Brandon Matthews deemed it a successful weekend.
The rising senior tied for third after shooting 10-under par at the 62nd annual Sunnehanna Amateur Tournament for Champions.
The Dupont, Pennsylvania native shot a final round five-under 65 on Saturday at the Sunnehanna Country Club in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, which surged him into a third place tie with South Florida’s Chase Koepka and Ohio State University commit Will Grimmer.
While his final round capped a good weekend, Matthews said his five birdies and a bogey-free first round helped him finish third.
“I limited my mistakes very well,” Matthews said.
Matthews acknowledged that he came close on a lot of putts and believed he could have easily won the tournament, however he walked away from the four-day event optimistic about hitting greens and giving himself a chance to make birdies.
“Obviously if you don’t win a golf tournament you’re going to look back and say, ‘What could I have done?’” Matthews said. “But I’m going to take a lot of positives from this week.”
While he didn’t win the event, Matthews said he felt his mental fortitude develop, which has helped him become a more consistent golfer. He said the key is to never lose focus so he can hit as many greens as possible.
“You have to stay in the moment and you have to concentrate on every shot so a lot of it is mental,” Matthews said. “I’m getting better mentally and physically every day.”
Matthews added that during his junior season at Temple he learned about growing mentally and not allowing lapses from shot to shot. This helped him finish in the top 10 in 12 of his last 14 tournaments and tie the school record for career wins with eight.
“There’s a lot of things that life throws at you,” Matthews said. “And you learn from them and become mentally strong.”
Next on Matthews’ schedule is the Northeast Amateur, which will take place from June 24-27 in Rumford, Rhode Island.
Coming off this performance at Sunnehanna, Matthews is eager to get back on the course and play in his next event.
“My game’s in the right spot,” Matthews said. “My head’s in a good spot.”
Greg Frank can be reached at Greg.Frank@Temple.edu or on Twitter @g_frank6
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