Brandon Matthews returned from an unexpected, one-week absence to make the cut and cash in his third straight Web.com Tour event.

The former state high school golf champion at Pittston Area is now 5-for-6 in making cuts in parts of two seasons on the tour after his performance in the Club Colombia Championship Feb. 8-11.

Matthews, a 23-year-old from Dupont, had planned to take advantage of his status as a guaranteed entry for the tour’s first eight tournaments by playing in all of them. He wound up missing the third tournament of the season as a late scratch because of food poisoning.

In his return, Matthews turned in his best performance of the season in terms of score, score in relation to par, place finish and money earned.

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Matthews shot a 3-under-par, 281 for four rounds to finished tied for 34th and make $3,745 in the event in Bogota, Colombia.

After a first-round 74, Matthews was in danger of missing the 36-hole cut, but he bounced back with a 67, his low round of the season. Matthews is averaging 68.7 in the second round when making it to the second half of the tournament is at stake.

The Temple University graduate finished up with weekend rounds of 68 and 72.

Matthews moved up from 79th to 74th on the season money list with $7,543 earned on the Web.com Tour, the second-highest tour for professional men’s golf in North America.

The tour is on a one-month break. It resumes March 8-11 with the El Bosque Mexico Championship at El Bosque Country Club in Leon, Guanajunto, Mexico.

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By Tom Robinson

For Sunday Dispatch

Reach the Sunday Dispatch newsroom at 570-655-1418 or by email at sd@psdispatch.com.