When the 122nd edition of the U.S. Open begins next week in Massachusetts, the 156-player field will feature a 27-year-old Pennsylvania native competing in his first major tournament. Brandon Matthews, a Temple University grad who's spent time on the PGA Tour's developmental circuit, qualified for the event by recently surviving an eight-way playoff at Century and Old Oaks country clubs.
Matthews, who ranks sixth on the Korn Ferry Tour's point list this season, won the Astara Golf Championship back in February with a 19-under 264. He's also earned eight top-10 finishes as a PGA Tour Latinoamerica member since 2017, and finished tied for 37th (6-under 278) at the REX Hospital Open last Sunday. Matthews will be the epitome of a long-shot at The Country Club in Brookline next week, but he's preparing for the U.S. Open with a winning mindset.
"My dad got me to absolutely love the game. I have so much to thank him for," Matthews told The Zach Gelb Show on Friday. "So, I can't wait to have him up there with me -- to walk alongside me in my first round ever in a major. I know he's pumped up... I'm now sitting in an Airbnb in South Carolina... I've still got some work to do this week before I can flip the switch to U.S. Open mode...
"If I continue with the process I've stuck to over the past few years, and kind of take things very slowly out of the gate, try to hit the shots I'm trying to hit, make really good decisions, it's going to be a good week. I don't want to set any expectations for myself, other than trying to be completely disciplined in my gameplan and course-management strategy... If I didn't think I could win it, I promise you that I'd find another job."
The entire golf conversation between Matthews and Gelb can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The Zach Gelb Show on Twitter @ZachGelb and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.