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Matt Bettencourt's second straight NCGA Player of the Year honor last season was certainly a rare feat. After all, only two other players in the NCGA's history have won it back to back. Now Bettencourt is chasing anoth­er ambition for the second time-play­ing golf for a living-that is not quite as rare but far more demanding.

The 27-year-old Bettencourt has taken his shot at the professional game in the past, as a teenager fresh out of Beyer High School in Modesto. However, a mediocre run on the Nike Tour (which became the Buy.com Tour and now the Nationwide Tour) and Golden State Tour over the next two years prompted him to recoup his amateur status.

He has proven that toughness since his return to amateur golf in the fall of   2000. Since that time, he has won a staggering 22 events in Northern California (both individual and two-man), includ­ing three NCGA championships.

Last year he won 12 times, his lone NCGA win coming in his first attempt at the San Joaquin Valley Championship at Riverbend GC. Just before turning pro, he won the Northern California Open at Diablo Grande GC and captured the competi­tive Alameda Commuters with a stun­ning 29 on the final nine holes to set the tournament record at 266. He was medalist at the NCGA Amateur, although he didn't repeat in that cham­pionship, losing in the round of 16. He got a step farther in the State Amateur, advancing to the quarterfinals. 

Bettencourt broke his own record with 2,446 points during the tourna­ment season (Oct. 1 of 2001 through Oct. 1 of2002). His total of2,028 points last year had shattered the old mark of 1,865 by Terrence Miskell in 1986. And Bettencourt is only the third player to win NCGA Player of the Year back to back, as Michael Brannan won it in 1973-74 and Scott Watson did it in 1997-98. 

"It's a very big deal," Bettencourt says of making NCGA history. "We have such an established golf associa­tion' that any records or marks you can leave are fantastic. We have such a rich tradition of great players coming through here. Anytime you can do something like this, it's certainly a neat thing." 

Bettencourt says that winning a second straight honor was, "A definite goal. I always strive to be the best I can be, so it was definitely one of my goals to playas well as I could. I wanted to leave on top, knowing it was going to be my last year in amateur golf" 

The last two seasons were a refreshing return to amateur competition, in addition to an invaluable lesson for his game.  "I think I've learned a lot, especial­ly about my swing and what it takes to win," Bettencourt says. "I'm hopefully going to take that to the next level and carry it forward, because it's a big step." 

But he hit a roadblock during the first stage of PGA Tour qualifying, in October at Bayonet GC in Seaside. He was treading water above the 22-player cut line, but a final-round 78 dropped him to 11 over par (75-74-72-78), and he missed advancing to the next stage by three shots. 

"I didn't play well," Bettencourt says bluntly. "It was disappointing.  When you don't play well, you don't get good breaks and that's what happened."  That changed his focus to this year's Canadian Tour, for which qualifying begins the first week of February. Should he make it, the first 13 events on the tour's schedule are in the States, while the next 10 are in Canada. He will also attempt to play in assorted Nationwide Tour events and some PGA Tour Monday qualifiers. 

"I feel really good and I'm looking forward to the challenges I'm going to face against the best in the game," Bettencourt says. "But it's not the end of the world if it doesn't work out. I can sit out a couple years [and regain his amateur status again] and be an amateur for the rest of my life." 

No matter what lies ahead for him, Bettencourt says that he will always cherish the memories of his amateur golf days.