Matthews leans on family at Tamarack

WASAGAMING — Joel Matthews spent the past few Tamaracks watching his family compete.

This year, he wanted in, got in, and he’s making the most of it.

Matthews qualified for the men’s championship flight as the No. 11 seed and out-duelled Brad Pardy in the round of 16 on Tuesday, hanging on for a 1-up victory at Clear Lake Golf Course.

It was a team effort, as his dad, John, the man who got him into the game as a junior, drove his cart, while son Kolton caddied.

“My dad always tried to focus on the mental side of things and definitely some match play strategy, and just trying to stay steady, not get too high, not get too low. That was definitely important,” Matthews said, adding that Kolton helped him a lot.

“That’s probably the coolest thing from the whole tournament is getting to spend that time with him.

“A few years ago, he probably wouldn’t have been able to carry the bag, but now it’s someone to chatter with, and I really value his insight. It’s really calming to have someone else who you really trust confirming the line, confirming the shot.”

Matthews got the start he wanted, making a birdie on the first hole and another on the fifth to go 3 up. He stayed ahead by multiple holes until bogeys on the 15th and 17th as Pardy forced the match to go the distance.

But the Winnipeg product, who now lives in Kelowna, B.C., drained a clutch six-footer to end it.

“Coming down the stretch, I was feeling a little shakier and definitely feeling the nerves,” Matthews said.

“It felt awesome. As soon as I hit it, I had a gut feeling it was in.”

Today will be an even fuller day on the course, despite having the day off, as John is playing in the master’s men’s event this morning.

In the afternoon, Matthews has his wife, Kandis, and sister, Dorelle Fulton, to watch in the ladies scramble championship flight, while kids, Kolton and Kailie, compete in the junior second and first flights, respectively.

Then on Thursday, he gets to face Kody Fawcett, who defeated Christian Laughland 7 and 5 on Tuesday. And you can bet the family will be back out to try to push him past the three-time Tamarack champion.

“We just love the Tamarack vibe. It’s obviously super competitive with some of the best players at all levels, but it’s such a great vibe,” Matthews said.

“I’ve never met Brad before, but some of the sportsmanship he showed, I’ve never seen it in a match. He was helping me out, making sure I knew the rules a couple of times … This Tamarack’s created this amazing vibe where they walk that line of competitive but everybody’s here to have a good time.”

Elsewhere, Brandon’s Evan Nachtigall is tied for the lead at the Canadian men’s mid-amateur golf championship.

The 25-year-old carded an 8-under 64 at Brantford Golf and Country Club on Tuesday, sharing the lead with NHL official Garrett Rank and Nolan VanKalckreuth.

Nachtigall started birdie-eagle, and had strings of four and three consecutive birdies.

Manitoba has a four-shot lead in the inter-provincial team event since Jordy Lutz and David Spurr shot 3 under.

The cut is today, with the top 60 players and ties competing Thursday and Friday.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com