Matt Greenfield to play in the Patriot All-America
12/17/2015 | 12:00:00 | Men's Golf
By Tony McDaniel
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill.-- Most collegiate golfers play in tournaments during their winter breaks to keep their skills sharp in the offseason leading up to team tournament play in the spring, but one Saluki golfer will be rubbing elbows with some of college golf's elite during the break.
Junior Matt Greenfield will play in the Patriot All-America on Dec. 29-31. The Patriot All-America is a prestigious invitation-only tournament that is open to golfers named to the Ping All-American and American Junior Golf Association All-American teams from the 2014-15 season.
The Hassocks, England native won his All-American award last season at the junior college level while playing for Rend Lake College in Ina, Ill. Greenfield looks at the tournament as a chance to see how he matches up against the rest of college golf's elite players.
Greenfield, who is the first Saluki to play in the event since it began in 2011, said just to be included with some of his most accomplished peers is an honor.
"I think it's a good way to see where I'm at with my game," Greenfield said. "Also, I think it's a good way to prepare for the spring. I'm sure the team and I will face players that are a lot like the ones I'll be playing in this tournament."
The Patriot All-America is played at Wigwam Golf Club in Litchfield Park, Ariz. The tournament works in conjunction with Folds of Honor to recognize soldiers that have fallen or been wounded in combat. Each player's golf bag will have the name and rank of a soldier embroidered it. Greenfield will represent Army Sgt. 1st Class Shawn C. Dostie. Dostie was a decorated soldier who lost his life in Iraq in Dec. of 2005. Greenfield's bag will be given to SIU to be auctioned off following the tournament. Proceeds from the auction will go to Folds of Honor.
Greenfield earned his invite to the Patriot All-America for his performance at the NJCAA level. Greenfield won one tournament in his time at Rend Lake and finished as a runner-up four times. He only missed a top-ten finish once in 11 tournaments at the junior college level.
"Getting [an award] where all the coaches recognize your name is quite a big honor to have," Greenfield said. "Especially since its based on consistency, which was quite a big thing for me last year."
This year, Greenfield has remained consistent and became a staple in coach Justin Fetcho's travel team. Greenfield is one of only three golfers to appear at all three tournaments for the Salukis this season. He said one of the traits that helped him
earn a selection in all of SIU's teams this year is his ability to deal with adversity on the golf course, which he and Fetcho both said the SIU junior has been working on this season. Greenfield said the Patriot's course is a difficult one, and will test the mental side of his game.
"I want to mentally stay in the same place the whole time," Greenfield said. "I don't want my emotions to be up and down. I just want it to be even keeled throughout the whole tournament. I want to be able to commit to every shot, that's a big thing for me. If I do those things and I play well, we'll see where that takes me."
Fetcho said he hope Greenfield goes to the Patriot All-American with the mindset that he can finish as the winner.
"He has been working on the mental side of his game this offseason," Fetcho said. "I am interested to see him put that in play in a tournament situation. Matt has the talent to go to that event and compete with anyone. I'm looking forward to watching him compete at a high level."
Players Mentioned
