PacWest Weekly Awards (Oct. 13)

IRVINE, Calif. – Fresh off the heels of winning his first tournament of the 2021 season by capturing first place at the Chico State Wildcat Classic, Academy of Art men's golf junior Matthew Watkins has been tabbed as the Golfer of the Week by the Pacific West Conference. The award is for tournaments played from Oct. 7-13. 

In consistently windy conditions of 20 miles per hour, Watkins was able to move directly to the top of the leaderboard, sitting in first place at even-par 72 after the first round of action. The second round would bring a challenge, as Watkins had to outlast a late push from Brad Sparrer of Stanislaus State, as the two were tied for first with just two holes to play. Starting with a nice up-and-down save for par on the 17th hole, Watkins followed that up with a crushing drive down the 18th fairway. Two clean approach shots would leave Watkins just shy of the pin, where he was able to drop the birdie he needed to finish at 2-over-par 146 for his first tournament victory of 2021, and the second in his career (second in program history; first: Julius Kreutzer, 4). When all was said and done, Watkins had totaled six birdies in the tournament, tied for the fourth most in the field, while he was also one of nine players to record an eagle. 

It is the first time this season that an Urban Knights has received the honor from the PacWest, but it is the third in Watkins' career that he has been named the Golfer of the Week. The first instance came on Sept. 21, 2017, while the other came on Apr. 11, 2019.