Brandon Matthews has been living out his golf dreams during the past two weeks.
Matthews survived a playoff at a qualifier in Purchase, N.Y. June 6 to play his way into his first major, essentially clinched his 2023 PGA Tour card last weekend, then made it to this weekend at the U.S. Open with his steady play in first two rounds Thursday and Friday at the Country Club in Brookline, Mass.
The former Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association high school state champion at Pittston Area already was at one career high point when he arrived at Brookline where he reached another.
Recent performances on the Korn Ferry Tour, one step below the PGA Tour, pushed Matthews’ season earnings above $200,000 and moved him into fifth on the season point list with a point total that is considered to be beyond the minimum needed to be sure of a place in The 25. The final top 25 in the Korn Ferry points standings receive their PGA Tour card for next season, setting Matthews up for his first full season on the highest level of professional golf.
“Obviously, it’s been a lifetime dream of mine since I was a little kid,” Matthews said, according to a story on PGATour.com. “It’s amazing that I’m in the moment that it’s true now.”
Matthews added to that accomplishment when he arrived in Brookline, the site of his trip to the 2013 U.S. Amateur quarterfinals.
The 27-year-old from Dupont made it through the first round in the top 50 of the 156-player field with a 1-over-par, 71 Thursday, then improved on that Friday.
Matthews, who now plays out of Jupiter, Fla., hit the halfway point at even-par, 140 and in an eight-way tie for 24th place, making the cut with three strokes to spare.
On a day when 104 players were over par at Brookline, Matthews had just one bogey, birdied both par 5s and posted 15 pars for a 1-under, 69 Friday.
Averaging 313.4 yards off the tee Friday, Matthews overcame hitting just two of 14 fairways to hit 12 of 18 greens in regulation.
Matthews headed into Saturday’s third round five strokes out of the lead. He’ll wrap up his first U.S. Open Sunday.
The Temple University graduate does not plan on stopping there. He still hopes to move up from fifth on the Korn Ferry Tour, taking aim at the top spot after posting his first event win there and adding a second-place tie early in the season.
