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Bethlehem 8th grader Matthew Vital advances to 2019 Drive, Chip and Putt final
September 20, 2018
Matthew Vital of Northampton Country Club earned a trip to Augusta National Golf Club to participate in the 2019 Drive, Chip and Putt national finals for ages 12-13.
The National final is scheduled for April 9 on the eve of the 2019 Master tournament and will be broadcast live on the Golf Channel.
To qualify for the National final, Matthew won the local Drive, Chip and Putt qualifier at Moselem Spring Country club, the sub-regional at the Ace Club in Lafayette Hill, and the regional championship at Congressional Country Club on September 9. Eighty youth golfers advanced to the finals competition.
Matthew and his brother Michael, who placed second at the local Moselem Springs qualifier, are eight grade students at Lehigh Valley Academy.
The Drive, Chip and Putt competition is conducted with a partnership between the Masters, USGA, and the PGA of America. Drive, Chip and Putt is a free, nationwide youth golf development program open to boys and girls, ages 7-15, in four age categories.
Matthew is one of the best junior golfers in the region.
Michael and Mathew began to play golf when they were two years old at the Bethlehem Golf Club practice facility. They began competing on the Lehigh Valley Junior Golf Tour age at the age of 8.
At age 11 last year, Matthew became the youngest golfer to ever qualify for a match play flight at the Lehigh Valley Amateur.
Competing on the Lehigh Valley Junior Golf Tour, Matthew won 10 tournaments in 2017 at the age of 11 against a strong 12-13 years-old group.
This year at age 12, Matthew won six tournaments against the 14-15 years-old group. Matthew came from behind at the Lehigh Valley Sportfest Junior Golf Classic at Allentown Municipal Golf Course against standout junior golfer Jordan Barker to win 14-15 honors, and won the Iron Lakes Junior Boys Classic with a 1-over-par 68-73–141.
By winning a sudden-death playoff against Colin Wong at Whitetail Golf Club to win the 2018 Lehigh Valley Junior Medal Play Championship 14-15 years-old division, Matthew became the youngest golfer to ever earn an invitation to the season-ending Lehigh Valley Tournament of Champions.
Matthew was the US Kids North Jersey tour player of the year for the last 2 years. Two weeks ago he earned a top five at the US Kids Seaview regional tournament.
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