All Abilities Champ Matthew Hallat Loved His B.C. Amateur Experience
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
ABBOTSFORD (July 10, 2024) —The butterflies were replaced by birdies for Matthew Hallat in the second round of the B.C. Amateur Championship. Hallat won the inaugural B.C. All Abilities Championship last summer and was given an exemption into this week’s 122nd playing of the B.C. Amateur at Ledgeview Golf Course in Abbotsford.
The North Vancouver resident was excited about the opportunity and also very nervous. “I did feel a responsibility to some degree being the first exemption from the (All Abilities) tournament,” Hallat said.
“I thought, how well do I need to be playing? I feel like I am representing the group a little bit and I want to be respectful to the tournament and to those who play their way in and I wanted to play well enough that it’s reasonable. I was super nervous yesterday and it showed and today you could see the game was good enough to be there.”
Those first-day jitters that resulted in an 85 in the first round had largely subsided for day two and the Hallat recorded three birdies in his second round. Apart from a bit of a stumble down the stretch, Hallat was pleased with his second-round 77.
He missed the 36-hole cut, but Hallat will walk away from his first B.C. Amateur with some great memories. “The experience was awesome,” he said. “I never really have had the opportunity to play the B.C. Amateur and so you come and get to see another level of golf that I have not been able to experience personally.”
Hallat is a former Paralympic skier who is now high performance director, para-alpine, with Alpine Canada. Hallat, 40, had his right leg amputated at age five due to Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare bone cancer. That did not deter him from diving into sports. Growing up, he skied all winter and golfed much of the summer.
Hallat got his first set of clubs when he was six or seven years old and later became a junior member at Westwood Plateau in Coquitlam. Hallat said after a practice round at Ledgeview and getting a feel for the quality of the field, he knew this week would be a challenge.
“It’s like, oh, okay that’s a different level, that’s a different gear that I don’t have. So it’s like, okay, how do you play your best. I am truly an amateur. I work full time, I’m a husband and father. And when you just don’t play that many tournaments you are pretty nervous on day one. That definitely showed.the first day. I felt better today and had a really great round going. I had a chance at a really great score. I am proud of that at the end of the day.”
Hallat played from the same tees as everyone else in the field. He was permitted to use a power cart during his rounds. A couple of shots stood out for Hallat during his second round. The first was his tee shot on the par 3 11th hole. “It’s about 190 and for me that’s like a four-iron,” he said.
“It never left the flag and I think it only missed the actual flag by a foot. I had 12 or 15 feet for birdie, but didn’t make it. Then on 13 I hit a nine-iron from the left rough to a foot. I made that one for birdie. Those two shots are stuck in my mind.”
Hallat joked that his second round ended on something of a sour note on the par 5 18th hole when a deer wandered out in front of him just as Hallat was about to strike his final tee shot of the day. “There was also a little baby (fawn) on the right side and we knew mama was going to go back to the baby at some point. I didn’t want any wildlife infractions on the 18th hole. It was definitely a little distracting.”
Hallat topped his drive into a penalty area and it led to a triple-bogey eight on his final hole. Hallat found out last fall he was getting an exemption into the B.C. Amateur. He tried to play as much as his busy schedule would allow during the winter and spring. He said some matches with friends — including former B.C. Mid-Amateur champion Dan Swanson —- at Guildford Golf Course in Surrey helped get him ready.
Kris Jonasson, chief executive officer at British Columbia Golf, said the winner of the B.C. All Abilities Championship will now receive an exemption into the following year’s B.C. Amateur. This year’s B.C. All Abilities Championship goes Aug. 11-13 at Qualicum Memorial Golf Club on Vancouver Island. Hallat said he hopes to be there to defend his championship and maybe earn a second crack at playing in the B.C. Amateur.