PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (Nov. 20, 2011) — Harrison Frazar won the rain-soaked Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational by a single stroke over Matt Bettencourt and Cameron Tringale, who missed a heartbreaking short putt on the final hole. Matt finished at 8-under for the tournament.
Matt Bettencourt is tied for 54-hole lead at Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational
Matt is very comfortable on the fairways and greens of the Monterey Peninsula, having played them many times during a standout amateur career in the Northern California Golf Association. At 11-under par through 54-holes, he is in excellent position at the Callaway Pebble Beach Invitational.
After a 3rd place finish in 2010 — a year in which he captured his first Tour victory at the Reno Tahoe Open — Bettencourt is heading into the final round tied with Kyle Thompson of the Nationwide Tour. Thompson finished 15th on that tour this year, earning his card the same way that Matt did in 2008 when he captured the Nationwide Tour Championship and money title.
While the leaderboard is stacked, the players within striking distance are all from the PGA or Nationwide Tours. The closest Champions Tour players in this multi-tour Pro-Am are Olin Browne and Russ Cochran (5-under). Only one LPGA player, Leta Lindley (1-under) survived the 54-hole cut of 1-over cut of 1-over par.
The final round is Sunday at Pebble Beach.
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Back home at the Frys.com Open in Northern California
After suffering a rib injury in August, Matt is off to a strong start at 3-under par through 8 holes in the first round of the Frys.com Open at Cordevalle, in California’s Silicon Valley.
Matt is currently 108th on the PGA Tour money list, with most of his earnings coming at the first half of the season. Unfortunately, the rib injury he suffered came at the worst possible time, in the first round of his title defense at the Reno-Tahoe Open. Standing 2-under through 6 holes, he had to withdraw from a tournament where he claimed his first PGA Tour victory in 2010.
He called the injury ”the freakiest thing.”
“I hit my shot, hit it really solid, and I basically went to the ground. I don’t know if I broke a rib or if one just popped out,” he said. “You go from the extreme high of winning last year to the extreme low of not being able to finish a round with an injury. But it’s part of the game.”
– reported by Pete Wlodkowski of amateurgolf.com
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Matt breaks through at the Reno Tahoe Open
In his second season on the PGA Tour, Matt has captured a victory not more than a three hour’s drive from his home town of Modesto, California today at the Reno Tahoe Open. Matt closed out the 72 hole event with a 4-under round and 11-under total. He was nearly caught by Bob Heintz, who bombed a three hundred yard drive down the right side of the fairway, hit a wedge to three feet but couldn’t convert. We’ll post some of Matt’s post-round interview shortly. Thanks to everyone who has posted such nice comments and supported Matt on his road to the first of many PGA Tour wins!
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Catching up with Matt’s 2010 Stats
As of the start of the Honda Classic, Matt has made 3 of 6 cuts and earned over $50,000, placing him 125th on the money list. Some of his favorite events (like the Memorial Invitational, where he finished 6th in 2009) lie ahead. Matt is also exempt into the 2010 US Open at Pebble Beach, based on his top 10 in 2009 at Bethpage.
To view detailed stats on Matt, visit his PGA Tour page.
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The Farmers at Torrey Pines
SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Matt shot 69-75 to post even par, two shots over the cut line of 2-under 142. I spoke with Matt as he worked hard on a practice session before the tournament:
“It was a long, cold, off season with no golf in South Carolina,” he told me before his round on Thursday.
“My game is starting to come around and I’m tying to knock some rust off and adjust to the new grooves!”
posted by Pete Wlodkowski
www.amateurgolf.com
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The Bob Hope Classic
One good thing about the Tour losing a sponsor or two in 2009 is the names have gotten shorter…but fortunately a new sponsor has been picked up for the former Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines and another event later this year. At the “Hope”, Matt posted his best round of the year on Friday in a rain-postponed round 2 of the tournament, a 66. He eagled two of the par fives, and made five birdies! A Saturday round of 69 left him at 10-under and well under the projected cut of 7-under. A fine 66 for his third straight round in the 60′s, followed by a 71 in the Monday rain-delayed finish put Matt at 17-under and T39, for his first check of 2010. To view the final leaderboard, click here>
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Matt’s 2010 Campaign is underway
Matt Bettencourt at the 2010 Sony Open
Matt didn’t get off to a perfect start in Hawaii, missing the cut by three strokes at 144 on the tight Waialae Country Club layout. But Thursday’s front nine 32, including an eagle on the par five 9th hole, is certainly a positive sign. Over the next few weeks as the Tour hits Matt’s home state of California, amateurgolf.com will have a chance to catch up with him for this blog. Thanks to everyone for visiting and bookmarking or linking to this page!
Pete Wlodkowski
amateurgolf.com
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The Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational
Playing in his first Callaway Golf Pebble Beach Invitational (but certainly not the Northern California native’s first time playing golf on the Monterey Peninsula!), Matt is tied at the top at 138 after 36 holes in this unique tournament where players from each pro tour play against each other from different tees. (NOTE: He finished the tournament T6 after a 71 in the final round.) Playing Spyglass Hill in wind and rain on Friday, Matt called the conditions “simply nasty”. Check out a story from the Monterey Herald which I have posted at amateurgolf.com by clicking here>. — posted by Pete Wlodkowski
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The Fall Finish
UPDATED: November 13, 2009 — It has been quite a year for Matt – to say he has played a full schedule is putting it lightly. Matt has teed it up across the country 31 times! He ended the season with a bit more than $740k in money earned despite a tough missed-cut at the Children’s Miracle Network Classic.
By the way, Matt has a growing ”gallery” of fans on his Facebook page; to show your support just click on the link on the right side of this page under “media” or go to Facebook and search his name. The photo shown here is from Matt’s Facebook page. And while you are at it, you can show your support for the editor of this page by becoming a fan of amateurgolf.com at www.facebook.com/amateurgolf. Thanks to everyone who visited www.mattbettencourt.com this year!
- Pete Wlodkowski, editor
