Thomas Smith has the best chance to represent Chattanooga on the PGA Tour at the beginning of next season.
The former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga player made it through the first stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School last week while fellow ex-Mocs Jonathan Hodge, Fredrik Qvicker and Bryce Ledford and former Baylor School star Luke List failed to advance.
"It was fun, it was a little nerve-racking, but I accomplished my goal of getting to the next stage," said Smith, who last played for UTC in 2005. "It's really cool, and I don't know if it's my biggest accomplishment in golf overall, but it's my best as a professional."
Smith still has plenty of work to do before he tees it up with Tiger Woods and the other Tour veterans.
Each of the three stages of Q-school gets tougher because the quality of competition increases with recent PGA and Nationwide Tour golfers receiving exemptions into later stages of the process.
Only the top 25 and ties in the six-round final stage will earn PGA Tour cards for next year.
Smith is at stage two of three. He arrived there by shooting a 10-under 279 and finishing in a tie for 10th at the Callaway Gardens-Mountain View Golf Course in Pine Mountain, Ga.
Smith, who spends a lot of time practicing at Council Fire Golf Club - where he played a small-change game with friends Monday - shot a final-round 67 and made the cut by two strokes. He failed to advance last year in his first attempt.
"The hardest thing was trying to stay in the present," Smith said, "because it's easy to get ahead of yourself and start thinking, 'What if ...?' I had to make sure I stayed in the moment, and it worked."
His next test is Nov. 17-20 at Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brooksville, Fla., where he'll be playing against PGA Tour winners Eric Axley and Chris DiMarco and others with similar credentials.
Smith's biggest victory to date is the 2006 Tennessee State Amateur, which he won at Black Creek Club.
"Getting through should help a lot," Smith said. "I've been doing this all on my own and it's very expensive. Hopefully, this will give me more opportunities."
List, a former Vanderbilt standout and U.S. Amateur runner-up, finished 78th on the Nationwide Tour money list, which sent him to the first stage of Q-School.
He missed advancing by one stroke. He tied for 24th at 3-over 291 in the tournament at Pinewild Country Club in Pinehurst, N.C.
Hodge also missed advancing by a stroke in his first Q-School attempt. Qvicker and Ledford failed to advance by a handful of strokes.
"The experience was definitely a good one, and I know I was definitely close," Hodge said. "Missing by one shot really [stinks]. I could have done it. I don't know if there was some pressure I didn't notice because it was my first time or what. Now I'll work out and get some rest."
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchSports.