PGA Tour: Brandon Matthews Speaks on Sponsor’s Exemption Into 2020 Arnold Palmer Invitational

Latin America Tour Player Brandon Matthews speaks to the media on what it means to him to receive a special sponsors exemption for his actions at last year’s Latin America event in which a special needs child had accidentally yelled in his backswing.

PGA Tour: Brandon Matthews previews 2020 Arnold after receiving special sponsor’s exemption

THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome Brandon Matthews to the interview room. Brandon, you’re competing this week on a sponsor exemption. Can you just give us some comments ahead of your first PGA TOUR start.

BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, it’s going to be a pretty cool week. Really excited. Really fortunate to be able to get this exemption, especially here. Mr. Palmer’s event, obviously, we have some ties back from Pennsylvania, and to be considered for this and then get this is pretty special.

THE MODERATOR: Going back to Argentina, can you just comment on that moment and how were you able to handle that so well?

BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, I mean, it was obviously a tough situation. I was frustrated at first, didn’t understand the full circumstances behind it. But once I did it was a pretty easy situation for me to handle because of the fact that my mom used to work in group homes and I was around that kind of stuff my entire childhood. My best friend’s little sister has Down syndrome. So I saw it on a daily basis and I just kind of have a special place in my heart for it.

THE MODERATOR: You mentioned it’s your first PGA TOUR start this week. Where would you say your game’s at right now?

BRANDON MATTHEWS: I feel like it’s pretty good. I’m really excited to be out here. I feel like I can compete on a daily basis out here. So if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be doing this. So really excited for this week and see how my game stacks up.

THE MODERATOR: We’ll open it up for some questions.

Q. Just was curious what your reaction was to the reaction about how you handled everything like that. Could you have imagined that it would mushroom to the point where it got the attention that it did?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, I mean, it was overwhelming. I didn’t expect anything from it. It was funny, my one buddy Matt Ryan came up to me afterwards and he goes, Oh, this is going to pick up and stuff. And I said, No, it’s not. We’re in Buenos Aires. Nothing is going to come of this. I’m just happy I was able to make this guy happy and put a smile on his face. So I had no idea that it was going to get as big as it did.

Q. The result of that tournament still helped you advance, correct, to the Korn Ferry this year?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: No.

Q. No, it did not.
BRANDON MATTHEWS: No, it — if I actually won that tournament I would have had a chance to get back on the Korn Ferry TOUR, with a good finish at the finals. But it wasn’t meant to be.

Q. Can you then just talk about where you are and what your goals are for this year, what you’re looking to achieve, obviously beyond this week.
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, I mean, right now I have full status on the Latinoamerica TOUR. I played well down there on 2017, was on the Korn Ferry the last couple years, and, you know, I’m just trying to get better on a daily basis. Try to get my game to the point where I feel like I can win every week. And if I keep getting better on a daily basis, you know, I feel like I’m going to be pretty darn good.

Q. What’s your schedule coming up after this?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, after this, hopefully Valspar, you know, after this. But if I can top 10 here and kind of parlay that, obviously that’s the goal. But if not, like I said, full status on the Latin, so we’re going to kind of get going on that TOUR.

Q. Is this your first start since late last year?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, it is. Since the —

Q. Shell?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, since the Shell Latin American Championship there.

Q. Where was that one?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: That was at Doral.

Q. Okay. In America?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, in America.

Q. Fantastic. What have you been doing the last couple months? Have you tried any four spotting? Have you thought about it?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: A little bit. My mindset over the last couple months was just to get my game to a point that I’ve never gotten it to before with consistency. I’m working with my swing coach, Dale Gray, and it’s been really, really good. I’ve been really happy to see some of the results that I’ve seen, the consistency coming, and I really, really think I can compete out here on a weekly basis. So, excited to see how it stacks up.

Q. What are you expecting this week?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: I’m just going to kind of take it one step at a time. I’m going to focus on that first tee shot and then slowly get into the round and just keep everything right in front of me. Obviously, I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t trying to win the golf tournament. Like I said, a top 10 would obviously go a long way, but I’m kind of looking short-term here and just trying to get some good practice sessions in and focus on that first tee shot.

Q. Let me go back long-term for a minute. What are you looking forward to this week?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Again —

Q. Beside this press conference being over. I’m sorry.
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Of course, of course. Yeah, you know, this week, like I said, just trying to see how my game stacks up, see how ready it is and see where I need to clean up. It’s going to show me a lot this week and I’m looking forward to it. I love this stage. I can’t wait to compete on it.

Q. Your length is well known amongst the people that have been around you. A, where does that come from? And B, have you been trying to kind of, with Dale, trying to harness that a little bit, maybe not take anything back, but just trying to hone it in a little bit and not just be known for your length, so to speak, if that makes any sense.
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, obviously, with how far I hit it it’s a huge advantage to most golf courses that I play. Dale and I have been working really hard to getting consistency and figure out kind of a shot shape, trajectory, everything like that that is going to get the ball in the fairway the most often for me. I think we’re doing a really good job at it. From where it comes from, it’s funny, I find myself telling this story a lot. My dad set me on the red tees when I was like four or five years old on this one course I grew up at, Emanon, it’s like a 5,800-yard golf course. It’s great. And there was a little pond in front of the red tee. It was like, I don’t know, 70 yards to carry. And then I was — I had sat there with a huge bucket of balls just trying to hit it over, just trying to hit it as hard as I can. And as soon as I did, my dad moved me back a tee and then that process kind of repeated itself until I got all the way back. So I feel like that was one of the big reasons why I was blessed with my length, because I kind of grew up just trying to hit it as hard as I can.

Q. Not many people roll in here and say — that have never played on the PGA TOUR and say, I think I can compete out here. So what is it that you’ve done over the last six months, let’s say, that you feel that you can compete out here against these guys?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: I’ve worked my whole life for this. Every time I’ve gotten to, let’s say, a little bit bigger stage, whether it was college, to the Latinoam�rica TOUR, Korn Ferry TOUR, I felt like I was ready. I felt like I was good enough to compete. I have a lot of self-belief in my game. I truly feel like this is where I belong and this is where I need to be.

Q. When you mentioned Valspar a minute ago, are you asking for exemptions or, again, are you looking at any qualifying or —
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, I mean, the Valspar would be just because of a top 10 here, but my agent’s done a fantastic job, Drew Carr, and we’re reaching out to some tournaments. And I’m just so happy to be here, not looking at anything else and, you know, also at the end of the day with — I just didn’t think I was going to get any reaction from what happened, so just to be sitting here today, to be able to compete this week is something that’s really special that I’m very thankful for.

Q. And you played — why have you chosen Latinoam�rica instead of Canada, for example, when you haven’t had Korn Ferry status?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, well, this year I’m very familiar with the TOUR, familiar with some of the golf courses because I played down there in 2017. So I would say back in 2017 I chose it just because of the way people kind of told me to set my schedule. They said Latin’s a little bit better for my game, so on and so forth. Canada is a little bit different. But had success down there in 2017, so I figured why not do it again.

Q. And you played once in Europe. How did that come about?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah, that was kind of a crazy little deal. I heard some things from some friends that they were trying to push for me to get a spot and I had a good spring on Latin that year, was kind of doing really well at that point. I think I was second or third on the Money List or something like that. I was fortunate enough to get that start. I mean, I really had no idea really until about the week before that I was going to get it. It was funny, I was in Omaha, Nebraska and I got the phone call, Hey, do you want it play in Germany next week? And I’m like, What? So I looked at my phone, looked on some flights, flew back home, and flew over to Hamburg and — yeah, that was a long travel day there.

Q. Wonder if you could fill us in a little bit on your ties to Pennsylvania and was wondering have you played Latrobe Country Club and have you actually seen the tractor?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Unfortunately, I have not played Latrobe. I haven’t been over to the Western part of Pennsylvania too too much. I’m from kind of the northeast part there, the Scranton Wilkes-Barre area. But like I keep saying, it’s incredible the amount of ties Mr. Palmer had to Pennsylvania, all over. The stories that I hear from a lot of people, it’s amazing. I was just saying this, you know, out of all the years you hear so many Arnold Palmer stories and it’s so amazing that every single one is so positive and that just speaks volumes to his character.

Q. Can you talk a little bit about how, I’m going to say how difficult it is to be a professional golfer now and trying to find your way on a particular TOUR, keep a card, try to progress along to the next TOUR?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Yeah. Yeah, it’s incredible how many people are trying to do it now. It’s great. But it’s hard. These guys are good. Out here, Korn Ferry TOUR. I think almost everyone that plays on the Korn Ferry TOUR’s good enough to compete out here. It’s crazy. The talent level that I’ve seen over the last few years has driven me to work harder, and I mean, I go through a whole day. I grind from five o’clock in the morning until dark, so it’s given me the drive to try to be able to succeed out here.

Q. Two questions: You touched on it a little bit earlier, but just, I’m wondering what qualities that Arnold Palmer had do you most admire? And then the second part of the question is, he had a reputation of always being a good guy. Now you’ve got that reputation of being a good guy. I wonder what that means to you too.
BRANDON MATTHEWS: Like I keep saying, to be mentioned in any kind of light with Mr. Palmer is incredible. I’m very, very humbled by it. I mean, he was the epitome of sportsmanship. Like I just mentioned, you hear all these stories about him and all of them are so positive, it’s incredible. He’s done so much for this game, so much for a lot of people’s lives. He truly did it right.

Q. How did you wind up at Temple?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: How did I wind up at Temple? So, A, a guy, Paul Keating, a member at the club that I was playing at the time, Fox Hill Country Club, kind of mentioned me. I was kind of late — I had never really played AJGA’s or anything like that. I kind of, for whatever reason, stayed away from that. So when I kind of started winning a lot of stuff my junior year of high school, a lot of the colleges came up to me and they’re like, Well, we have already signed our guys. You can come in, walk on, whatever. And fortunately, Brian Quinn, the head coach at Temple University called me, because Paul Keating and him were very good friends, and he gave me the opportunity to play at Temple University and it’s just short ride down the turnpike. It was great. I tell people this all the time. The important thing for me at Temple was I learned how to be a kid too. The time off that I needed to take, because there were a foot of snow on the ground, needed to take off from basically December to March call it, it was good. It was nice to actually be a kid and not go full grind mode. And I got to understand how valuable time off was.

Q. Earlier we heard from Francesco Molinari about how special the Arnold Palmer Invitational is for him. I wanted to find out from you, especially as someone who has played golf from a much younger age, does the Arnold Palmer Invitational hold a special place for you in comparison to some of the other tournaments that you’ve been a part of?
BRANDON MATTHEWS: No question. Obviously being my first PGA TOUR start, this is really, really special. But again, like I keep saying, to be a part of Mr. Palmer’s tournament as my first ever PGA TOUR start is something that I actually can’t really put into words, it’s pretty incredible.

Q. (Question about Pine Valley.)
BRANDON MATTHEWS: We actually did get an invitation one time, we were fortunate enough. That place is pretty special. That property is golf Disneyland.

THE MODERATOR: All right, Brandon, thanks for the time. Best of luck this week.

BRANDON MATTHEWS: Thanks, guys.

Orlando, Florida

March 3, 2020

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports