Matt Barto becomes first-time winner of EDGA Match Play Championship
This past weekend wasn't the first time Doug Barto drove from Pittsburgh to Erie County to watch his son compete in a golf tournament.
It's also doubtful that it will be last, according to Matt Barto.
“He'd show up at every college golf tournament I was in,” the 2018 Gannon University graduate said. “He always still tries to watch me, even outside of college, and he even traveled with the Gannon golfers when they (competed) in New York or in (NCAA regionals) in North Carolina. He loves golf because of my passion for it.
"He never got in the way of me going to the course, and I'm thankful for that.”
That's why the hug Matt and Doug Barto shared next to Downing Golf Course's 17th green extended beyond the fact Sunday was Father's Day.
The father-son moment came because Matt Barto had just won the historic 50th annual Erie District Golf Association Marquette Savings Bank Match Play Championship. The assistant golf coach for the Golden Knights, who was seeded third in the original field off 32, defeated No. 4-seeded Alex Weir 2 and 1 at the 7,108-yard Harborcreek Township course.
Sunday's title match was comprised of the second-place golfers from the previous three Match Play finals.
Weir, 32, who briefly competed as a professional on the Western New York PGA Tour, lost to Jon Merriott in the 2021 final. Merriott defeated Barto earlier in that tournament.
Before that, Barto lost to Drew Deimel in the 2019 final and then Ryan Peters in 2020.
Those coming-up-short results were significant reasons Barto, a member of North East's Lake View Country Club, briefly flexed in celebration after his decisive par-four putt on Downing's 17th hole.
“I'm definitely pumped up I won,” Barto said. “I know there were a lot of hard matches in this tournament that I was able to come back from, like (Sunday's). I was one down on the back nine, but knowing I already went through some grit to get here, I had a lot more faith this time than before. I didn't assume anything or take anything for granted.
“This (victory) is more of validation than satisfaction, but it still feels awesome.”
More wait for Weir's first EDGA win
Weir, 32, led 1-up after the first three holes of Sunday's back nine. However, Barto emphatically squared the match on Downing's par-five, 483-yard 13th. Not with a birdie, but an eagle.
The Leechburg native was on the green in two and then drained his lone putt from roughly 10 feet.
Barto took his third and final lead when Weir three-putted for a bogey four on the 15th. They each recorded par fours for the 16th and then hit their tee shots wide right of the 17th fairway.
Barto avoided one of Downing's notorious tree lines with his second shot, but Weir was forced to improvise on his attempt. His iron shot curled around the right side of the tree line.
The ball was accurate as far as distance to the pin, but it landed several feet to the right of the course's cart path as far as accuracy.
“I knew I could have punched (the shot) low and run it up there, but I also could have gone and hit that big hook (over the trees) with an eight-iron,” Weir said. “But it just didn't hook enough. It stayed straight and left me with that ridiculously hard chip shot.”
Weir, with scant green to work with from his lie, watched his third shot tumble well short of it. He chipped on for four and then two-putted for a double-bogey six.
Barto followed with his lone putt for a tournament-clinching par four.
Weir, a Rochester, New York, native, sought to win the tournament on what was his first Father's Day as a dad. Amy Weir, his wife, held their 8-month-old son, Carson, as they followed the match's later holes.
“That part makes this (loss) all better,” Alex Weir said. “It would have been nice to win on Father's Day, but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter. It's fun to come out, play golf and compete and be in the finals again. Hopefully, next year we can finally punch through one of these (Match Play tournaments) and close one out."
EDGA Amateur up next
Barto's victory also meant he has the potential to sweep the EDGA majors for 2022.
Lawrence Park Country Club will host the Marquette Savings Bank Amateur Championship. The 54-hole stroke play event, which includes a cut, is scheduled for the weekend of Aug. 12.
Barto said he plans to enter.
"I used to be a member (at Lawrence Park)," he said. "I always enjoyed playing there because it's a very risk-reward golf course with a lot of opportunities for birdies and eagles."
Connor Bennink, who just completed his sophomore year at Gannon, is the tournament's defending champ. Last August, he won a one-hole playoff against Weir at Lake View.
Lawrence Park last hosted an EDGA Amateur in 2016.
Contact Mike Copper at mcoppper@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNcoppper.
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Results for the 50th annual EEDGA Match Play Championship at Downing Golf Course:
Final
No. 3 Matt Barto def. No. 4 Alex Weir 2 and 1
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Matt Barto wins historic 50th annual EDGA Match Play Championship
