THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 30, 1995 TAG: 9506300617
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
After winning last fall's state Group AAA high school golf title, Matt Paulson faced a winter of competitive inactivity, just when his game was peaking.
But the wait is over and Paulson hasn't forgotten the way to the winner's circle.
The 16-year-old rising junior at Cox High School downed Virginia Tech-signee Sam Harris, 4-and-3, Thursday morning at Princess Anne Country Club to win the Virginia State Golf Association's Junior Match Play title.
According to both, the final wasn't much of a match.
Paulson was his usual steady self. But Harris, the defending champion from Midlothhian, played his worst round of the tournament, losing six of the first seven holes and rallying on the back nine just to make it respectable.
``He didn't have his `A' game,'' said Paulson, who was 1-under par after the front nine.
``I had about my `Z' game,'' Harris said. ``I couldn't do anything right and it all started when I missed a 5-footer for par at the first hole.''
Paulson birdied the par-4 third for a two-hole lead.
Matters were compounded at the fourth when Harris hit two balls out of bounds and conceded the hole from the middle of the fairway to go 3-down.
Harris then three-putted the fifth, visited a greenside bunker on way to another bogey at the sixth and missed a 4-foot, par-saving putt at the seventh.
Harris won the par-4 11th with an up-and-down par to cut Paulson's lead to 5-up. Paulson's advantage was cut to 4-up at the par-4 14th when he hit his approach shot into a greenside bunker and made bogey.
But by then, Harris had to win the remaining holes to force sudden death.
Harris nearly holed his tee shot on the fly at the 178-yard par-3 15th.
The beginnings of a comeback were taking shape when Paulson's tee shot drifted right of the green, leaving him a difficult uphill chip.
Harris missed his 12-foot birdie putt and Paulson made a 12-foot, par-saver to end the match.
``I wanted to end it there,'' Paulson said. ``He was starting to hit it better. And I didn't want to play the (293-yard, par-4) 16th. It seems everyone I faced this week birdied the 16th.''
Paulson opted to play in the Junior Match Play rather than the State Amateur - the two events overlap.
He will be the youngest player in this year's Eastern Amateur, he intends to qualify for the State Junior Stroke Play and the U.S. Junior Amateur, and he was local qualifying medalist for the State Open, firing a 3-under 69 at Hell's Point two weeks ago.
``I'm not hitting it as good right now,'' Paulson said. ``But my short game is strong and I'm putting really good.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
CHARLIE MEADS/Staff
Matt Paulson uses an iron to drive to the green during his victory,
4-and-3, over Sam Harris on Thursday at the Princess Anne Country
Club.
by CNB