FAYETTEVILLE -- Matthew Cole has always been willing and able to put his golf game up to the test against some of his top peers, particularly those closest to him on his own high school team.
And for the most part, it's Cole who has finished on top or near the leader board after the competitive battles are all sorted out.
Matthew Cole
School: Fayetteville
Class: Senior
Height: 6-0
Notable: Helped lead Bulldogs to Class 7A state golf championship last season. … Finished junior season with a 38 scoring average per nine holes. … Averaging score of 38 this season, ranking second on the team. … Father played college golf at Arkansas and Arkansas State.
"(The competition) definitely pushes us," Cole said. "If someone on this team doesn't practice for a couple of days they can fall back. So it's constant competition.
"I want to be at the top, but I also want all the other guys on the team to do well."
Cole has been a fixture in the Fayetteville boys' high school golf lineup for years. Now a senior, he's one of the clear veteran leaders on a Bulldogs' team loaded with young talent behind him. But there was a time when Cole was the younger Purple'Dog, and that didn't stop him from rising to the cream of the crop.
As a junior, Cole averaged a 38 score per nine holes, putting him right in the mix among Fayetteville's top players. The Bulldogs were led onto the course by three seniors last year, but it was actually Cole and then-sophomore Luke Long who perhaps made the biggest difference when Fayetteville broke through to win the Class 7A state boys' golf championship.
This season, Cole has picked up right where he left off. His scoring average in the high school season is again 38 per nine holes, good enough for second on the team behind Long. And with Fayetteville also featuring tons of depth behind their top two veterans -- with Palmer Hays, Jake Warner and Jake Myers also provided quality scores -- the Purple'Dogs appear primed for another title run.
"(Matthew) has really grown so much as a golfer from the beginning of last year," Fayetteville golf coach Scott Williams said. "The confidence he gained from being a state champion over to this year, he's a guy along with Luke Long who you count on as a leader.
"And Matt is just so consistent with his play, and it shows."
Cole admits this season is a bit different than a year ago. Fayetteville didn't necessarily sneak up on other teams across the state in 2013, but winning its first title since 2004 did change things. Now the Bulldogs have a clear target on their backs this fall, and Cole is the leader of the pack who is guiding the team through the competition.
"Last year when we won, I expected to win but it was still a little surprising," Cole said. "This year we've had a lot of guys who have stepped up and hopefully we can get back and win it again."
Sports on 09/11/2014