Wissahickon’s Matt is Reporter/Times Herald/Montgomery Media 2021 Golfer of the Year
Wissahickon’s Christian Matt doesn’t let a little adversity get to him.
This year’s Reporter/Times Herald/Montgomery Media Golf Athlete of the Year proved that at the Suburban One League Championships, where he overcame a rough spot and also handled Mother Nature, putting together a masterful performance to earn the trophy.
It was the start of a tremendous postseason for Matt, who would go on to crack the top 20 at the PIAA-3A Individual Championships, finishing tied for 18th with a four-over-par 75 at Heritage Hills Golf Resort.
Matt began his postseason at Five Ponds Golf Course, battling the best from the Suburban One League.
Things were looking bleak when he carded a bogey on the fourth hole. Then, storms began to roll through, causing an 80-minute delay.
But Matt was in a good place.
“I felt good though,” said the senior. “We were all playing foosball (inside during the storm), having a good time, so I kind of forgot about it.”
After the delay, Matt Came firing back, resuming his round with an eagle on the par-5 fifth.
“I just made the bogey before the delay, so I hit a shot, hit a second shot just left of the green and I knew the chip was makeable,” he said. “And then I made it.”
Matt went on to complete the front nine at 4-under 31 then kept steady on the back to shoot the day’s best score at 3-under 68. The Wiss senior would lead the contingent of 39 SOL qualifiers for the District 1-3A Tournament.
“I knew if I could get it going early, I could hold the lead the rest of the day,” Matt said of his performance, part of an outstanding senior season for the Trojans. “And then a couple putts fell, I made that eagle after the break and after that it was like free wheel, I had nothing to lose.”
What made Matt’s battle at SOL’s even more interesting was his back-and-forth action with another All-Area selection, Kevin Lydon of Central Bucks West.
Said Lydon of the pairing: “Me and Christian had a lot of fun battling back and forth. I thought it was really fun, the competitiveness in the group, because we were going shot for shot, back and forth and it was just really fun.”
The feeling was mutual.
“It made it really fun,” Matt said. “He birdies – I think 15 – to get one back and we were grinding. It made it really competitive and it was fun.”
Matt looks to continue his career on the college level, having signed a letter of intent to St. Joe’s University.
