Brooke Matthews is having the best season of her LPGA Tour career in 2025 – but being this close to a trophy is a new place for her.

After a 3-under 69 on Friday, Matthews sits in a tie for second and is just one back of Akie Iwai at the LOTTE Championship presented by Hoakalei.

The celebrated collegiate star, who re-earned LPGA Tour status after finishing fifth in the season-long Race for the Card on the Epson Tour last year on the back of seven top-10 finishes, has notched four top-15 results so far this season on the LPGA Tour.

She’s had two such results in a row – not including the cancelled Walmart NW Arkansas Championship presented by P&G – and said she’s been getting “a little more comfortable” as 2025 has chugged along.

Matthews also said she feels like not much has changed overall with her golf game, but was quick to credit how well she’s dialed in her wedges over the last month or so, something she feels has been the “difference-maker.”

Matthews opened with two birdies in a row Friday before adding one more on the par-4 8th ahead of making the turn. She made one back-nine birdie on the par-4 13th hole before giving it back with an ill-timed bogey on No. 16. Still, she is right on the doorstep of recording her career-best LPGA Tour finish.

A big-time result would come at a great time, too, as she currently sits at 71st in the Race to CME Globe. With just the top 60 earning their way into the field of the season finale, the CME Group Tour Championship, it’s prime time to string four great rounds together.

“This is what we work for,” Matthews said. “Once you're in your routine, it's just kind of is what it is. Cameras are out there and everything. That's a little bit different. It's cool. It's what we practice for. I enjoy it. Obviously, it's a little bit stressful, but that's kind of what we work for, so I'm happy to be in that position.”

It’s a logjam near the top of the board in Hawaii, as 11 golfers are within two shots of the lead – including Matthews, who has, tee to green, been playing very solid so far.

“I feel like most of my birdies have been because I've hit it close, and so that helps the putting stats, too,” Matthews said. “I felt pretty comfortable with my lines. Obviously, you're not going to make everything, so just going to keep lining them up and see what happens.”

Matthews said on her back nine on Friday, the island winds picked up, so she was happy to have been able to draw a few circles on the scorecard before making the turn. She said the golf course remains “gettable,” but she's paying attention to and navigating the wind gusts through Saturday’s finale is going to be key.

Matthews, who played collegiate golf at Arkansas, was a member of the 2021 Curtis Cup and Arnold Palmer Cup teams. She also competed in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur that same year.

She hasn’t quite seen her amateur success translate to the LPGA Tour until this year. She did, of course, have that tremendous run on the Epson Tour in 2024, but in her last full season on the LPGA Tour in 2022, she made just four cuts.

It’s been a big turnaround for Matthews in 2025, and she has been enjoying the ride. And now it’s time to test her mettle against some of the best in the game coming down to the wire late with a chance to win.

“Definitely going to be different out there tomorrow. I'm excited to get some reps in contention. I don't know what's going to happen. I will either win or I won't win. Both are survivable outcomes,” Matthews said.

“Just going to look forward to having fun and keeping the pedal down and see what happens.”

Brooke Matthews Giving Herself a Chance to Win in the Middle of Her Best-Ever Season

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