12TH-PLACED finish at the Women’s PGA last weekend took Catriona Matthew to the brink of Olympic qualification but the Scot has admitted she would probably have turned down the chance to go to Rio if she had plans to have more children.

Now at the veteran stage of her career, the former Women’s British Open champion is excited by the prospect of a sporting achievement she had not contemplated for most of her career by becoming an Olympian but reckons there is serious cause for some of her younger rivals to think long and hard about exposing themselves to the Zika virus.

“I think, for myself, I’ve had my family now. I’m not going to have any more children so, in that respect, I’m not worried, but it is still definitely a concern, certainly for some of the younger ones, some who are hoping to have families soon,” she said.

“If I was at that stage of my life, I would probably seriously consider not going.

“It will be interesting to see what develops over the coming weeks. People are definitely talking about it and worried about it. The players who haven’t had children yet, it’s definitely a concern, especially with the new reports coming out, because you don’t know quite who to believe.

“I wouldn’t be surprised (if female athletes withdraw) depending on the reports on the virus over the coming weeks.”

For Matthew, who is an ambassador for the Aberdeen Asset Management Women’s Scottish Open which takes place at Dundonald next month, the introduction of golf into the Olympics has been an unexpected bonus late in her career and while she is taking nothing for granted she now looks likely to be part of the British team when the qualification cut off comes after the US Open.

“Obviously (the PGA) was a good result, moving up nine spots in the rankings, but it’s not definite until it is,” she said. “I can still get knocked out, depending on how I play and there are four more tournaments to go. Jodi Ewart is playing really well at the moment and made quite a move up, but that result really helped me. If I can play well in the US Open, hopefully I will make it.”

She admitted that Major championships remain her priority, but said the Olympics have provided an extra incentive.

“Winning a gold medal would certainly be right up there. For me, winning a Major would probably be just slightly ahead of it, but winning a gold would be fantastic.

“I’ve always watched the Olympics growing up, always loved it. I suppose that, being a golfer, it was never a goal of mine to play in the Olympics, simply because golf wasn’t in the Games when I was growing up, but it would definitely be right up there.”

Aiming to get there has certainly done her form no harm this season.

“I’m pleased with how I’m playing this year. My aim was to get up into contention more and I feel I’ve done that this year,” said Matthew. “Obviously I’m coming off a good result yesterday, so I’m pleased with how it’s going.

“I’m home for two weeks then I’m playing Portland and the US Open, then I come back and have the Aberdeen Asset Scottish Open before the British Open. I’m looking forward to it.

“I look forward to the Scottish Open every year. It will be the only time I get to play in Scotland this year. I really enjoyed the course last year, so it’s nice going back to Dundonald.”

It also represents a relatively rare opportunity for up and coming domestic talent to be showcased and while that is not specifically a problem for Matthew who plays so much of her golf in America, she acknowledged it is something the Ladies European Tour has to continue to work to address.

"As far as my schedule is concerned it doesn't affect me a lot, but for the LET it will be a concern as they've not had a lot of tournaments in the first half of the year,” she said.

“The second half of schedule in Europe is looking good after they announced some events in the Middle East as well as China and India. Hopefully they can build on that and get a few more tournaments in mainland Europe for next year."