March 22, 2002

By Jay Reddick

All his struggles behind him, Len Mattiace held his champion's trophy and smiled.

In seemingly all the pictures he posed for that evening in Los Angeles, Mattiace's smile shone brighter than even the trophy itself.

But Mattiace had plenty of reason to grin. After nine years on the PGA Tour, this was the first chance he had to hold a championship trophy - his trophy.

Mattiace fired a final-round 68 to come from behind and win the Nissan Open on Feb. 17. He becomes the 14th Wake Forest alumnus with at least one victory on the PGA Tour.

"It's a better feeling than I thought it would be," Mattiace told PGATour.com.

The 34-year-old's pro career has had its ups and downs since he graduated from Wake Forest in 1989. He earned his PGA Tour card for the first time in 1992 but didn't make the big tour for good until the 1996 season because of a combination of bad luck on the course and a bout with carpal tunnel syndrome that sidelined him for a time.

His standing on the Tour has improved most every year since then, and he has been in the top 100 on the money list six consecutive years. Through March 10, he was 15th on the 2002 money list.

But still, he hadn't broken through for a victory. The closest he ever came was in 1998, when he came to the 17th tee at The Players Championship one shot off the lead and brimming with confidence. But he hit his tee shot in the water, made an eight, and finished tied for fifth.

The loss, he said with hindsight, stayed with him for a long time. How long?

"What year is this?" he replied.

Ironically, Mattiace's win in L.A. came after Scott McCarron played the last three holes in 2-over par, including a muffed putt out of the rough just beside the green at 18 that led to a bogey.

"You don't ever want to see anyone make a mistake like that," Mattiace told the Los Angeles Times. "Strange things happen at 18 in tournaments."

The Jacksonville, Fla., resident has been one of a large handful of players who are on the list of "best players never to win a tournament." The title, Mattiace said, has not been a burden, but instead a frustration.

"We live this every day," Mattiace said. "It seemed like it was a long way away. Other times, you could touch it, smell it."

Even with all the frustrations, though, Mattiace wouldn't trade anything.

"Being a golf professional is one of the greatest things you can become," Mattiace told The Oakland Tribune. "Even if you don't win for seven years."

Mattiace began the day two shots behind leader McCarron but quickly turned that deficit into a chasm with bogeys on two of his first three holes. However, he rallied with three consecutive birdies on 10, 11 and 12 and stayed firmly in the hunt from then on. Still, he didn't have the lead to himself on Sunday until his final 1-foot par putt on 18.

"I didn't force anything," Mattiace said. "Some pins were difficult. You either hit a great shot or you make bogey. I didn't want to do that. I just wanted to be right there and see what happens."

What happened, in his 220th PGA Tour start, was a championship. According to the Florida Times-Union, Mattiace's 4-year-old daughter Grace often used to ask one question when Mattiace would drop her off at day care: "Daddy, when are you going to win a trophy?"

Now he's got one.