The 19th Hole: Matt Whalen

Superintendent //  Cheyenne (Wyo.) CC

What’s your drink of choice after 18 holes?

It’s always a Miller Lite. But my friends would call bull on me if I didn’t tell you I’ve already had a 6-pack by the end of the round.

So if you live in Cheyenne, who are the teams you pull for?

The Denver Broncos, the Nuggets, the Avalanche, the Rockies — Denver is only an hour-and-a-half south of us. I grew up a huge Notre Dame fan… but I played for the University of Wyoming, so I still root for the Pokes.

What did you play?

I played outside linebacker, just one year. I got tired of being a moving tackling dummy. Your body takes a beating. After Coach (Joe) Tiller left to go to Purdue, I saw the writing on the wall, so I bowed out. I was a Wyoming kid, so it was always a dream to go play for the Cowboys, and that’s what I did.

So you told me about your two boys, Liam (6) and Grady (4). But how did you meet your wife?

Melissa was a horticulture major, so we had a bunch of classes together. My story is, I got tired of her always cheating off of me, so I finally asked her out on a date and she said yes. But it actually was the other way around. We did some homework assignments together, became quick friends, dated for six months and I asked her to marry me. The rest is history, going on 12 years of marriage.

Ever taken her any place really cool?

Thank goodness my mechanic was busy this one day and he asked me to look up some parts on JohnDeere.com. A little pop-up came on the screen and I just entered my name, email and phone number. I got a call in late June saying I won a trip to the 2011 British Open courtesy of John Deere. I got to spend five great days in London with my wife. We went to the tournament and had an all-access VIP pass.

Now that sounds amazing. What was that tournament like in person?

The one thing I will tell you about the course conditions and the weather, the courses are not as green as our courses here, but by no stretch of the imagination are they less maintained. Those courses are perfect. But the wind and the rain? Yeah, that’s all true. I’m from Cheyenne and I’ve never seen rain come at you sideways. When you’re holding your umbrella at your hip rather than over your head? Something is amiss. That’s an interesting weather pattern.

As interviewed by Seth Jones, April 2nd, 2014.