It’s not unusual for a young athlete to model his or her game after someone who has achieved greatness before him or her. Kobe Bryant liked the flashy style of Magic Johnson, while Dwayne Wade watched, wanting to be like Michael Jordan. NFL star Tom Brady looked back at what Joe Montana did before him, and everyday someone attempts to emulate Tiger Woods.
But for Mississippi State senior golfer Amanda Mathis, she doesn’t model her game after Annika Sorenstam or Nancy Lopez; her inspiration comes from her father.
“I learned from my dad,” Mathis said. “Growing up, he played a lot of golf, and it gave us a way to spend time together.
When I was around 5, I would be out there running around picking up his clubs, and he eventually cut off one of his old clubs, taped it up, and I went from there.”
Mathis says her father guided her through her formative years, and it wasn’t until she began taking lessons that the idea of playing golf on a more competitive level became something she thought about.
“It started just as a pastime, something for us to do together in the afternoon,” she said. “But once I started lessons, the golf pro at our course said he saw some potential, and that’s when we started to pursue it.”
That budding potential grew and so did Mathis’ interest in the game of golf. Prior to her years at Mississippi State, Mathis claimed the 2002 Mississippi Women’s Amateur Championship, defeating LPGA player and the nine- time champion Cissye Gallagher in the final round.
Once she arrived at MSU, Mathis brought a new enthusiasm to the Lady Bulldog golf team.
In her first tournament, the Ann Rhodes Intercollegiate, she shot a two round total of 147 and finished runner-up.
She recalls that first match as a highlight in her career at MSU.
“I remember as a freshman I really wanted to come in and make an impact on the team,” Mathis said. “I just wanted to help my team. I was so excited to play. I had no fear and just played my game and ended up coming in second.”
Over the years though, Mathis has saved her best golf for the Wildcat Fall Invitational.
In her career, she has never placed below third, winning the tournament both in 2004 and 2006.
She credits her success in the tournament to the weather.
“It seems like every year, there is some form of inclement weather, and that seems to be when I do my best,” Mathis said, laughing. “But really, I just really like the course layout. It’s a bit of a longer course, and I’ve been able to use the distance to my advantage.”
Mathis knows women’s golf is low in the order of popularity on campus and says that sometimes there is pressure to perform well just to get some of the publicity that the bigger sports receive.
“There is some pressure just because we are a smaller sport,” she said. “We almost have to do better and greater things just to get noticed. If we play average, we’d get no coverage, while the bigger sports get publicity no matter what.
“I’ve had people tell me that they didn’t know we had a women’s golf team, and that’s kind of frustrating.”
However, Mathis says being a smaller sport has its advantages, mostly because it brings the teammates and coach closer.
“We’re a very close group,” she said. “We do everything together. Minus our playing time, we’re together. It’s really nice, and I think it’s something that larger sports may not have.”
Next Friday, Mathis and her teammates will take their bond into the SEC Tournament.
This year, the Lady Bulldogs will be the host of the tournament, which is to be played at The Old Waverly Golf Course in West Point.
This will be Mathis’ last tournament for Mississippi State, and she wants this one to be special.
“I consider this my biggest tournament of my career,” she said. “I’ve been looking forward to this since I was a freshman.”
As a golfer approaches the 18th green, they instantly become surrounded by the applause of those who gathered to see the winner sink the final putt.
Mathis hopes on that final day, she’ll be able to close out her MSU career on a high note.
“I’ve grown so much over my time here, and I want to go out with a bang,” she said. “Everyone is playing good right now, and hopefully we’ll upset a lot of people.