Matthew Mattare relaxes after winning Philadelphia Mid-Amateur
(Golf Association of Philadelphia Photo)
PAOLI, PA (May 26, 2016) - Matthew Mattare’s quest
for
a Major trophy finally ended at the pot of gold the
Notre
Dame alum has longingly sought. Mattare, of Saucon
Valley Country Club, outlasted Michael R. Brown, Jr.
of
Philadelphia Publinks GA and Matt Finger of DuPont
Country Club in a four-hole aggregate playoff for the
33rd Middle-Amateur Championship presented
Callaway
Golf on Thursday at Waynesborough Country Club
(par
71, 6,859 yards). Mattare finished the playoff with 14
strokes; Brown had 15 and Finger had 16.
“Finally. As excited as I am, I am more relieved
than anything,” said Mattare, 30, of Jersey City, N.J.
“It’s been eight years since the Patterson [Cup]
where I
came close and Glenn [Smeraglio] edged me out in
the
end. It’s been a long trip to get here. And I’m glad I
arrived.”
Mattare finished second to Smeraglio in the 2008
Joseph H. Patterson Cup when the 36-hole event was
split between St. Davids Golf Club and
Waynesborough.
Mattare fired a first-round 67 at Waynesborough that
year.
“It was good to be back here,” said Mattare, who
works in wealth management for Morgan Stanley.
The leaderboard was a revolving door all day,
but
looked closed with Finger holding a one-stroke edge
standing on the reachable 18th (par 5, 527 yards)
tee.
Brown and Mattare had already posted their 1-over-
par
143 totals for the two days and Finger, the co-first-
round leader, needed just a par to secure the win.
His
drive caught the right rough though, and his third
shot,
an 8-iron from 151 yards, landed 60 feet short and
right
of the hole.
“I didn’t really know where I stood going to 18
but I
thought I had a one-shot lead,” said Finger, 38, of
Woolwich Township, N.J. “I took 3-wood off the tee
and
put it in the right rough. I hit a 5-iron out. And then I
hit an 8-iron into the green, which I thought was
good,
but it kind of shot up and just got stuck in the wind. I
had four feet left. I played it a left edge putt and
pulled
it. I didn’t finish. I don’t know what else to say. That
one is going to hurt.”
The playoff rotation was Nos. 1-4-8-9.
All three players parred No. 1 (par 4, 367 yards)
in
good order before Finger resuscitated his shocked
system with a birdie on No. 4 (par 3, 189 yards). He
ripped a 6-iron to 12 feet and drained the putt. His
two
opponents made par to fall a shot back.
On No. 8 (par 4, 371 yards), Finger, who placed
a
premium on driving accuracy all week, strayed into
trouble off the tee similar to the closing hole. His 2-
iron
tee shot found the left rough, obscured from the
green
by a tree. His second shot then rolled into a
greenside
bunker. He eventually made five. Mattare, on the
other
hand, stated his title intentions loudly. His 108-yard
lob
wedge cozied up to three feet.
“As soon as it left the club I knew it was
perfect,”
said Mattare.
Brown, 43, of Maple Shade, N.J., made a
miraculous up-and-down after missing the green left,
draining a 30-foot putt for par. Mattare sank his short
birdie and now headed to No. 9 (par 4, 438 yards)
one
stroke clear.
Needing one more timely swing, Mattare
rocketed a
drive center-cut.
“On every shot I was saying ‘Be decisive. Don’t
be
tentative.’ Yesterday, on the first nine it was just
tentative strokes. I kept trying to steer it with my
irons.
Steer it with the driver. I got up on No. 2, which was
my 11th hole, and I had a five-footer for birdie and
just
waved at it. I said ‘Start being decisive,’” said
Mattare.
“From that point forward before every single shot I
said
‘Be decisive.’ And that’s exactly what I did.”
Mattare, left with 138 yards to the hole,
launched a
pitching wedge to the green that rolled out to 25
feet.
Brown, in the right rough, smacked a fantastic 9-iron
from 151 yards to 30 feet on the same line as
Mattare.
Finger missed his approach left and then chipped
long.
Brown’s birdie scooted by leaving Mattare needing
only
a two-putt for the win, which he did.
“Philly is my home. These are the most
important
tournaments of the year to me,” said Mattare, who
was
the medalist in the 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur
Championship. “I have a great group of friends down
here. It means everything. You look at all the guys
who
have won over the last couple of years, a bunch of
friends like Jeff Osberg, Michael McDermott and John
Brennan, it’s great to join their little club.”
It is Mattare’s first Golf Association of
Philadelphia
Major victory.
“I had no expectations there would be a playoff,”
said Brown. “I was pretty confident the number
would
be even. I needed three or four things to happen for
1
over to be the number and they did. I backed into
that
playoff for sure. I was happy to have another
chance.”
Defending champion Scott McNeil of Bala Golf
Club
carded rounds of 78 and 77 to tie for 44th place.
At various points throughout the day, seven
different players held the lead. A bit of a breeze and
championship greens kept the field compact.
View results for Philadelphia Mid-Amateur