How Brooke Matthews of Arkansas broke the NCAA’s 54-hole golf record by 25 under
Arkansas’ Brooke Matthews opened fall 2021 in impressive style with a record-setting tournament at the Cougar Classic in Hanahan, South Carolina. Matthews’ bottom 25 record (64-64-63-191) was more than enough to break the NCAA’s 54-hole scoring record.
The previous record set by Jaclyn Lee of Ohio State was 19 under in 2018. In addition to the NCAA record, Matthews now owns the 54-hole Arkansas record previously held by Maria Fassi during the 2017-18 season. (16 below). Matthews didn’t know she had broken the record until the trophy presentation after the round.
“I said, ‘oh my god, that’s crazy.’ I can’t believe it, I don’t know what it is. It’s probably a good thing, Matthews said, when I don’t know what it is or it’s not on my radar.
The redshirt senior played near-perfect golf in her three rounds at Yeamans Hall Club, totaling just three in the first two and none in the final. She also hit 27 out of 54 holes – half to be exact. Her 26 birdies are 11 more than the next closest players.
“Pretty much everything has to be completely honest. I’ve ridden it really well and for quite a while, so I can get my hands on a lot of things,” Matthews said. “It’s a combination of sticking them together and then being able to hit some shots.”
Here’s a closer look at Matthews’ score distribution over her three innings:
| Pit | Points related to destiny | Medium score |
|---|---|---|
| Part 3 | -4 (tie 1) | 2.67 |
| Par 4s | -15 (1) | 3.50 |
| Par 5 years old | -6 (2nd draw) | 4.50 |
The Yeamans Hall was set up just right for Matthews because she had played the field twice before. In terms of length, the Seth Raynor track is set at 6,301 yards, which combined with deep trenches in some sections and difficult green complexes often makes for a tough lap. But, Matthews knows exactly what she’s getting into.
“There are a lot of trees that do not ripple. And so if you can put it in the right class, you can have some really good chances to make some putts,” Matthews said. “I’m just comfortable because I’ve played there before and I’ve played well there before. I just look forward to going out and having fun.”
On the individual leaderboards, not a single player had a chance to catch up with Matthews in the final round. North Carolina’s Krista Junkkari finished second and scored under 12 in her three innings. To put Matthews’ incredible win into perspective, 13 strokes separated her from second-place Junkkari, which is the same difference from second to six-way draw for 29th by one point more.
The team’s leaderboard was a little closer, Arkansas (-23) winning the tournament over Baylor by a single hit. This is the second year in a row the Razorbacks opened the fall with a team win.
“They (Baylor) put in a bunch of birdies and we’re not 100% sure because all the scores come in like every three holes,” Matthews said. “But, on the 18th hole, Shauna (Taylor, head coach) made it clear to me that we needed a birdie, and it ended up falling to the last birdie.”
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Matthews’ performance earned her first place at the Cougar Classic. This is her third win at the university and her first since the Blessings Collegiate Invitational in October 2020.
“I think people should believe it, we have a home event next week at Blessings (Golf Club), which we won last year. So we’re all very excited to go back there and try to do it again,” Matthews said.
Matthews and Razorbacks will air it next at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational in Johnson, Arkansas from Monday, October 4 through Wednesday, October 6.
https://www.ncaa.com/news/golf-women/article/2021-09-15/how-arkansas-brooke-matthews-broke-ncaa-golf-54-hole-record-25-under | How Brooke Matthews of Arkansas broke the NCAA’s 54-hole golf record by 25 under
