Division 2 golf champion Matt Iczkowski named Gazette Player of Year
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"Golf is a humbling game," Matt Iczkowski said.
The Holyoke Catholic junior, who plays for Granby through a cooperative program, has always known this, but he faced it firsthand this past season.
Iczkowski went undefeated through the regular season until the final match, when his lost to Zack Adams of Mahar. Iczkowski didn't dwell on the loss. He turned it around and led the Rams to the Western Massachusetts Division 2 Golf Championship, winning top individual honors. For his performance, Iczkowski has been named the Daily Hampshire Gazette Player of the Year for golf.
"He's very humble and a great team player," Granby coach Tom Burke said. "He has great qualities and doesn't think too highly of himself. There are a lot of athletes who are good at things but aren't humble, and Matt is definitely humble."
Iczkowski had an outstanding season for the Rams. He posted a 12-1 regular-season record and held a stroke average of 35.9. It was a dramatic improvement from his sophomore season when his stroke average was just above a 40.
As consistent as Iczkowski was, he was untouchable against Hopkins Academy at The Ledges Golf Course on Sept. 27. Iczkowski blew through the back nine en route to a 30. The score could have been better but he three-putted on the 18th.
"It was a big match in the middle of the season that kicked off the (run) toward the playoffs," Iczkowski said. "I started off with par and my opponent got a quadruple bogey, that sort of set the rest of the match. I next shot a birdie, then par, and birdie after birdie. The rest kind of just unfolded as it went."
Iczkowski's success can be partially attributed to a stronger mental game, which prior to this season was the hardest part of his game.
"I focused really on playing the best I could as an individual," Iczkowski said. "Sometimes getting into the team setting can get you away from your own game. My freshman and sophomore year I focused on getting the points for the team. This year I just focused on the individual sport and the team aspect followed after I performed well."
Iczkowski's focus helped him during a pivotal moment in the sectional tournament. Iczkowski had a poor start to the windy day. He found himself 4-over par after six holes and was stuck waiting to tee off on the seventh with another group of players.
Max Bock, a senior at Belchertown and friend of Iczkowski's, was in that group and talked to Iczkowski during the delay. Both players, who are extremely competitive, were joking back and forth. At the time Bock was a few strokes ahead of Iczkowski and this forced the Southwick native to re-focus. Iczkowski parred the next two holes en route to a strong finish.
"I figured Max was right there," Iczkowski said. "On the last hole I knew I needed to make something happen. It was the par-4 first hole but was actually the 18th and final hole. I hit the fairway on my drive and all I had to do was chip it up onto the green and putt in for birdie."
Iczkowski finished with a score of 73 to claim the individual western Mass. title. His team followed in his footsteps to claim the western Mass. Division 2 championship.
Iczkowski and the Rams did not fair as well in the State Division 2 Tournament. Iczkowski shot a 73, which tied him for fifth place, and was five strokes behind the winner.
"Overall I played pretty well," Iczkowski said. "I was still happy with how I performed."
