Editor’s note: Valley View golf coach Phil Parker coached Matt Sullivan at Jonesboro High School. Parker is serving as Sullivan’s caddy at this week’s Nationwide Tour event in Springfield, Mo.

By Phil Parker
Special to The Sun

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Most competitive golfers would tell you that a 79 is three strokes better than 80. There is just something about keeping your score in the 70s.
A curling 6-footer for par on his 18th hole allowed Matt to sub a snowman by one in his Nationwide Tour debut. Not the kind of start we were looking for but one in which Matt grinded his way to the final stroke.
Starting on No. 10, Matt striped a drive 30 yards past his two playing partners. One chunked wedge and a heavy chip later, he walked off with a double bogey. One par and two bogeys put him four over after four. He steadied himself with four consecutive pars, one a nifty up-and-in from 100 feet. A launched 340-yard tee ball on the downhill par-5 No. 18 left Matt with 200 yards over water to a left pin. Two rinsed balls later, he wedged to three feet and tapped in for another double.
A front nine of 37 provided a small dose of consolation and a large dose of the potential Matt possesses. A cut 3-iron from 210 to six feet on No. 1 drew a round of applause from the gallery gathered behind the green. His putt provided the lone birdie of his round. He later played a soft lob from the gunch behind No. 6 that playing partner Webb Simpson remarked was one of the best he had ever seen. Matt closed with four consecutive pars.
Matt did get a first-hand glimpse at a future PGA Tour player. Webb fashioned a 6-under-par 66, bettered by only two players in the field. Twelve pars and six birdies left the Wake Forest graduate in a tie for third and on the leaderboard most of the day. Webb was extremely modest with his abilities. He told us that if a career in golf did not pan out, he planned to use his degree in religion from Wake to become a youth minister.
The third player in our group, Todd Vernon, finished with a 71. Todd has played the Asian tour the past two years and is devoting himself to playing in the states this summer. Todd earned a top-10 in the Hooters Tour event at Thunder Bayou in Blytheville in 2004.
The only way to become comfortable performing on stage is to perform on stage. Matt’s swing was not in sync today, his pitching and chipping were off and his putting was tentative. Some of his shots today were played with his nerves and not his skills. All athletes battle such demons at some time in their career. Tom Watson was known as a choker until he broke through in the British Open. Philly Mick could not close the deal until he succeeded at Augusta.
Friday will be an easier venture for Matt. He has now been once-around-the block. And his next professional tournament will find him in a more comfortable mode. The best thing about golf is that it is the ultimate individual sport. You and you alone are responsible for the number that goes beside your name.
I look for Matt to post a better round today. I know that whatever he shoots, he will grind away until the final putt drops, just like he did today. That is what Matt has always done. That is what Matt will always do.
Also, I expect to not have to work near as hard today. I raked far too many bunkers today.