Standout Mehlville Golfer Competing in State Amateur Golf Tournament

Alisha Matthews has never lost a golf tournament at Bellerive Country Club.

Of course, she has played only once at one of the area's premier courses and that was when she was only 14.

But Matthews, a 2008 Mehlville graduate who will be a senior at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in the fall, did win a St. Louis District Tournament eight years ago.

She was scheduled to tee it up Tuesday morning in the first group of the day at the 54-hole Missouri Amateur which is being played at Bellerive.

"I have played in the tournament four or five times and it is one of my favorite tournaments," Matthews said. "I love the ladies who work with the MWGA (Missouri Women's Golf Association) and I only see them once or twice a year. I saw them today (Monday) at the practice round and had a lot of hugs."

Matthews has a good history at the Missouri Amateur, finishing second two years ago and third last year.

This year's field includes seven-time champion Ellen Port along with a who's who of the top female golfers in the area.

"I got to play a couple of rounds with Ellen last year and that was a real pleasure," Mathews said. "I had a good round today and I feel good about my game. I am hitting the ball well and it is all going to come down to putting at Bellerive."

Matthews comes off a solid junior season with the Salukis. She was named scholar athlete in the Missouri Valley Conference for the third time, being named to the first team for the first time this year. Matthews has a 3.727 GPA, majoring in Recreation and Leisure Studies. She is scheduled to graduate next May.

Matthews was fourth on the team in scoring average at 79.6 and had the low round of the season for the Salukis with a 71.

"I had trouble with my short game for the better part of the season and that is why the average is not better," Matthews said. "But I worked hard and got the kinks out and played better later in the season."

The highlight of the summer so far for Matthews was competing to qualify for the State Farm Tournament in the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association).

Matthews did not qualify but enjoyed the experience of being part of the professional tournament.

"It was a once in a lifetime experience," Matthews said. "It was cool walking to the 18th hole with the grandstands. The grandstands were empty but it was still cool. It looked for a while that we were not going to play because of storms. At one point they were just going to pick two names out of a hat (to advance to the main event). Maybe I would have had a better chance doing that but I was glad to be able to play the course."

Matthews was not able to attend the State Farm Classic but did watch some of it on television.

"I remember watching a par three and remembering that I almost had a hole-in-one on that hole," Matthews said.

Matthews missed out by just one stroke of qualifying for a Futures Tournament in Decatur, shooting a 73 despite a seven on a par-five early in the round.

The rest of the summer includes competing in a qualifier for the U.S. Women's Amateur at Stone Wolf and playing in a team event in a four-state tournament in Arkansas.