"The last four Open champions – of which Rory is obviously one – have all played in the Scottish Open the week before winning the Claret Jug and we hope to continue that trend this week".
Matthew, the Women's British Open champion of 2009, is particularly strong in that aspect of the game and has the experience and patience for the Pinehurst test.
Several prominent international players will also stop in New York to play the Buick on their way to Pebble Beach, including the reigning British Open champion, Paul Lawrie of Scotland, Jean Van de Velde of France and Shigeki Maruyama of Japan.
However, during his first-round victory over the former French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain there were echoes of the electric speed and certainty of shot that once took the Frenchman into the world's top 10.
In the other semifinal Thursday, the reigning Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters of Belgium will face Victoria Azarenka of Belarus.
In another upset yesterday, Nicolas Escude of France beat the former French Open champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, 7-5, 7-5, his sixth straight loss in the opening round.
World No. 1 Simona Halep of Romania is the No. 1 seed, with 2018 Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark seeded No. 2 and Garbine Muguruza of Spain at No. 3. Defending champion Elena Vesnina of Russia is seeded 24th.
In a match that stretched 3 hours 39 minutes, Paul-Henri Mathieu of France defeated the 2001 Open champion Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in an exhausting 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1 victory.
Until the No. 6 seed and French Open champion Li Na of China was ousted by Simona Halep of Romania, 6-2, 7-5, early in the evening, there was hardly a drop of sweat shed in anxiety.
In a women's foursome boasting three former United States Open champions, two of whom make up a semifinal worthy of a championship final, one player has quietly slipped into the conversation.
