Derek Rende, Fredrik Qvicker and J.T. Clendenin have all played their final rounds as college golfers.
Now they’re playing for pay.
The former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga golfers recently made their professional debuts with Rende and Clendenin playing an eGolf Tour event and Qvicker playing a handful of pro tournaments on his home continent of Europe.
The Mocs class of 2010 is the first class to have three members give the mini-tour cycle a whirl in the same season. They follow former teammates Jonathan Hodge and Bryce Ledford in turning in their amateur status in recent years.
“That was their goal when they got here,” UTC coach Mark Guhne said. “We told them when we recruited them that we would help get them to a point where they could move on to pro golf. I’m excited for them.
“I think they’re going to learn about themselves, and you never know, one of them just might make it.”
That means making the PGA Tour with the likes of Bubba Watson, Brian Gay and Jason Bohn, as well as major winners Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els.
“I’ve always wanted to play professional golf, and it seemed like as good as time as any,” said Rende, a local resident and son of a longtime professional baseball player and coach. “I figured now is the time.”
The PGA Tour is their goal, but each of the ex-Mocs has a different plan on how he’ll get there. Qvicker wants it as soon as possible. Rende will use the summer to practice, spend the fall in the classroom to finish his degree and devote all of 2011 to tour golf.
“I’m going to go out there and learn as much as I can, get accustomed to playing professionally and assess what I need to work on,” Rende said. “I’m just trying to get my feet wet in the professional game.”
Clendenin will play in events when his schedule allows, considering he’ll be an assistant coach at Shorter College while he pursues an M.B.A.
“It gives me a couple years to really fine-tune my game,” Clendenin said. “Of course, eventually I’d like to make my way on the tour.”
The mini-tours such as eGolf and the Hooters Tour are far removed from the glamour of the PGA Tour or even the Nationwide Tour.
Using a baseball comparison, Rende said he and the other new pros are playing at the Single-A of pro golf. The Nationwide series is Triple-A and the big show is well, the big time.
“It’s kind of a grunge life,” Clendenin said. “It’s cheap hotel rooms, spending a week at a time by yourself, playing 14 hours a day, eating, sleeping then getting up early to do it all over again. It’s tough.
“You have to play really well to make money. If you finish 10th, you barely break even.”
But the golfing grunge life is a steppingstone, and the former Mocs have to start somewhere.
“We’ve had some really good players and a lot of success, and we’re taking it to a new level to see what we can do,” Clendenin said. “It’s a tough game and there are no guarantees of making it.”
But they’re giving it the old college try.
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