He was born Matthew Justin McQuillan in Kingston, Ontario, on 19 June 1981, and learned the game at Garrison Golf and Curling Club, where his parents Mark and Donna were members. His father, a single-figure player, coached him for the first few years. After that he was taught in the club's junior programme by John Holland, who ran the pro shop, and privately by the assistant professional Kevin Dickey, a former Canadian Tour player.
In 1996, at fifteen, he won both the Garrison Men's Open and the club championship, becoming the youngest winner of either. He won the club championship again in 1998 by eleven shots and in 1999 by twenty, setting a competitive record of 278. He won the Garrison Open around half a dozen times in all, and set the competitive course record there in 2002.
He played college golf at Oklahoma State and Georgia, turned professional in 2003, and joined the Canadian Tour, where he won once. At some point after that he stopped playing professionally, before returning to enter PGA TOUR qualifying in the autumn of 2010. Starting at the first stage, he reached the finals at his first attempt and earned his card for 2011.
That 2011 season began with ten consecutive missed cuts between January and June. Over his next five starts, he recorded two top-six finishes. The best was a tie for third at the John Deere Classic, where he opened with a 7-under 64 (including a chip-in eagle from 45 feet) and closed with another 64. He added a tie for sixth at the Reno-Tahoe Open and a tie for seventh at the Frys.com Open in the autumn.
He did not retain his card at the end of the year and returned to play in Canada, remaining on the PGA TOUR Canada player list throughout his career.
Our condolences go to his family, everyone at Garrison, and the Canadian golf community.