As an amateur athlete striving to reach the next level, you never know who might be watching.
For Matt Kreutz, a chance meeting with Minot State University Beavers’ head golf coach Randy Westby during spring break in California turned into a scholarship with the NCAA Division II North Dakota school.
Kreutz, who turned 18 on March 13, was competing in the Maple Leaf Junior Tour Invitational when Westby caught his act.
“I was in Las Vegas and decided to attend the MJT Invitational in Palm Springs,” said Westby. “It was there that I met Matthew. I watched him play a few holes and visited with him. I was very impressed by his demeanor and how outgoing he was. I then contacted the MJT office to get his e-mail address. After corresponding with him about college golf and attending Minot State, he committed to our program.”
Kreutz and good buddy Austin Bosquet visited Minot State a few weeks ago and Westby is now further thrilled about coaching Kreutz next season.
“I have followed his play in the Zone 2 junior tour (Kreutz has won six events this season) and am confident he can be an asset to my team.”
Brothers Kowan and Karson O’Keefe, whose father Brian is a golf pro born and raised in Vernon, both played for MSU this year. Kowan, a senior, became the university’s first student-athlete to be named to the Capital One Academic All-America team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
“It was awesome; I loved it,” said Kreutz, of his recent trip to Minot. “He (Westby) showed us around. We played some golf with him although I played poorly. He beat me. We looked around the campus and town.”
MSU is the third-largest university in North Dakota with 2,300 students. Kreutz will be on a partial scholarship, studying business management.
The Beavers are rebuilding and Kreutz, a plus-one handicap, wants to contribute immediately. Ben McNiven of Merritt was a Beaver freshman last season.
“They recruited two other players from the Beaumont (California) tourney and they’re both good,” said Kreutz. “They lacked depth last year so I’m really excited to see what I can do for the golf team. They’re gonna get better and better.”
A Rickie Fowler fan, Kreutz began taking shots in his backyard as a tyke. He carried his bag on a real course at age eight.
“I was always average, but I worked at it two years ago and went from a seven to a one. The dream has always been to be a professional golfer like Rickie Fowler and all the other young, cool guys on tour. As I got older, the goal was to play university golf to get some tuition paid for and play the sport I love. Ever since Day 1, I’ve always been a hard worker. I like to work really hard at all my sports a lot because I like to be good at them and I don’t like losing very often.”
He inserted a small grip change during a lesson from Sean Richardson at Predator Ridge three years ago and receives almost daily tips from Myles Johnson before he starts work at Spallumcheen.
Kreutz swings a Ping G30 driver, hits Callaway irons and Cleveland wedges and also carries a Titleist hybrid three-wood.
“I don’t hit it particularly far but I think myself around the golf course. I hit in the middle of the fairways and look for an opportunity to go for it. I am a streaky putter.”
Matt’s father, Norm, has won the Vernon men’s club title four times and his older brother, Alex, is a scratch golfer who is a business student at Camosun College in Victoria. Matt’s mom, Debbie is a manager at Winners and will occasionally play nine holes with the family.
“My parents have definitely been heroes for me because they support me in everything I do. They’ve never said no to me. If I have a dream that I wanna try and obtain, they always helped to the fullest. Same with my older brother. He has been huge for my development in all sports and all games because he’s always been that competition for me. He’s always been good at everything he does as well, and he keeps pushes me to get better and better at everything I do.”
Kreutz has been consistent the last few years, able to keep his score under 77 even if he’s having a poor round.
“It’s been a really good last couple of years because I’ve started playing well and reach my potential. I always had problems finishing before. I couldn’t quite get the Ws. I would come fourth place, but I’d be winning 16 holes in. Ever since last year, I learned how to close and got my putting down.”
As a former downhill ski racer at Silver Star, Kreutz learned how to stay strong mentally through coach Andrew Lambert.
“I don’t get too upset after having a bad hole because you can always come back in golf. If you make a double bogey, you can come back with an eagle or two birdies later on in the round. You can’t let those bad holes determine what your round’s gonna be. There’s always a way you can grind out a good score.”
