RALEIGH Matt Hill and Drew Weaver hoped to be playing on the PGA Tour this year, competing against the likes of Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson, luxuriating in such plush golf spots as Pebble Beach and Bay Hill.
Neither expected to be on the eGolf Professional Tour, competing against Jason Kokrak and Lanto Griffin, in tournaments where many players carry their own golf bags, shorts are standard golf wear and large galleries are nonexistent.
But as Hill, Weaver and many others can attest, professional golf often is more about reality checks than million-dollar paychecks.
Amateur credentials mean little, if anything. For many, making the PGA Tour can be a slow grind built around slow rounds on sultry days in virtual anonymity.
"Professional golf is a crazy sort of deal," Weaver said last week. "It's definitely not for the faint of heart. You've got to be very strong-willed out here and you've got to stay very patient, because it's a long journey."
Much was expected from Weaver after the High Point native and former Virginia Tech golfer won the 2007 British Amateur. He played in the British Open, Masters and U.S. Open, drawing much attention, and was selected to the 2009 U.S. Walker Cup team.
"But when you turn pro, you're just one of thousands," he said. "It's very easy to look at where you think you should be, but I try not to let myself do that.
"I feel like I have the ability to play at a high level and I think that day will come. It's just a matter of time."
That's the belief so many cling to: that one day they will rub shoulders with golf's biggest stars. For now, they must pay their dues - figuratively and literally, given the entrance fees - in events such as the Donald Ross Championship on the eGolf Tour, which is based in Charlotte.
The tournament in Southern Pines last week had a $250,000 purse and paid $35,000 to Kokrak, who won by five shots. This week, it's the River Hills Classic, which began Wednesday at River Hills Country Club in Lake Wylie, S.C., and Palisades Country Club in Charlotte.
"You don't come out here to make your living. You come out here to improve," said Dustin Bray, a former All-America at North Carolina. "You want the best competition you can find and I think this is where it is at."
Kokrak, from Warren, Ohio, played at Xavier but the eGolf Tour is packed with former college standouts from the Carolinas. Hill was the ACC champion and college player of the year in 2009 at N.C. State. Raleigh's Chesson Hadley was the 2010 ACC champ at Georgia Tech.
Hill had a second-round 65 at Southern Pines Golf Club in the Donald Ross event. A good score, yes. But Kokrak, the tour's leading money-winner, had a 61 and Chris Epperson a 62 the same day.
"The scores are awesome. You have to shoot really low, because it's so competitive," Hill said.
Hill was runner-up in his first eGolf event of the year, the Championship at St. James Plantation in Southport. Kokrak edged him by a shot but Hill pocketed $20,112, his biggest payoff since turning pro last summer after his junior year at N.C. State.
"I feel like I'm close," Hill said. "My game has been pretty solid. I've made every cut out here and put up some good scores."
Asked about the expectations he placed on himself after all the accolades of 2009, Hill said, "I don't even think about that anymore. When you come out here, you're starting over, starting from scratch."
It's not cheap. It costs $2,000 annually to become an eGolf Tour member and the entry fee for each event is $1,150. The tour helps with housing, but it all adds up over 18 tournaments stretching from February to October.
Griffin, the 2009 Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year at Virginia Commonwealth, estimated he would spend about $50,000 this year playing the eGolf Tour.
Chip Alexander: 919-829-8945.
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