Matt Lucy admits he is playing a bit of “catch-up” with high-level golfers his age, many of whom have been hardened by years of college golf and tournament play.
The former North Andover High two-sport Eagle-Tribune All-Star has chosen to rely on his elite competitive gene to make up the difference.
So far, so good. The UMass grad, now 24, hopes to continue his strong summer on the links this weekend as he challenges for the title in the 2024 Joseph F. Healey Memorial Championship.
The Healey, which annually features the top amateur golfers from the region, commences on Friday morning at Crystal Lake Golf Club in Haverhill. Round 2 is Saturday at the Atkinson Resort and Country Club, followed by the championship round on Sunday at Haverhill Country Club.
“I feel good right now. I played well in the Healey last summer, making the final pairing and playing 45 really good holes of golf (at 6-under par),” said Lucy, who ran out of gas in a tough final nine and finished in fourth place.
“I love the way I’m hitting it right now, too. There are a couple heavyweights in that field, of course. If I stay within myself and stick to my game, I feel like I can play well and give myself a chance to win it.”
As expected, the player to beat is Bradford Country Club’s Nick Maccario, the returning champ with five Healey titles in the last six years.
Maccario didn’t play in last week’s Mass. Amateur Championship, but Lucy did, and he sent a message with a pair of even par rounds to be the only area player who made the match-play round of 32.
“I entered the Mass Amateur qualifier and was playing well. So, I showed up at Bass Rocks that day and played really, really well, one of the better days in my life on the course,” said Lucy, who qualified third in a field of over 100 players.
“It felt good, and I’m right into the tournament. I have a good sense of belief in myself and my game that I can play with all these guys.”
Lucy attended the Isenberg School of Management at UMass and played club hockey in college, sliding away from highly competitive golf along the way.
After graduating in 2022, he landed a job with a financial services company in Boston and has since moved to the city, but the competitive fire drew him back to the game.
The former Haverhill Country Club champ qualified for the 2023 Mass Amateur but missed match-play in what he called his “first major tournament since high school.”
The Healey fourth-place followed, and Lucy, who now plays out of Bradford CC, chose to re-work his game with his longtime coach.
“It’s all about the good foundation I had, and that starts with (Windham Country Club teaching pro) Marc Spencer,” said Lucy. “It’s good to have a reliable coach, who knows your game, knows your swing and has seen it for years.
“Last year, I got the itch to get back into competitive golf. This year, I re-did my golf swing with Marc a little bit. I didn’t like how my swing looked on camera and did a little bit of a reset. We said, ‘let’s make it right.’ We did a lot of work in the offseason and in the spring.”
The results have been just what he’s been looking for.
“All in all, there were a lot of positives,” he said. “To be one of the last 32 in a tournament like that, it was a validating week.”