JUPITER GOLFER NAMED JUNIOR PLAYER OF 2005
BYLINE: Jodie Wagner
DATE: January 11, 2006
PUBLICATION: Palm Beach Post, The (FL)
EDITION: FINAL
SECTION: NEIGHBORHOOD POST
PAGE: 18
MEMO: Jupiter / Tequesta
Peter Mathison had a year to remember in 2005.
The Jupiter 9-year-old and avid golfer won five of six tournaments on the South Florida Junior Golf Foundation Tour, placed among the top five at three U.S. Kids events and finished second at the prestigious Doral Publix Junior Golf Classic in Miami. He also earned Player of the Year and Low Stroke Average awards from the SFJGFT and placed third and fifth at two Junior Players Tour tournaments despite competing in an older age bracket.
"He played great," Brenda Mathison, Peter's mom, said of her son. ". . . He played against (kids) his own age and also older. The Junior Players Tour is older boys, almost 11, and he placed in the top five in those tournaments."
In others, he did even better.
Among Peter's top performances last year were a trio of second-place finishes at tournaments throughout the southeast.
Competing in the 8-year-old age group at last February's U.S. Kids Jekyll Island Cup in Jekyll Island, Ga., he shot a two-day total of 71 to finish one shot behind the winner.
Four months later, he shot 35 to tie for first at the U.S. Kids South Florida State Championship in Naples, but lost in a sudden death playoff.
Last month, he shot 5-under-par 65 at Doral to finish two shots behind champion Joshua Martin, a top golfer on the junior circuit.
"The tougher the competition, the better he plays," Brenda Mathison said of Peter, who began playing golf at age 4 and entered his first tournament at 6. "That's what's important. He wants to go and win."
He always has.
Peter, who is in the fourth-grade at Batt Private School, practices five days a week at the Loxahatchee Club and constantly works to improve his fundamentals.
He also takes a lesson every three weeks with his coach, Martin Hall, under whose tutelage Peter has made tremendous strides in tournament play.
"He's very well-respected by the older boys that he plays with," Brenda Mathison said of Peter, who will compete full-time in the 10-11 age bracket next season. "They know his name in the junior golf world."
Benefit 5K set for Carlin Park: The Gold Coast Guild of the Children's Home Society will host the third annual For the Love of Children 5K run/walk on Feb. 11 at Carlin Park in Jupiter.
More than 400 participants are expected to compete individually or as part of a team. Race-day registration begins at 7 a.m. The run starts at 8 a.m., followed by the walk at 8:05 a.m.
Registration fee is $20 until Feb. 3 and $25 afterwards. Children younger than 9 can run for $5. Shirts will be available for pre-registered participants.
Proceeds will benefit the Children's Home Society of Florida, which works to strengthen families and keep them together.
For more information or to register, call (561) 868-4360 or visit www.chsfl.org.
Tequesta offers martial arts for adults: The Tequesta Parks and Recreation Department isoffering shotokan karate lessons for adults on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the recreation center, 399 Seabrook Road.
Lessons are held 6:30-8 p.m. and run in 12-week sessions. Classes are ongoing. For information, call (561) 575-1285.
Jodie Wagner is a sports writer for Neighborhood Post. She can be reached at (561) 820-4537. Faxes can be sent to (561) 837-8320.
jodie_wagner@pbpost.com
Copyright (c) 2006 Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc