With three career milestones behind him in less than three weeks, it is no time for Brandon Matthews to slow down now.
Just days after playing the weekend in the U.S. Open, his first professional golf major, the Pittston Area graduate was back in action in this week’s Live and Work in Maine Open where he headed into the weekend tied for 19th in the Korn Ferry Tour event.
Matthews made it back to par with birdies on the final two holes Thursday, then shot a 4-under-par, 67 Friday to easily make his fourth straight cut on the tour where he currently ranks fifth on the season points list.
The 27-year-old from Dupont has his scoring average under 70 on the Korn Ferry season after shooting 67 in four of the last five rounds.
Matthews ran into some trouble Thursday with three bogeys on the front nine and a double on 12. After going 11 holes without a birdie, however, he finished up with two in a row on 17 and 18.
That momentum carried into Friday. Starting on the 10th hole, Matthews put together consecutive birdies again on 12 and 13 before slipping back to par with bogeys on 14 and 15. He finished strong again, closing with two straight birdies for the second straight day and heading to the weekend with four birdies in his last seven holes.
Matthews, who had not made the cut in his two PGA Tour starts on sponsor’s exemptions, reached the weekend at the U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. June 16-19. He had qualified into the U.S. Open, then shot 71 and 69 to hit the midway point at even par and just five strokes out of the lead.
After slipping to 79 and 77 on the weekend, the former Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state champion and record-setting Temple University golfer settled for 60th place out 64 players who made the cut and 156 who had started the event. He finished at 16-over-par, 296 to earn $36,852 to go along with his $227,305 in official earnings on the Korn Ferry Tour this season.
Between qualifying for and playing in the U.S. Open, Matthews used his most recent Korn Ferry Tour finish to reach the point where his point total is virtually assured of finishing in the top 25 and earning one of the corresponding available spots on the 2023 PGA Tour. It will mark his debut as a full-time PGA Tour player.
