“I never thought I would play golf again, much less win,” said Fred Mattingly’s reacting to his victory at his home course, Prestwick County Club, at the Pepsi Club Car Tournament Series Monday. Last June he said goodbye to the game he loves to correct torn ligaments, torn cartilage and a trigger finger. “If I had torn one more ligament, the doctor said I would have no control over my hand and never play golf again,” he explained. But this March he picked up a club again and proved he still does have control over his hand and his game.
Mattingly opened with back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11. At the 11th he hooked his tee shot but punched out over the creek and stuck his wedge shot close to go to 2-under. Following that he made a 20-foot putt to save par, but the next 15 holes showed nothing but solid shots and a strong game. A birdie at his finishing hole concluded his round of 68 and placed him first over the field of 62 PGA Professionals.
In second place was Dave Carich from The Bridgewater Club in Carmel with 69. He made seven birdies throughout the day, but a lost ball on 17 left him with a quadruple bogey and forced him out of the lead.
Complete results here.