Naumec Heading to Pebble Beach for US Open

Matt Naumec hit that putt a million times in his dreams. He was like every other golfer who turned any green on any course into the 18th hole of Augusta National. He played the feeling out during every round, how the ball would ease to the bottom of the cup. The crowd would drown out any sound from the bottom of the hole, and a low roar would only get louder as his ball hit the cup.

Every golfer dreams about it, but it's a dream, not reality. It's a mythical piece of imagination. It's not real. Dreams happen because we watch something, but we never feel the real feelings. We never know what it would be like for real.

So for Naumec, imagining that putt on the 18th hole at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, Washington wasn't hard. He just never thought he would be in a position to actually have to hit it. There he was, though, standing on the 18th green, needing to hit that putt to qualify for the US Open.

"I'm sure if you looked at my hands, they were probably shaking," he said. "There was a guy who could have forced a playoff and ruined my happy ending. I was tied with someone at 7-under-par, and I saw him jump up in the air and hug his caddy. I was putting, just trying to be ready for a playoff. Then I saw my dad with his hands in his air, and I knew. I was in. I was going to the US Open."

Matt Naumec hit that putt and qualified himself for one of golf's major tournaments. It's a dream that comes true when he tees up as one of 156 golfers at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California. It's one of golf's holiest grail courses, the site of so many vivid, legendary moments.

It's also only his fourth professional event. Naumec's professional career began just over one month ago when he finished 11th at the PGA Tour Canada's Q School in British Columbia. That earned him six guaranteed starts on the Mackenzie Tour, one of three international tours providing a path to the PGA Tour. With the PGA China and PGA Latin America, the Canadian tour flows into the Web.com Tour, which then provides a path to the PGA Tour.

"I went up the last week of class and was (in Canada) for eight days," Naumec said. "When you're on tour, it's your job, so it's about waking up at 8 a.m. to go to the gym, then stretching and golf for 12 hour days for eight days straight. I was just happy to find a course that I was comfortable at, and I finished 8-under-par to finish 11th (in the qualifier). That earned me six guaranteed spots on the Mackenzie Tour. There's a reshuffle that takes place on order of merit after those six, and that number guarantees the next six or not."

His first official event finished with his first professional paycheck after a 29th place finish, but he missed the cut in his second tournament. That wound up being a blessing in disguise since it enabled him to leave early for his sectional qualifier in Washington where he would have needed to play on short turnover. The Bayview Place DC open ended on June 2, after all, and it would have required him to play two rounds in the sectional less than 24 hours later on June 3.

"Missing in that second tournament allowed me to go down to sectional qualifying for the US Open a day early," Naumec said. "I got a practice round in and had a good night of sleep because it's one of the longest days in golf. All of those stars just kind of aligned."

He opened the qualifier by scoring par on each of the first nine holes before carding a birdie on the 11th. A bogey on 12 pushed him back to even, but three birdies in the last six holes ended the first round with a 3-under-par score. It left him just two strokes behind leaders Eric Dietrich and Spencer Tibbits.

The second round later that day turned into a grueling grind, but he rallied from a slow start to maintain his consistency. He carded two bogeys on the first five holes but gained strokes back with consecutive birdies. That closed the front nine at even par, and two birdies after the turn provided the momentum for an eagle on the 15th hole.

He traded a bogey with a birdie on 16 and 18, finishing as one of five players with a score of 68. He finished one stroke back of Dietrich. They were the only two players to finish both rounds under 70.

It's setting off a celebration for a true Massachusetts golf story. Naumec is a Commonwealth product that grew up in Wilbraham and attended BC. His consistency comes from an attitude developed from an edge displayed by fearless and determined northerners.

"He had a lot of opportunity to go to schools further south in warmer climates," BC head coach Drew Kayser said. "But he wanted a great education and truly breathed the Maroon and Gold. He proved that you can be successful and achieve greater heights in golf at Boston College. To the rest of the collegiate world, we're a small, New England school with high academics and a cold climate, but it can still be done."

At BC, Naumec had an immediate impact on the Eagles and earned regional Rookie of the Year honors. It provided a base of growth into a sophomore year that featured his first tournament wins, and it built a road that ended his junior season with a trip to the 2018 NCAA Championship Regional at Ohio State. His consistency stuck around for his last year, and he finished his last two years with scoring averaged of 71.57 and 71.77.

"I started watching him when he was probably 12 or 13 years old," Kayser said. "I saw a little kid with a lot of talent, and he was a multi-sport athlete through most of high school. To see his swing change, his body mature and his mind sharpen through the years has been so rewarding. It proves the point that if you have internal drive and ambition, and put in the time and effort, you'll get there.''

"He put himself in position to play every single college round and tournament through his four years," Kayser continued. "That was a big factor in his recruitment. There's a chance he would have needed to qualify to get into the travel squad (at a different school). He had to do that here, but not often. So being able to play in every tournament for four years, winning a couple of those tournaments, having success to make it to NCAA Regionals, all provided building blocks. He just kept building his ability to perform under pressure."

It's an "I told you so" kind of moment for an overlooked, northeast program. Boston College doesn't have an on-campus course, and winter practice can only last as long as Mother Nature allows. It creates obvious challenges but fosters an environment of tough, rugged golfers who collaborate with a mental fortitude not seen anywhere else in the country.

"There's definitely a challenge to playing at BC," Naumec said. "You might lose a little bit of touch or some of the things that you're working on when it hits winter, but I never looked at it as a disadvantage. You can take time off, and that recharges the battery for the spring. That's going to be a little different for me moving forward, but I don't want any stigma about being from north. I could have gone south and played all year long, but I was comfortable (at BC). I knew I could play with the southern players. It's just a mentality."

"This is really exciting for the program," Kayser said. "A few of our guys and I have been texting, and we are all super-excited for Matt. It proves our point. Matt went up to Canada and qualified while preparing for his finals. And he did it, he qualified, it's remarkable, all while achieving Dean's List honors (high honors). A true display of what it means to be a student-athlete."

That journey now continues in California with a lifelong dream come true, buoyed by a support system providing help on and off the course. Naumec's family and friends will gather at Pebble Beach, and Eagles everywhere will tune in to watch one of their own in a major. There's even some tactical advice awaiting him from a teammate since fellow golf team member Christian Cavaliere played at Pebble Beach as part of last year's US Amateur Open.

"It's been less than a week, and I probably had 100-200 texts from friends, especially from the golf team," he said. "My phone was off, but I read back as they were following the live scoring. I had a bunch of messages and calls. I already talked to Christian about Pebble Beach, and he's sending over a couple of notes that he had. It's pretty cool to rely on those teammates, even though I graduated."

It's a work trip, but he's letting himself have that moment. Thousands of applicants attempt to qualify for the US Open every year, but only 75 earn their way into the 156-player field through local and sectional tournaments. There's a field featuring Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Phil Mickelson, Keegan Bradley, Tiger Woods...and Matt Naumec.

"You look at a guy like Keegan Bradley," Kayser said. "He went to St. John's University, which is kind of in the same boat (as BC). It's a small college golf program in the Northeast, but he's won multiple PGA Tour events, including a PGA Championship. He's done what Matt is figuring out. He learned how to win and be productive in college under sometimes non-optimal conditions. That's what Matt did. That's huge (for all of us)."

"I remember playing Pebble as Tiger Woods in the simulator, and I played it in the Tiger Woods video game," he said. "Now I get to tee it up, literally, against Tiger Woods. That's going to happen, and that's insane. There are going to be those 'oohs and ahhs.' I want them to go away, but I know it will be hard. It hasn't sunk in yet. It's so surreal."

Naumec Heading to Pebble Beach for US Open

Players Mentioned

Christian Cavaliere

Matt Naumec

Related Videos