London - NSW Institute of Sport

MATT sTIeGeR
The nation’s most prestigious amateur golf tournament, the Australian Amateur
Championship has been won by some of the most famous names in the history of
Australian golf. This year, nSWIS golfer Matthew Stieger added his name to the list of
champions after winning a tense, 36-hole battle against Kiwi Ben Campbell at Victoria
Golf Club in Melbourne.
Matt Stiege
Stieger went into the Australian Amateur on the back of red hot form
after winning the 2011 Tasmanian Open, a professional tournament,
by seven shots, and finishing runner-up at Australia’s second largest
amateur tournament, the Riversdale Cup.
“Prior to that stretch of play I did some work with (sport psychologist)
Noel Blundell, so my mindset heading into those tournaments was
probably the feature of my game that stood out for me the most,” Stieger
said. “At the Tasmanian Open especially, if I hit a bad shot I would use what
I had learnt to make sure it didn’t affect me. For example, if I was at risk of
making double bogey, I would apply the skills learned in those sessions to
eliminate that risk and, at worst, make a bogey.”
The final of the Australian Amateur was one of the tightest in recent
history. The first 18 holes saw Stieger down in the match, however
instead of panicking he decided to take a relaxed approach ahead of the
final 18 holes.
“Ben finished strong and was one up through 18. I went into lunch
thinking it was nothing major, but then he started the second 18 with an
eagle and two birdies to go three up,” recounted Stieger. “Although I was
down I realised that there was nothing I could do about him making birdies.
I thought ‘I’m going well as long as I’m not making bogeys,’ and then I
made three straight birdies to get it back to all square.”
The move is tempting, but stieger will wait until next year to turn professional
16 // the edge // nswis.com.au
stORy CHRIs JONes phOtOs HAMIsH JONes
The match continued to see-saw until the 17th hole when Stieger saw his
opportunity to gain the upper hand. It’s not often you hear a golfer saying
they’re aiming to hit in a bunker, but that’s exactly what Stieger did and it
paved the way to his eventual victory.
“My bunker play had been awesome all week, so decided to play to my
strengths. He went for the pin, blocked it into the rough and I hit my shot
out of the bunker to about five feet away from the hole,” Stieger explained.
“That was pretty much the moment that changed the match. I could see
he was getting a bit angry because I had played three really good holes
in a row. I hit a good drive down 17 to put a bit of pressure on him, and
fortunately for me he buckled.”
Stieger’s steely resolve under pressure is evident in his approach to
claim victory at the Australian Amateur. Obviously ecstatic with his win,
the Narrabri-born golfer explained that he saw his win as “getting the job
done.” Stieger came to the tournament expecting to win and did just that,
any other result would not have satisfied him.
Stieger has come a long way in the 10 years he has been playing golf.
He was introduced to golf by his father and instantly loved it, and at 17
made the choice to focus on golf after juggling his sporting commitments
with football.
In late 2008 he made the move to Sydney, and by mid 2009 was a
scholarship holder at the NSWIS. Glenn Whittle, Head Coach of the NSWIS
Golf Program, has been in charge of Stieger’s short game and worked in
conjunction with John Serhan, who coaches Stieger at his home golf club of
St Michael’s in Sydney’s east.
“I always saw Matt as a talented kid, but never one who had that
immediate ‘wow’ factor,” said Whittle. “However, he has worked extremely
hard to get where he is now, especially on his bunker play, pitching and
putting, which have all greatly improved since he’s been on scholarship.”
Stieger explained that Whittle has been able to “tighten” his short game
by mimicking tournament conditions, so pressure is eased when it comes to
the crunch. However, Whittle said that getting rid of Stieger’s self doubt has
been one of the key factors in his recent success, and the future success
that Whittle predicts will come Stieger’s way.
“I always say that the best players are still just people; they have a set of
golf clubs, they sleep, they eat and they feel emotion. The key for Matt was
to make himself believe how good he really is,” said Whittle. That comes in
the form of feedback from training drills and competitions, as well as using
technology to see where Stieger’s strengths and weakness really are in
comparison to where he thinks they are.
Whittle identified that Stieger is truly a product of his environment, he
seized the opportunity to improve his game when it was presented to him.
“The good players utilise the resources they have around them, and take
advantage of the opportunities they’re presented,” said Whittle. “It would
be great to see Matt compete on the world stage and continue to support
kids playing golf who followed the same pathway as he did. He can truly be