Hill Prepares For First Event

as Professional

May 31st/2010
face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Reigning

national champion Matt Hill isn't at the NCAA Golf Championship this week,

preparing to defend his title as the nation's best college golfer. He's in

Dublin, Ohio, preparing to make his professional debut.

Hill, a junior, finished his

Wolfpack career at the NCAA East Regional, where he missed by one shot the

opportunity to vie for the final spot to advance to the championship

event.

So, as he had long planned, Hill is

now ready to embark on his professional career, beginning this week at The

Memorial, the prestigious PGA Tour event hosted by legendary golfer Jack

Nicklaus at Muirfield Village Golf Club. He earned the invitation by winning the

2009 Jack Nicklaus Award, as the Golf Coaches Association of America's player of

the year.

"I know I am ready," Hill said

before he left Raleigh last week to return to his hometown of Bright's Cove,

Ontario. "I have been looking forward to it for a while. I am pretty pumped

about getting out there and getting started."

Hill, who has signed with IMG and

will endorse Nike golf equipment and apparel, had unequaled success during his

sophomore campaign, in 2008-09, tying Tiger Woods' NCAA record with eight

victories during the season. That total included wins in the ACC Championship,

the NCAA East Regional and the NCAA Championship.

He played in several professional

events last year as an amateur, including the AT&T Classic at Congressional

Country Club in Bethesda, Md., where he made the cut and finished in a tie for

70th. He also played in the Buick Open and the RBC Canadian Open, missing the

cut in both events.

He made the decision to return to

NC State for his junior year, but was unable to duplicate the success of his

magical sophomore season. Still, he won Hootie at Bulls Bay Championship in

Awendaw, S.C., extending his school record to 10 career wins. He also had three

other Top 10 finishes, including second place at the Bank of Tennessee Classic

and third place at the ACC Championship.

Hill will play in The Memorial and

return to both the AT&T Classic and the Canadian Open. Under PGA Tour rules,

he can receive up to seven sponsor exemptions this summer to play in events on

Tour. After that, he will have to go through the qualifying process, either at

PGA Tour School or playing his way into the Nationwide Tour, where he can also

earn a PGA Tour card by finishing in the top 10 on the tour's money list.

"It's definitely going to be a

grind, starting out," Hill said. "I have to go out there with the right attitude

and not put too much pressure on myself. I just have to keep working on my game

and keep getting better.

"You have to stay pretty

even-keeled out there. You can't have too many ups or down. It's different for

everybody."

The 20-year-old Hill said he

believed his game was ready for the PGA Tour after last season, but wanted to

return to NC State for his junior season to improve his game and to mature a

little more.

"I just kind of wanted to go back

to school for another year," Hill said. "I think 20 years old is pretty young to

go out on your own. I felt like I needed to come back and get a little more

mature and make sure I was totally ready for that lifestyle.

"That was the biggest thing, more

than just the golf."

Still, he worked on certain aspects

of his game that he thought needed some tweaking. Though he didn't match the

tournament success of his sophomore season, Hill said his junior season was

valuable to his professional aspirations.

"I really do feel like I have

improved my game over the last year," Hill said.

And now he's ready to move

on.

You may contact Tim Peeler at

face="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">tim_peeler@ncsu.eduface="arial, helvetica, sans-serif">.