March 26, 2004

WINSTON-SALEM, NC — His history on the golf course is a microcosm of his career. There are the glimpses of his innate brilliance amid the struggles, sloppiness and well-chronicled penchant for self-immolation.

Having never felt comfortable and searching for consistency that outlasts a toddler's attention span, Matt Pritchard couldn't have entered the 4th Annual Carl Spackler Open with much less confidence.

"I'm only now feeling a little more like myself these days," Pritchard said.  What that means only Pritchard knows, but his scorecards last year were not something to take home for the refrigerator.

"I just kept telling my myself to remind me to choke down on every club," said Pritchard, who even put the collar on his driver the few times he wielded it. "It's not my game, but at least I could control it, and I needed to get control."

Such a mature outlook would have served Pritchard, 34, of Boston, MA, well in the past, leading, undoubtedly, the last good round coming at Darby Creek in Marysville, OH.  That said, his faults and foibles have been illuminated by his vast potential and then reflected a glare back on his few epic conquests. The upshot is that empathetic fans have conferred on him rock-star status that has abated little.

"The fans have always been with me," Pritchard said with a shrug as he signed autographs. "That has helped me a lot over the years."

Matt registered online last year after playing weekly with members Chad Long, Greg Garrett, Don McFarland, Greg Long, and Scott Miller.

"Matt played very well, very in control," said playing partner Chad Long, who also shot poorly last season. "He could have holed a few more putts and he was unlucky at the last, but he was solid all the way around."

"I've never entered a tournament with much confidence, but maybe after today there's a chance for me in North Carolina," he said with an air of optimism. "I'm just going to try to hang in there and see what happens."

Sounds like a man getting things under control.