Matt Cioffi just wanted a day off.
After playing full rounds for two days during a mid-July heat wave, the recent Neshannock High School graduate would have preferred to sleep in, enjoy his air-conditioned home and relax for a day.
“Playing in 95-degree weather ... wears you out a little bit,” Cioffi said, recalling his feelings leading up to July 17. “Waking up at 4 in the morning and driving two hours to a golf tournament? That's a killer.”
Ultimately, Cioffi's mother and his future college roommate talked him into playing the Tri-State Section Junior PGA Championship.
He's glad they did.
Cioffi won the tournament at Fox Run Golf Club in Beaver Falls, shooting a 2-under par 70 and winning on the first hole of a sudden death playoff against Upper St. Clair's Thomas Steve and Nelson Zacur.
The victory earned Cioffi qualifying status for the national Junior PGA Championship next week n Potomac Falls, Va.
“Honestly, I didn't really know what I won until I started going on Google a little bit and researching it,” said Cioffi, who tied for second at the WPIAL Class AA individual golf championships last fall.
“I called my roommate (Pine-Richland graduate Mike Oakes) up after I won and he goes, ‘Dude!' He was real excited, and I really didn't care at the time. I didn't know what I'd won until those 2 1⁄2 hours of paperwork.”
That paperwork was registering Cioffi for the national Junior PGA Championship at Trump National Golf Club from July 30 to Aug. 2.
The Junior PGA Championship has traditionally been a stepping stone for PGA and LPGA Tour professionals and college stars. Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson, Justin Leonard and David Toms are among Junior PGA Championship alumni.
“It's awesome — I'm so excited,” Cioffi said. “I want to leave now.”
He'll have to wait until Sunday, when he'll play a practice round at Trump National. This week, Matt and his father, Joseph, competed in the Pennsylvania Golf Association's Father-Son Championship at the Hershey Country Club.
Cioffi tied for 12th at the PIAA Class AA golf championships as a senior.
He did plenty of winning in high school. The Neshannock golf team won the 2010 and 2011 WPIAL Division II boys' golf championships. During his sophomore and junior years, Cioffi — a designated hitter and catcher — played on the Lancers baseball teams that won WPIAL Class A titles.
But it's been golf that's captivated him most since he had a club placed into his hand when he was 3.
In addition to playing for the golf team, Cioffi plans on majoring in professional golf management with a business minor at California University of Pennsylvania.
“So I'm probably going to be around golf the rest of my life,” Cioffi said. “And knowing that I can compete with basically everybody in (Western) Pennsylvania (after winning the WPGA Juniors) only boosts up my morale to hopefully work to become a professional or play on Web.com Tour or something.
“I'm just a just small-town kid trying to make it big.”
The biggest stage he's made it to thus far will be the Junior PGA championship next week.
“My grandpa (Albert Germani) passed away seven years ago, and he golfed every single day of his life and had been a very good influence,” Cioffi said. “He's the type of person I always looked up to, and he'd probably do anything to come to D.C. and watch me.”
Chris Adamski is a freelance writer.
