Wednesday, August 25, 2004

Where are they now - Matt Weibring

Nice blurb on Matt:

Father Knows Best

Matt Weibring knows what it takes to win at the TPC at River Highlands. He watched his father do it eight years ago.

In 1996, D.A. Weibring was struggling with Bell's palsy. Matt, then 16, spent the week in Cromwell watching his father's GHO victory.

"The only time I've ever been here was for my dad's win," said Matt Weibring, who has a sponsor's exemption for the Buick Championship - his first PGA Tour event this year. "It was pretty cool. He was just happy to be out there playing and maybe make a cut. But all of the sudden he played great and won."

Matt talked his father through that final round, and D.A. gave his son credit for his victory.

"When I do motivational speaking engagements, I talk about that GHO week and role reversals, how your son or daughter can help a parent, just like a parent can help their children," D.A. Weibring told The Courant three years ago. "It was an unbelievable experience."

After an All-American career at Georgia Tech, Matt played on the Nationwide Tour last year and received sponsors' exemptions to the 2002 and '03 John Deere Classic. That event is played at the TPC at Deere Run in Silvis, Ill., a course designed by his father.

Matt said he has received some tips from his father on the TPC at River Highlands.

"I have a lot of good memories of this course, so hopefully it will carry over to this week," he said. "Hopefully I'll have some good luck like Dad did."