In four short days she has gained the reputation of supermum: becoming the first Scot to win the Women's Open, giving birth to her second child weeks before getting back on the golf course, and leaping from a burning building.

But of course, like all superheroes, Catriona Matthew is not only modest but takes the achievements in her stride.

Yesterday she swept to the top of the leaderboard to take the trophy in the Ricoh Women's British Open, making hers a victory that ranks as one of the most striking in the tour's history. Her best Open performance to date was a tie for third in Sunningdale in 2001. Three clear with a round to go, things looked to be slipping away when she bogeyed the first, third and 10th and fell into a tie with Japan's Ai Miyazato, winner of last week's Evian Masters in France.

But then Matthew sank putts of 15 and 35 feet at the 13th and 14th and two-putted the long 15th for a third successive birdie to go clear. Although she bogeyed the 17th, the big mistakes were being made elsewhere.

Just eleven weeks ago and one tournament's participation away, Matthew, also mother to two-year-old Katie, gave birth to baby Sophie.

Then, less than two weeks ago, there was the much-documented escape from fire-stricken apartments in France, hours before the start of the Evian Masters contest.

Her husband Graeme, who is also her caddy, burnt his foot during the escape and had to be treated in hospital while the couple lost most of the possessions they had with them in France.

Matthew, ranked 19th in the world and Scotland's number one, was forced to run through the flames to escape from the hotel, close to Lake Geneva. She said at the time: "It was a total nightmare."

With that setback now well behind her, Matthew believes that her new-found success may just have something to do with motherhood. She said yesterday: "I think having children has kind of calmed me down. I don't get as bad-tempered - Graeme might agree, he might not."

"My aim was always to win a major and the British for me is obviously the biggest. You do think chances might be running out and I am obviously delighted."

Born in Edinburgh and educated in North Berwick, Matthew graduated from Stirling University, one of the few universities to offer golfing scholarships, before starting a career as an accountant.

She learned to play on the Children's Course and North Berwick West Links before starting a successful junior and amateur career that saw her crowned Scottish Girls Champion in 1986. She turned professional in 1995.

In 2007, the golfer reached six top-10 finishes and reached the $5m (£2.9m) mark in career earnings.

No stranger to juggling motherhood and the gruelling, year-round touring circuit, Matthew finished second in another major - the 2007 Kraft Nabisco Championship - when Katie was just three months old.

Despite Matthew's clutch of impressive achievements, she shies away from being thought of as a sporting supermum.

"After coming back from having my first baby, Katie, I finished second, third then second again," she said.

"Maybe I started having babies too late. It doesn't take you long to get back into things, I don't think.

"My mum is here this week and she is the one getting up for the baby in the middle of the night.

"Things have been fairly easy. I started playing five weeks after the birth, I was hitting the ball really well at that stage."