Another shot
Ten years ago, Rob McClellan was a 21-year-old college graduate who had struggled to break 80 on the golf course at Butler High School and had been merely OK on the links at Liberty University.
He had no idea at the time how far the sport would eventually carry him.
“I liked to play golf,” said McClellan, who will tackle The Highlands Course at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Ga., this week with some of the best golfers in the world at the 93rd PGA Championship.
“I just wasn't that good at it,” he added.
But McClellan, now 31 and the club professional at the Butler Country Club, has improved his game over the last decade.
“From 2001 to 2011, something bigger and better has happened every year,” he said.
Last year, he qualified for the PGA Championship with a scintillating final round at the club pro qualifying event. The top 20 make it to the PGA Championship; McClellan climbed from 44th to 15th on the final day to earn his spot.
But fog delays and bad luck sabotaged his first PGA Championship experience.
This year, he gets a second chance — one he has no intention of wasting.
What does it mean to you to go to the PGA Championships in back-to-back years?The first time was unexpected. It was my first club pro championship, and I knew what it was all about going in, but still I was nervous. I needed to shoot the low round of the day (in the final round) to move up.This year, the best round I played was the third round and in the fourth round I was trying to win it. I knew if I didn't have a complete collapse I was going (to qualify for the PGA Championship).But, yeah, it kind of showed it wasn't a fluke.
You played a practice round (Tuesday). What is your impressions of The Highlands Course?The course was great. ... After playing the course, it's pretty tough. It's a par-70, but it's long (7,467 yards) for a par 70. The greens are fast with a lot of undulation.
Is there a particular hole or holes that are more challenging than the rest?On the front nine, No. 8 is a good hole. On the back, No. 14 is a challenging one. Well, so is No. 16 and No. 18. ... And No. 15.
So, pretty much all of them?Yeah, all are really good and tough.
What would it mean to you to make the cut?It would be huge. ... My goal is to go there and play four rounds. In the first two rounds, you have to play aggressive and smart. You can't take yourself out of the tournament in the first two rounds. If I play well, but miss the cut, it's OK, though.
How have you balanced your work at the Butler Country Club with your golf tournaments?It's difficult, but not that it can't be done. All the members have been very supportive. They get excited, too, to see me at events. They read the newspaper and look at the website. They ask me how I did when I return from a tournament.I have two really good assistants (Jimmy Brahm and David Yokitis) who work hard and help me out a great deal.
How have you balanced your family life with you golf career?My wife (Kimberly) is behind me 100 percent. In the summer, I hardly ever see them. My days off are playing in tournaments, so it's tough. But she understands. She gets it. It's nice because we see each other for two months in the winter.It's good, too, because I take (Kimberly, daughter Leah, 5, and son Levi, 3) to events. It's kind of like a vacation.
Have Leah and Levi picked up a golf club yet?(Laughing) Oh, yeah. They love it. They'll come to the club in the late evening and want to go to the driving range. I think they like riding in the golf cart most of all, though.Levi loves hitting the ball in the yard, he'll be in the yard for an hour. I'm not going to force it on them, but if they want to take it up and play, that's OK. I think they will.
What about Kimberly? Does she play?(Laughing) Here's a funny story. I bought my wife a set of golf clubs for our anniversary five years ago, thinking it would be nice if she started playing; we could spend more time together. That didn't go over so well.We just took the plastic off the clubs a little while ago.
Ten years from now, where do you want to be?Wow, 10 years from now. (Pauses) I don't know. Hopefully still employed. Still playing.And maybe win a PGA.
