Despite her trim, 5-3 stature, Mebane native Emily Mathews generates prodigious power with her golf swing, driving the ball at least 275 yards, according to her coach.
Chase Duncan, the longtime instructor at Lonnie Poole Golf Course in Raleigh whose pupils include PGA Tour winner Ashkay Bhatia, jokes that the petite Mathews, a standout freshman at Virginia Tech, swings a golf club like a man and shows remarkable toughness. Duncan says she generates more clubhead speed than the average LPGA Tour player.
“She’s 5-3, 115 pounds and swings it like a grown ass man,” said Duncan, who has worked with Mathews for about six years. “She swings it beautifully. She rotates really well. She gets a lot of strength from her lower body.”
Megan native Emily Mathews of Virginia Tech generates big-game power from her petite frame.
Maybe Mathews developed her power-generating swing by watching her brother, Nick, a redshirt junior on the N.C. State golf team. They grew up playing at Mill Creek Golf Club.
Mathews said the surprising power is the result of setting up in a “squat” position and generating power by pushing off the ground while not sacrificing accuracy.
“With my legs, I get a lot of speed through impact,” she said.
Mathews quick success at Tech — her 73.17 stroke average was No. 2 on the team behind Winston-Salem native Morgan Ketchum entering the ACC Tournament in late April at Porter’s Neck in Wilmington — is no surprise.
Matthews was one of the nation’s top juniors. She won the N.C. Class 3A state title for Eastern Alamance High in 2020, 2021 and 2022, earned invitations to several elite American Junior Golf Association events and qualified for two U.S. Junior Girls’ Amateurs, advancing the match play in 2022. Her success led to an equipment deal with Mizuno.
She had many offers, including full-ride options at UNC and N.C. State, but felt most wanted at Tech, which also gave her the opportunity to live outside the Raleigh area.
“They (Hokies coaches) treated me like I was their No. 1 priority,” Mathews said. “They felt that I had the potential to be a great player.”
Majoring in sports media analytics, Mathews applies those skills in her golf game. She closely watches top players, especially those she’s paired with. After each round, she sits down and writes “reflections.” Her game also reflects her other focus of studies at Tech — organizational leadership,
Those could include anything from shot preparation to set-up, shot selection and execution.
“I’m super-attentive,” Mathews said. “I watch (other players) and try to pick their brains. In 18 holes, I try to learn at least one thing. I learn one thing from one person and learn one thing from another. “I’m probably the only one on the team who does that. I think in the end, it will benefit you.”
Though she’s played well from the start at Tech, Mathews first semester was a struggle as she batted the effects of bronchitis.
“I was pretty much sick the whole semester,” Mathews said. “But I had endless support. I kept working, and I was in a good place with my swing. I’m not exactly sure how I did it.”
Mathews finished in the top 20 in the Wolfpack’s four fall tournaments, shooting 67 in rounds at Oklahoma’s Schooner Classic and the Landfall Tradition near Wilmington, where she finished 13th.
For the year, she leads the Hokies with a 72.75 stroke average in the final round of the team’s eight stroke-play tourneys.
Mathews got off to a slow start this spring. But her best finish, a tie for 38th at the Clemson Invitational, came in Tech’s last stroke-play event prior to the ACC Tournament. In April, she beat Wake Forest’s No. 1 player Carolina Chacarra, who carried a sub-70 stroke average and was in the top 15 in the national rankings.
The 1-up victory over Chacarra helped the Hokies finish second in the Wolfpack Match Play at Lonnie Poole.
Like most top college women’s players, Mathews aspires to play on the LPGA Tour.
“That’s my childhood dream,” she said. “I’m trying to do everything to put myself in that position.”
Regardless, she plans to find a career involving the sport.
“Hopefully, it will be something related to golf,” Mathews said. “I’m in love with he sport and would live to use my degree in that way.”
