Page 7 - PPA Tour Magazine Spring 2022

composure and concentration, Matthews then stroked in the par like a champion.

The sigh of relief from Matthews was a good indicator that he just survived with a
victory.

It is interesting that a player can have a commanding lead with just 18 holes

remaining, and barely win. It is also why the experienced players know that
anything can happen in an eight-round event (144 holes), even coming down to
the last stoke.

In the APA division, Clayton Craft entered the tournament as a pre-tournament
favorite. This status could be due to his knowledge of the Richmond course
venue or maybe it was due to his previous victories in the National Championship.
His first victory was in 1995 in Ypsilanti, Michigan where he won by three strokes.

He defended his title the following
year by winning in Orange Lake,
Florida by 5 strokes. His experience

certainly set him apart from the
field of respective players in 2021.
However, the experience of the
amateur field and his devotion of

more time to his legal career, than
to his putting skills, created a speck

of uncertainty. The main contenders
for the National Championship were
Craft, Chuck Palm, Todd Trent, Jim
Last and John Petrie. Palm finished

second to Earl Davis in the National
Invitational held earlier in the year
and was re-establishing his ability to

play at a higher level of competition
and re-ascertain his credentials as a
credible player due to his absence
from the sport for many years. The

tournament progressed as
expected, especially from Craft’s

perspective. Craft had played the Championship putt for Craft