Catriona Matthew is hoping to serve up a triple Scotch at Dundonald Links this week as she eyes a hat-trick of Aberdeen Asset Management Ladies Scottish Open titles.

The 45-year-old from North Berwick won the national crown in 2011 and 2013 and the Solheim Cup stalwart is keen to get back to form and launch another title tilt on home soil.

The ever-consistent Matthew has suffered a dip of late and has missed her last two cuts on the LPGA Tour in the US.

But as the season hits the peak period, with the Women’s British Open coming up next week at Turnberry, the former Scottish Women’s Amateur champ is looking to up the ante.

The race to qualify for the European team for September’s Solheim Cup match with the USA is heating up and Matthew is currently occupying the final automatic spot.

She has played in seven biennial bouts going back to 1998 and the Scot, who secured the half-point that gave Europe a first ever victory on American soil two years ago, is determined to make it eight.

Matthew, who leads a strong tartan army that includes Kylie Walker, Pamela Pretswell and Carly Booth, said: “Having won the Scottish Open twice, this is an event that is really special to me and I’d definitely like to win it again.

“This is the start of a big few weeks. I have these two week in Scotland and then events in Portland and Canada and these are the four events that I’ll be in before the team is picked. “I’m not quite certain where I stand but I think I’m just sneaking in at the moment. I just need to keep playing well over the next few weeks to make sure I’m part of it.

“The Solheim Cup is a big goal as I love that week. It is always great fun playing in a team.”

Matthew will face tough competition in Ayrshire this week from an impressive line-up that includes the world No 2, Lydia Ko.

The 18-year-old may be a global superstar but the New Zealand teen still likes to stargaze and this week’s 54-hole Pro-Am contest has given her the chance to do that.

Hollywood actor Andrew Howard is one of a host of celebrities from the world of film, TV and sport who are teeing-up alongside the professionals in this Dunhill Links-style event.

And Ko, who was winning pro events as an amateur at the age of 14 and has won five titles since she joined the paid ranks barely two years ago, said: “I’ve seen him (Howard) on TV, and to get to see him here is pretty cool. I walked past him yesterday, and I was like, ‘do you look like what you are on TV, and I think yep’. I get very awe struck, even when I see PGA Tour players. I was at the US Open last year and Bill Haas said ‘hello’. I didn’t know what to do. It was really cool that he knew me. I try not to look at magazines that I’m in or on videos I’m in because I think my voice sounds weird when it’s recorded. I try not to look at articles about me either. But I see everybody I see on TV. When I play on the LPGA Tour I’ve seen players on TV and in magazines and now I get to play with them and be beside them which is really cool.”

England’s Charley Hull, last year’s European No 1, is another of golf’s talented teens competing this week in a championship that boasts a purse of £360,000.