Fuente: © Southern Africa Tour
http://www.sunshinetour.com/

SOUTHERN AFRICA TOUR: Matthews learns valuable lessons in SA

/noticias.info/ It might be a cliché, but sometimes, the best things in life happen in places where you would least expect it. Ask Andy Matthews and he’ll tell you about the completely unexpected; his South African experience.

Matthews from Ada, near Grand Rapids, turned up on the Sunshine Tour two years ago, a former Michigan Amateur champion looking for a place to play.

And he got a whole lot more than he bargained for.

The 26-year old experienced a revelation about life that he is applying with success to his golf and it has led to two European Tour starts. And, although this revelation will have the paranoid and organised among us, screaming in horror, it has taken Matthews’ life on a whole new course.

"It turned out to be a lot more than just playing golf," said Matthews, who played college golf at the University of Michigan and won the 2001 Michigan Amateur.

"I've always been an organized person. Always had my hotels, flights and everything else planned well in advance. The attitude over in South Africa is so different. They are like ‘We'll find a hotel when we get there. We'll find a flight when we need it.'

“It was a huge challenge for me to look at things that way. But when I came back to the States, I had changed. I began to realize that things will sort themselves out."

The discovery provided Matthews with serenity. He learned to let things happen of their own volition. He learned not to force the issue. And then he started to apply these principals to golf.

"It has helped my patience level in golf," said Matthews, who is from Ada, near Grand Rapids. "I'm content when I'm on a golf course. My golf is better."

His route to finding the sun on the Sunshine Tour is a whole other matter.

In September 2002, Matthews earned his Canadian Tour card and wondered where he might play in the transition from fall to spring, to avoid the winter months. A fellow pro on the Canadian Tour, South African Doug McGuigan, suggested the Sunshine Tour.

"I never would have considered South Africa. I was halfway through my first season on the Canadian Tour and I told my dad I wanted to play more. The next day I played a practice round with Doug, and he told me about South Africa. It was just one of those things."

Since then, Matthews has had two tours of duty playing in South Africa. His status as a non-exempt player who has to qualify made travel and planning dicey, but he made it into 11 events and survived the cut 10 times in the 2005-06 season.

He played in 15 Sunshine Tour events the past two seasons and won 29,500 South African rand, the equivalent today of about $4,050 U.S. dollars. Although it’s not a lot of moola, the Sunshine Tour has been invaluable in feeding Matthews' golfing database with experiences and information.

For Matthews his greatest achievement was to get into the two European Tour co-sanctioned events - the South African Airways Open and the Dunhill Championship.

Matthews sites Fancourt as the toughest golf course he's ever seen.

In March, Matthews returned home for some much needed R & R before returning to the Canadian Tour. "I was on the run-down side," Matthews said at last week's Michigan Open, where he tied for 19th and won $1,275. "But the rest helped and things started to improve."

Although South Africa was worthwhile experience, his target remains unchanged – entry to the PGA Tour. Matthews will try out for the PGA Tour Qualifying School later this year.

"That's the goal -- to focus attention over here," he said.

Well done, Andy. And you’re welcome here, anytime. notas_de_prensa_archivo