INDIANA — Brock and Chris Matava used a little bit of familiarity and little bit of clutch putting to score a win at their home club.
The Matava’s, thanks to a pair of late birdies, shot a 3-under mark of 68 to claim the 102nd WPGA Father & Son Tournament on Monday at Indiana Country Club.
“We were very consistent the whole day,” said Chris Matava, a member at Indiana Country Club. “We’ve been loving these father and son events, so it’s nice to close one out. Finally.”
Sitting a stroke off the lead entering their third-to-last hole, the Matava’s picked up consecutive birdies to surge past the teams of Craig and Jeff Mankins and Rob and Nick Cimarolli, who tied for second.
“I didn’t look at the leaderboard,” said Brock Matava who, like his father, is a volunteer assistant golf coach at Pitt-Johnstown. “We were getting water at the turn and I saw the leaders were 3-under at that point. But I didn’t look again after that.
“I knew we finished at 3-under, but I was expecting to either be in a playoff or fall a stroke short. We were trying hard to birdie the last hole because we thought we needed it. It was a little surprising when I saw that we were solo first. But it was a good finish.”
Chris Matava felt as if the home course knowledge worked to the team’s benefit.
“We mostly know the greens,” said Chris. “There are tough greens out here and, with some of the elevation shots, knowing this place helps a lot. And (Brock) made some good putts.”
Five teams finished 1-under in the Father & Son Tournament. In the Parent & Child Tournament, which is a Net scoring competition, the duo of Robert and Weston Strom ran away with the title, shooting a 9-under score of 62.
The Strom’s played no hole over par and had seven net birdies and a net eagle in the round.
Joshua and Brian Kane, as well as Chris and Michael Shipley, each shot 5-under in the Parent & Child.
On a mild, sun-soaked afternoon, however, competition seemed to be secondary for most of the families who participated.
“This is the third year we’ve done this and is our third father and son event we’ve played this year, as well,” said Chris Matava. “It’s fabulous to be out here with him and play with him, and to see everybody else out here with their families. It’s a great event.”
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