Matthews
Brandon Matthews walked onto the course in Jackson, Miss. the morning of Sept. 29 for his first competitive round of golf as a married man.
He walked off the course as a co-leader in a PGA Tour event.
Matthews eventually wound up in a third-place tie at the end of the first round, but the 67 for the best round of his PGA Tour career to date gave him enough of a cushion to survive second-round struggles, make the cut and eventually place tied for 39th when the Sanderson Farms Championship concluded Oct. 2.
The Country Club of Scranton member posted rounds of 67, 75, 71 and 68 for a 7-under-par, 281 total.
Matthews, a 28-year-old from Dupont, earned $31,995, leaving him 75th on the PGA Tour money list two events into the 2022-23 season. He is the tour’s early leader in average driving distance at 327.8 yards.
Matthews earned his spot on the PGA Tour with a 10th-place finish on the Korn Ferry Tour points list earlier this year. His debut as a tour member – he had played earlier individual events on sponsors’ exemptions – resulted in Matthews dropping out midway through the first round when back problems flared up two weeks ago.
It was back to Pennsylvania the next weekend for the Pittston Area graduate, who got married in the Philadelphia suburbs Sept. 24. Matthews and his wife, Danielle, met as students at Temple University where he had a record-setting career after winning a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state title for the Patriots.
Matthews was over par before going eagle-birdie on his fifth and sixth holes in the first round in Mississippi. Then, he played the last eight holes in 4-under.
After the birdie-birdie finish put Matthews on top of the leaderboard, he shared with reporters that, as he walked off the course, he told Danielle they should have gotten married sooner.
Matthews played the first nine in par during the second round, then put himself under pressure with a triple bogey on 17.
Needing a birdie to make the cut, Matthews ripped a 337-yard drive, put his 155-yard approach shot to within eight feet and made the putt to finish at 3-over-par, 75.
Matthews went into the weekend tied for 60th. He slipped two spots during the third round, then climbed up the leaderboard 23 positions with the strong finish.
