Former Hoosier chases PGA dreams by preparing for Q-School

JOLIET, Ill. – Standing in the early morning sun, a tall 25-year-old man stops in the middle of his downswing, his adidas polo rippling and snapping in the wind.\n“I’ve been releasing too early,” he says. “My short game is great. I just need to work on my ball-striking.”\nHe pulls his iron back again and this time finishes a smooth, full swing, squinting at his ball as it launches into the air and gently falls on the driving range’s practice green, 100 yards out. \nThe golfer is 2006 IU alumnus Brad Marek, and he is preparing for a challenging round of golf at the Michelob Ultra Joliet Amateur Championship in Joliet, Ill.\nBut the challenge of host site Wedgewood Golf Course has nothing on the difficulties of the course Marek has recently started on.\nIn the next few months, Marek will be traveling throughout the Midwest in preparation for the PGA Qualifying School.\nThe Q-School is a series of strenuous tournaments featuring hundreds of amateurs and seasoned professionals alike, all seeking the few spots available for the Nationwide Tour, or the even fewer spots on the PGA Tour. \nThe Nationwide Tour is to the PGA Tour as Triple-A baseball is to the Major Leagues. The golfers are professionals, but are still one step shy of the top tour. \nMarek knows of the hardships and traveling to come – in the last two years, none of the players who had to go through the pre-qualifying stage were able to secure their PGA Tour cards.\n“You are only young once,” he said, walking to the first tee. “If I would look back on it, I would regret not going for it.”\nMarek’s ultimate goal is to earn his PGA Tour card, but said he would be more than happy making the Nationwide Tour.\nIn his senior year on the IU golf team, Marek had two top-20 finishes, including tying for 18th at the Big Ten Championships. He finished his career playing 70 rounds, averaging just-under 76 strokes per round.\nHe said his time at IU was focused more on the classroom than his golf, graduating in four years from the Kelley School of Business with a marketing degree.\n“If you looked at the players out on tour, 99 percent of them played golf in college, so obviously that was a good stepping stone to get me to where I am,” he said. \nMarek said his marketing degree has helped him since graduation, even though he has been doing “odd jobs,” because trying to turn pro involves high costs in traveling and entrance fees, so an amateur has to find sponsors. \nHe said sponsors are similar to stock holders, only the stock is the golfer. If the golfer does well, they get rewarded.\nSince graduation, Marek has turned his attention to golf, and to his dream of being a professional which has gripped him since high school.\nIn the last three years he has won the Illinois Amateur, the Northshore Amateur, the Illinois State Junior Amateur, as well as “a few other things, and played well in some national events as well,” he said.\n“Obviously I have to get better to get to the level that I want to, but it’s always been a dream of mine. It should be a fun opportunity, and IU is certainly part of who I am.”\nMarek finished the first round of the day’s tournament five shots off the lead after battling tough, windy conditions.\nMarek wasn’t worried. He won last year’s tournament coming from three groups behind.