Page 6 - PPA Tour Magazine Spring 2022

Prillhart. He fell to third place with a second round of 25 and Prillhart remained

tied in the lead with Olivia Prokopova and Ken Schooler - with a two-round total
rd
of 45. He reclaimed the lead with a 3 round of 22 and was tied with Wade
Sahmel - scoring a 3-round total of 68. Matthews cemented his awareness that

he was not a ceremonial champion by closing with a solid 21 and took a
respectable 4-stroke lead into the last day of the championship with a 4-round
total of 89 – 55 under-par. On day two, the opening round saw Sahmel shooting a

22, but without gaining any ground on Matthews, who also scored a 22.
Matthews expanded his lead by the end of round 6. He was playing at a level
that was to his caliber, but he had not been in this type of competition for a long
time. Would his focus and concentration withstand the pressure of maintaining a

comfortable lead? Interestingly, second place was 10 strokes back, held by Jim
Engel, a player who would test the grit of Matthews, the two-time PPA Champion.
Over the years, Engel consistently established his credentials as a player to be

respected by winning steadily in regional and national tournaments. In round 7,
Engel fired a 21, while Matthews scored a respectable 24; however, 3 strokes
were erased from Engel’s deficit. Matthews still maintained a comfortable lead,

but the pressure was mounting; players were shooting lower scores and
Matthews was sensing a change in the momentum. Engel started the day 7
strokes behind Matthews, and through the first 3 rounds of day two, he worked

himself back to where he started at the beginning of the day… 7 strokes back.
Engel was a few groups ahead of Matthews and even though he was 7 strokes
nd
behind, he remained in 2 place. Matthews had retained the top position
through 7 rounds. If the thought of having a 7-stroke lead allowed him to ease off

a bit, he shouldn’t have…six strokes were
erased in a matter of 45 minutes. Engel closed
the tournament with another 21 and he was

now one stroke behind Matthews - with
Matthews playing his remaining hole.
Matthews took a few moments to adjust to the
momentous moment – he then addressed the

last putt of the tournament with
determination, solidly stroked the ball…and

lipped. He now had a short, but testy par-putt
to win. Once again, a slight pause for Matthews lipping out on last hole.