Choctaw grad Krembel had awards-heavy season at Army

After four weeks of intense military training, Matt Krembel arrived home and promptly made his second home on a golf course.

But Krembel isn’t exactly unwinding. The former Choctawhatchee star is hard at work preparing for his swan song following a third straight All-Patriot League season for the Army golf team.

“I’m taking the opportunity now to practice as much as I can and get ready for the fall season,” Krembel said.

It was that kind of dedication to his craft that led Krembel to become a three-time Daily News Golfer of the Year for the Indians. The accolades have continued coming for Krembel at Army, where the junior led the Black Knights in scoring and placed inside the Top 10 in six of the team’s 10 events.

His performance landed him on the All-Patriot League second team, and it also earned him the Gen. Richard J. Meyer Memorial award as the team’s most valuable player. The honors came even though Krembel never really found his swing off the tee.

He made up for it in other areas.

“My short game and putting was pretty sharp and got me through a lot of rounds,” said Krembel, who averaged a 75.7.

It’s not that he was awful off the tee. It’s just that Krembel frequently would smack one disastrously errant shot that would undermine his entire round. His mission heading into his senior campaign is to correct that problem, and he’s feeling confident after recently working with Andrew Park, a certified instructor of renowned golf guru David Leadbetter.

“I’m trying to get more consistency and eliminate those bad swings,” Krembel said.

Krembel’s role this season for Army will expand beyond ace golfer. He was voted team captain, with the position taking on added responsibility because the Black Knights will have a new head coach and Krembel must do his best to ease the transition.

“The guys chose me as their leader, and I feel like I can have some influence,” Krembel said. “ … As a leader, I want to get the guys to work as hard as they possibly can.”

He’ll do that by first working as hard as he possibly can, recalling senior teammates, particularly in his freshman season, who seemed preoccupied with what post-graduation would hold and didn’t perform well in their final seasons. Krembel insists that won’t happen to him.

“Golf means a lot to me. I think it’s one of the reasons I got into West Point,” he said. “I want to get into the NCAA tournament as bad as anyone on the team. As a captain of the team, I won’t allow (complacency) to happen.”

Once he graduates and begins serving his active duty, Krembel knows there won’t be much time for golf. He wants to enjoy it while he can his senior season, and he’s also driven by the desire to defeat archrival Navy and advance to NCAA regional play.

Said Krembel: “(There’s) plenty of motivation to go around.”