Tag: Brooke Matthews

College stars show out at 2021 PXG College Golf Showcase, which donated $1 million to military foundations

Check out some of the highlights from the second-annual college showcase.

The big winner of the PXG College Golf Showcase was once again charity.

The second annual event at Scottsdale National Golf Club aimed to elevate collegiate golfers and PGA Tour University while also benefiting military-focused foundations was shot last month but aired Wednesday night on Golf Channel. The teams, led by playing captains actor and Marine veteran Rob Riggle and Hall of Fame NFL running back Jerome Bettis, were filled with some of the nation’s best college golfers – for now – and the players didn’t disappoint.

Riggle’s Semper Fi & America’s Fund team, featuring Oklahoma State’s Eugenio Chacarra, Washington’s RJ Manke and Duke’s Gina Kim, were down big at the turn to Bettis’ team representing Mount Sinai, comprised of Arkansas’ Brooke Matthews, SMU’s Noah Goodwin and Oklahoma’s Logan McAllister, but fought back down the stretch. Ultimately, it was Riggle’s squad coming out on top in the end with $512,500 to the Semper Fi fund, just ahead of Mount Sinai with $487,500.

The tagline for the event is, “Elite college golfers should be household names.” While that’s true, if you’re just learning about Kim and Matthews, you might have missed their college careers. A total of 46 players recently earned LPGA cards for next season, including Matthews and Kim. Both said they plan to announce their decision about whether they will turn pro or defer and finish their college seasons in the coming days.

The money was donated by the Bob and Renee Parsons Foundation. Parsons, the founder of internet domain and registrar company GoDaddy, purchased Scottsdale National in 2013 and started PXG in 2014.

Check out some of the highlights from the second-annual showcase.

McAllister hates putting in Arizona

OK, maybe not, but at last year’s NCAA Championship the Sooner star made two aces, then at the PXG event he chips in for eagle to give his team some early juice.

Blowout at the turn

Things weren’t looking good midway through the event.

‘Be the number!’

The Semper Fi squad started to get a little swagger after the turn and Chacarra couldn’t get enough of Manke’s approach at the par-5 10th.

Gina Kim throws darts

A 325 carry?!

No words, just watch.

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Among the amateurs at LPGA Q-Series: 7 college players, a junior and a talented sister act

There will be a cut to low 70 and ties.

Because an eight-round tournament isn’t difficult enough, Q-Series happens to collide with the last two weeks of the semester for Florida State senior Beatrice Wallin. Thankfully, the humanities major reports that her professors have been supportive.

Wallin is one of eight amateurs in the field of 110 this week, and she’s currently the highest in the World Amateur Golf Ranking at No. 5.

“It’s legit,” said Wallin of the vibe so far at Q-Series. “It’s very different to what I’m used to, but it’s a lot of fun.”

Wallin was able to skip Stage I of qualifying thanks to being awarded a spot in the field at Stage II as a top-5 player in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings at the time of the entry deadline. Both Linn Grant of Arizona State and Pauline Roussin-Bouchard of South Carolina advanced into Stage II this way but have turned professional. Roussin-Bouchard medaled at second stage.

The first week of Q-Series takes place Dec. 2-5 on the RTJ’s Magnolia Grove (Crossings and Falls Courses) in Mobile, Alabama. There will be a cut to low 70 and ties.

Scores will carry over from the first week to the second. The top 45 players and ties will receive LPGA status for the 2022 season. Those who do not receive LPGA status will have Symetra Tour status for next year.

College players who enter the field as amateurs can defer LPGA membership and accept at any point until July 1, 2022.

Both Jennifer Kupcho and Maria Fassi chose to defer after earning their LPGA cards. Kupcho won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur the next spring and Fassi won the NCAA Championship.

Wallin said she isn’t yet sure what she’ll do.

“I’ve been telling everyone that I’ve been in college for 3 ½ years, I might as well just finish it off,” she said. “You know, it can be tempting to turn professional because that’s what you’ve been practicing for your whole life.

“Honestly, I don’t know.”

Among the seven college players in the field are sisters Yu Chiang Hou (who goes by Vivian) and Yu-Sang Hou. The Taiwanese pair play for Arizona and are both ranked in the top 30 in the world.

Yu-Chiang Hou, from Chinese Taipei, smiles after defeating Cara Heisterkamp 4 & 3 in the quarterfinal match at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Westchester Country Club in Harrison on Friday, August 6, 2021.

Rounding out the college players in the field are U.S. Curtis Cup players Gina Kim (Duke) and Brooke Matthews (Arkansas) as well as Polly Mack (Alabama) and Karen Fredgaard (Houston).

In addition, Hyo Joo Jang, 18, of South Korea, is a 2022 high school graduate who attends a golf academy in Florida.

A three-time winner at Florida State, Wallin ranks second in career scoring for the Seminoles at 71.94. It was her brother Richard who got Wallin and her parents into the game after a neighbor first invited him to play. Richard, who works back home in Sweden, is on the bag this week.

“There’s a lot of Swedes playing,” said Wallin, who went to dinner at Bonefish with four of her compatriots on Tuesday night.

“Just talking about normal stuff, trying to have some fun off the golf course.”

Given the grind that’s ahead, she’ll need it.

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When is the right time to turn pro? Arkansas’ Brooke Matthews, a former No. 1, will soon have to decide

Arkansas has a College Player of the Year contender in Brooke Matthews, but she could be a card-carrying LPGA member by Christmas.

It’s that time of year again, when college coaches hold their breath to see what kind of team they’ll have in the spring. Right now, Arkansas has a College Player of the Year contender in Brooke Matthews on the roster. But she could be a card-carrying LPGA member by Christmas, which would be akin to losing the star quarterback right before the bowl game.

Matthews, 23, made the cut on the number last week to advance to LPGA Q-Series in December, where 45 players will earn LPGA status. She flew straight from Florida to Mississippi to compete in The Ally for the Razorbacks, wrapping up seven consecutive days of competition.

“It’s kind of a win-win for me,” said Matthews, “that’s how I look at it. Either I come back to Arkansas where I’m really happy, or I live out my dream playing professional golf.”

Matthews grew up with the LPGA playing almost quite literally in her backyard. Wendy Ward and Vicki Goetze-Ackerman stayed with her family when the tour first came to Rogers, Arkansas, and set up shop at their home course, Pinnacle Country Club. Matthews was a dedicated gymnast at the time but said that week left a huge impression.

“I really wanted to be out there,” she said. “I couldn’t understand why.”

By age 12, Matthews had given up gymnastics and started playing tournament golf, outdriving most kids from the start. At Stage II of Q-School, Matthews made a pair of eagles in the third round on two par-5s, hitting an 8-iron into one for her second shot.

When she arrived at Arkansas as a freshman, Matthews’ swing speed hovered around 101 mph. Now as a fifth-year senior, she’s comfortably up to 107 but can push it to 110/111 on TrackMan.

Even so, it would take a special wallop to get one past former teammate Maria Fassi.

“I’m fine with admitting that she would outdrive me,” said Matthews with a laugh.

Aug 30, 2020; Rogers, AR, USA; during the final round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship golf tournament at Pinnacle Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Gunnar Rathbun-USA TODAY Sports

In figuring out what to do next, Matthews can look at the blueprint of two former Razorbacks. Gaby Lopez left early her senior year to pursue the 2016 Olympics (where she finished 31st); Maria Fassi chose to defer until after she graduated, becoming a bona fide star at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and winning the NCAA individual title in her final spring at home in Arkansas.

Matthews’ situation is different in that, because the pandemic cut her junior season short, she stayed on for a fifth year. She’ll graduate with a degree in marketing in December and would have to start a new major if she comes back in the spring, taking 12 hours.

Matthews won the first two events of the fall, shooting 63-64-64 at the Cougar Classic in South Carolina. Her 25-under 191 total crushed the NCAA’s previous 54-hole scoring record of 19 under.

She then enjoyed back-to-back events on home tracks, making the cut in Rogers at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship and then winning the Blessings Intercollegiate on Arkansas’ home course.

Matthews knows that LPGA road life is hard, to the extent that she can anyway. In college, everything is booked by someone else, paid for by someone else and organized by someone else. All she has to worry about is getting the grades, keeping her game in order and showing up on time.

“You kind of get your hand held throughout (college),” said Matthews, “which is probably something I take for granted more than I realized.”

Arkansas legend Stacy Lewis has given Matthews a bit of advice and finds the amateur’s outlook refreshing. The fact that Matthews has slowly worked her way up – cracking the Curtis Cup team this year – and is just now starting to ask questions about tour life, reminds Lewis of herself.

Since Matthews will have her degree by year’s end, Lewis said her decision on whether or not to turn pro should come down to how many events she’ll have to compete in early next year. If she finishes in the top 20 at Q-Series and earns her full card, “then yes, it’s worth it,” Lewis said.

If she’s 45th on the list and won’t get in many events until the summer, then staying in school and deferring might be the best route.

“Can you build a schedule with the status that you get to continue to improve?” asked Lewis.

That’s the question Matthews will need to answer. And that can be difficult to project because it largely depends on the decisions of those higher on the priority list. Player who finished in the top 45 at Q-Series in 2019 were seeded Nos. 129 to 174 on the initial LPGA Priority List. Most full-field events range from 120 to 140 players.

Should Matthews decide to defer, she can accept LPGA membership at any point until July 1, 2022. Her position on the priority list would be held until that point.

If she finishes outside the top 45, she’ll have full Symetra Tour status.

Head coach Shauna Taylor knows that what’s best for Matthews might not always be what’s best for the Arkansas program. If she earns a fully-exempt card, Taylor agrees with Lewis that Matthews should turn professional.

“You’ve got to capture the moment,” Taylor said.

It gets murky, however, when conditional status is involved.

Both player and coach agree that course management has been the area in which Matthews has improved the most in her time at Arkansas. Some of the decisions she made at the Blessings to play away from certain hole locations made Taylor beam with satisfaction.

Has Matthews played her last event as a Razorback? That’s the strange thing about this time of year.

No one really knows.

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Maria Fassi captivated at Augusta in 2019. Now it could be Brooke Matthews’ turn.

Brooke Matthews is the new big hitter from Arkansas in the second Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Maria Fassi’s image is everywhere this Augusta National Women’s Amateur week. The runner-up in the inaugural tournament in 2019, the Arkansas graduate was unforgettable with her big game, shiny aviators and her unwavering support for friend and opponent Jennifer Kupcho, the eventual winner.

This week, it’s Fassi’s words that echo in former teammate Brooke Matthews’ head. Fassi wants her simply to trust it in her ANWA debut.

“Just trust it, that’s a big thing,” Matthews said of the mantra she got from Fassi and Dylan Kim, another former teammate and ANWA competitor.

ANWA: Tee times, TV info | Top 10 college players

Matthews is the only Arkansas player in the field this week and with big shoes to fill after Fassi’s memorable run in 2019. But their games are similar, with Matthews also being an exceptionally long player. Matthews, who redshirted her freshman season with the Razorbacks, overlapped Fassi two years. They only traveled together one season.

“Maria was very confident in the way she did things,” Matthews said earlier this spring, at the UCF Challenge. “She was probably one of the most encouraging teammates I’ve ever had – go out of her way to have personal connections and conversations with everyone on the team.”

In Fayetteville, Arkansas head coach Shauna Taylor would sometimes pair the two together on purpose to give Matthews a window into how another big hitter gets it done. Matthews also plays quite a few rounds with members at Arkansas’ home club, the Blessings, or with members.

Fassi has since moved back to practice in Fayetteville, a place that has always been home to Matthews.

“When you coach at Arkansas you know who the best players are in Arkansas,” Taylor said of bringing in a local like Matthews. “Brooke was obviously really close to campus. I had my eye on Brooke for a really long time.”

As a kid, Matthews was a gymnast, and didn’t pick up a club until she was 12 – a relatively late age for a player at this level. Her dream of being a Razorback gymnast slowly morphed into being a Razorback golfer. She’s been playing at the Blessings since she was 16.

By the time she reached her freshman year, Matthews wasn’t quite ready to compete. It took awhile to break into the traveling squad, and ultimately Matthews took the redshirt year to grow her game.

The pieces have finally clicked, and it was much mental as physical.

“I feel like I’ve been close for a long time,” Matthews said. “When I got into college, I really started to straighten out my driver. The older I’ve gotten, that just gave me more consistency. Been putting it a little better. Honestly just growing up and also handling the mental side of it little bit better.”

In August, Matthews reached the second round of the U.S. Women’s Amateur. Three weeks later, she qualified for the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship, the hometown LPGA event, and finished 49th. She won the Blessings Invitational in October with a big boost from opening rounds of 67-66. The next week, she was runner-up at the Ally.

“I think Brooke has kind of turned the corner in her self-belief and just a little bit smarter on the golf course, doesn’t panic when things are going a little sideways,” Taylor said. “She kind of knows that adversity is a part of what we’re doing and a part of our game and has learned to handle it a lot better.”

Back in 2019, Matthews was parked on a couch in Fayetteville with teammates, living and dying with every shot in the final round. She cheered and screamed.

“I think Maria Fassi, and Jennifer Kupcho, too, just made an impression on golf as a whole,” she said. “They kind of changed it a little bit for the better.”

This year, that could be her.

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Arkansas cruises to victory at Blessings behind Kajal Mistry, Cory Lopez

The host Razorbacks ran away for an 18-stroke victory over runner-up LSU.

The only real question still hanging in the balance after the turn on the women’s side of the Blessings Collegiate Invitational wasn’t if host Arkansas end up on the top podium, but only if the Razorbacks would have the lowest score in each of the tournament’s three rounds.

Then, Kajal Mistry and Cory Lopez warmed up and even that point seemed moot.

Mistry birdied five of her last 10 holes and Lopez finished with birdies on three of her final four as coach Shauna Taylor’s squad lapped the field, posting an even-par team score of 864 for the three-day event, which was good enough for an 18-stroke victory over runner-up LSU.

Mistry finished the day with a 2-under 70 while Julia Gregg added a 72 and Lopez a 73. That meant individual overall tournament winner Brooke Matthews, who also carded a 73, nearly didn’t crack the top three on her own team.

Matthews still easily won the individual crown, finishing five strokes ahead of LSU’s Ingrid Lindblad with a three-day total of 10-under 206. The Tigers, led by Lindblad’s 211 and a fifth-place showing from Latanna Stone (218) finished second in the race for the team title.

Wednesday’s low round went to Pimnipa Panthong, the former Kent State star who transferred to South Carolina for her senior year. Panthong struggled out of the gate on Wednesday, dropping a stroke on the opening hole and then adding a double-bogey on No. 4, but she fired a 31 on the back to finish with a 68 on the day. The Gamecocks finished third in the team event, followed by Ole Miss (24 over) and Georgia (31 over).

Marina Escobar Domingo of Florida was even on the day to finish fourth in the individual standings for the tournament.

U.S. Women’s Amateur: Rachel Kuehn, Brooke Matthews birdie-fest highlights entertaining Round of 32

The match between Rachel Kuehn-Brooke Matthews featured 14 birdies, highlighting an entertaining Round of 32 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

ROCKVILLE, Md – Imagine making six birdies and losing a match.

Unfortunately for Arkansas’ Brooke Matthews, that was her reality on Friday at the U.S. Women’s Amateur. The rising junior lost a tough match to Wake Forest’s Rachel Kuehn 3-and-1. Kuehn, who entered this week at Woodmont Country Club just outside the nation’s capital on a two-event win streak, made eight birdies of her own to advance to the afternoon Round of 16.

If Kuehn and Matthews played a better-ball round, they would’ve been 11 under through 17 holes.

Is that any good?

Top-seeded Rachel Heck continued to cruise with a 4-and-3 victory over Cecilie Finne-Ipsen. Both made par on the opening two holes, but the rest of the match was all Heck. The incoming Stanford freshman won the third hole and held the lead for the rest of the match.

The day’s fourth match was the first to go to extra holes, with Auburn’s Kaleigh Telfer coming back from three down on the 14th hole to force a playoff against Virginia Tech’s Emily Mahar.

U.S. Women’s Amateur: Scores | Gallery

“Yeah, I didn’t start off too good. I wasn’t hitting the ball too great,” said Telfer after the match. “Emily played really well the first few holes, and I just said to my caddie that on hole 15 I’ve just got to win this hole and then I’ve got something to work with. I managed to win that hole with a par, and then it just boosted the confidence and I was able to come back and get it to all square on 18.”

Telfer, making her U.S. Women’s Amateur debut, won with a par on the 20th hole, the par-3 2nd. On the bag for the rest of her matches is teammate and fellow senior Mychael O’Berry, who lost yesterday in the Round of 64.

“It’s a lot easier having her on the bag. She can calm me down a bit and knows what it’s like out here,” said Telfer of her fellow senior. “Of course she knows everything about this course, she knows my game pretty well, so it helps a lot.”

The final match on the course featured defending champion Gabriella Ruffels in a tight contest with Lei Ye that went to the 18th green. Ruffels, a senior at USC, had two putts from outside 25 feet to win. She only needed one.

The Round of 16 began at 12:45 p.m. ET with the all-Stanford match of Heck vs. Rose Zhang (a 2021 commit). The Cardinal aren’t the only two with a pair of players left. Auburn (Megan Schofill, Telfer), USC (Ruffels and Alyaa Abdulghany) and Wake Forest (Kuehn and Emilia Migliaccio) each have two players left in the field.

You can watch live action on Golf Channel from 1-4 p.m. ET.

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