Striding towards the tee box of the third playoff hole in the brutal wind, rain, and cold, Matthew Kumpulanian had a chance at making history.
With the individual title coming down to a third playoff hole, Kumpulanian knew that one errant shot could be the end of his run towards an individual title at the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Golf Championship. Kumpulanian and Daniel Kwon of Marymount had already tied the first two holes, playing hole nine and hole one as the stalemate drew on. The stakes were even higher.
The hole was set to be played on hole two, a par four with a small pond up the right side. With a narrow fairway and trouble to both the left and right, Kumpulanian played it safe, while Kwon went all in for the win.
“I think I hit a four-iron down there,” Kumpulanian recalled. “Just wanted to get one in play. He hit a driver, and he hit his drive straight into the pond, so he had to take a penalty drop. I knew I probably just had to make par to win after that.”
Kumpulanian lined up his second shot, aiming directly into the strong gusts of wind as rain whipped against his face, striking the ball well but coming up short of the green. At this point, Kumpulanian knew that shooting par on the hole would be a reach, while Kwon was still in play for a bogey, potentially taking the two to a fourth playoff hole.
Kwon’s next shot went long of the green but was recovered excellently, hitting an approach shot within six feet of the pin to put the pressure back on Kumpulanian.
Nonetheless, the Springfield senior stayed calm, trusting his abilities. Putting one on the green and getting his putt to drop into the center of the cup, Kumpulanian marked down a bogey on the hole, while Kwon missed his putt following the impressive chip, shooting double bogey.
Kumpulanian was victorious by one stroke, helping lead Springfield to a third-place finish in the conference.
“It felt great,” Kumpulanian said. “I put a lot of hard work in over the summer and during the offseason, and with the conditions, it was not easy to play well, but I was happy with how I battled all weekend and ended up coming out on top.”
Kumpulanian stayed in the running for the title from hole one to hole 36. With the championship split up into two days of 18 holes each, Kumpulanian finished his first round at even-par, shooting a 72 at Springfield’s home course, Veterans Memorial Golf Course. After an impressive first day, the standout golfer followed up his excellent round with a 73, shooting one over par to finish the 36 holes at +1. This tied him with Kwon, putting the two in the playoff scenario.
Kumpulanian felt satisfied after his first round performance, leading the field by three strokes and putting himself in excellent position to take the individual title.
“When you’re leading by three going into the final round, you just want to keep it simple,” Kumpulanian said. “You stick to your strategies, stick to your prep, and trust the work you’ve put in. Just keep it all in front of you and don’t do anything silly. I trusted my prep.”
However, the tournament would not go as smoothly as the senior would have liked after a scorecard error at the end of the first round, putting Kumpulanian in a difficult situation that almost took the golfer out of contention.
“In college golf, for most tournaments, we keep track of our scores on our phones,” Kumpulanian explained. “But it’s a conference rule in the MASCAC to have a paper scorecard as the official scorecard.”
Kumpulanian’s opponent was in charge of keeping track of both scores as the two played together. Yet, the competitor was only scoring the round on his phone, not transferring the totals to the paper scorecard. When it came time to transfer everything from the phone to the scorecard, the opponent made a mistake, which Kumpulanian did not catch at the moment, and signed his name, officially putting him at risk of a disqualification.
“I went to hand my scorecard to the lady scorekeeper, and she told me she had me down for a 71, not a 72,” Kumpulanian said. “He put a four down instead of a five on one of the holes, and I had already signed the card. I ended up being DQ’ed for a while.”
Determined to find a way around it, Kumpulanian, his teammates and his coach did some digging into the rulebooks, trying to find some way to allow the golfer to continue his round and keep him in the running for the individual title.
“There’s a rule where if you don’t leave the scoring area when you turn in your scorecard, and there’s an issue, you can’t get DQ’ed,” Kumpulanian said. “I hadn’t left the scoring area yet, so I was able to resolve the issue, get my disqualification revoked, and play the next day.”
Despite the controversy, Kumpulanian was able to claim his title after an excellent two rounds of golf, putting an exclamation mark on his final conference championship tournament.
Kumpulanian bookended his time on the Pride golf team at the MASCAC Championships with two standout awards. In 2024, as a sophomore, Kumpulanian finished sixth overall in the tournament, the best out of any player in their first time competing at the championship. With this high achievement, Kumpulanian earned the MASCAC Golf Rookie of the Year honors. Now, after his first-place victory, the senior added another title to his growing list of accomplishments with the elusive MASCAC Men’s Golf Player of the Year honors.
From his first round of collegiate golf to becoming the best golfer in the conference, Kumpulanian acknowledges how much he has grown as a person through the sport.
“I only started playing competitive golf when I was 18, compared to some of these kids who started when they were eight or nine, so I’m still kind of new to it,” Kumpulanian said. “I love it. I’ve matured so much, and I think golf has helped me grow as a person. It’s such a mental game more than a physical game, and I love fighting for yourself every round no matter what’s going on out there.”
Despite the historic personal accomplishment, Kumpulanian couldn’t help but mention his excitement for his team rather than focusing on his own play.
“I’m happy I finished strong,” Kumpulanian added. “I want to keep up the good play, and maybe get another individual win down the road. Maybe a fifth year is in the books, but I’m not sure yet. Mostly, I’m just happy to see the new guys that came playing well. There’s a bright future for Springfield golf, that’s for sure.