Could This Be Steve Marino's Week?

JERSEY CITY, NJ—Stand on a PGA Tour driving range for around an hour or so and you’ll realize that there’s not much of a difference between each player that comes through.  

They’re all immaculately dressed with sponsorship labels prominently displayed on any and every available spot on their clothing.

They all hit the ball long and straight.

They all walk with a type of confident swagger that can only come from being a tour professional who has an opportunity to make $1 million or more on any given week.

Most of them appear to be in a perpetual good mood, and why not, wouldn’t you be if your job was to travel the world playing one magnificent golf course after another while making boat loads of money?

However, what you don’t often see or hear about is the long, difficult road most of these guys travelled to get to where they are today.

Contrary to popular belief, most players don’t turn pro, start winning big-time tournaments and immediately become mega-stars.

Ninety-nine percent of guys you see walking the fairways at a PGA Tour event, have had to scratch and claw to get to where they are today, and many are continuing to grind it out each and every day to ensure that they remain among the top.

Paul Goydos, who is currently tied for the lead at The Barclays, took a job as a substitute teacher in California so he would have his afternoons free to work on his game.

Tom Lehman spent many nights sleeping in his car because he could not afford a motel room as he bounced around the mini-tours.

Steve Marino may have never slept in his car or worked as a substitute teacher, but his road to the PGA Tour was difficult all the same, and one that’s travelled by the vast majority of tour professionals.  

Marino Graduated from the University of Virginia in 2002 and spent four long years bouncing around the mini-tours before finally making his way onto the Nationwide Tour in 2006 where he finished 42nd on the money list which was not good enough to earn him a PGA Tour card.

That same year, however, Marino finally graduated from Q-School and became a member of the PGA Tour.

Marino’s first year on tour he made the cut in 21 out of 31, had four top-10 finishes and earned more than $1.1 million.  Not a Tiger Woods type season, but a very successful rookie season by anyone’s standards.

Last season, Marino really began knocking on victory’s door.  He finished second at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico, tied for fourth at the Sony Open and tied for third at the Children’s Miracle Network Classic.

In 2009, Marino has continued knocking on the door, only victory has still yet to remove the double bolts.

Marino tied for seventh at the Sony Open, was in the final pairing at the Zurich Classic but could only muster a tie for fifth.

Most casual golf fans may have never heard of Steve Marino despite his moderate level of success on tour.  But, he certainly came into the public eye at Turnberry where he led the British Open after 36-holes and was paired with Tom Watson on Saturday.

Marino’s best finish thus far came at the Crowne Plaza Invitational this past May where he and Tim Clarke lost in a three-way playoff to Steve Stricker.  

“My No. 1 goal is just to try to get better every day, and when you're putting yourself in those positions, the playoff at Colonial, leading the British Open after two rounds, I feel like I am moving in the right direction and I am improving,” Marino said on Thursday afternoon at Liberty National Golf Club.

At The Barclays, which is the opening leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs, Marino once again found himself in a position at that’s quickly becoming commonplace.  

After an opening round 65, Marino is tied for the lead with Paul Goydos and Sergio Garcia.

“Just really, really solid.” Marino said of his opening round on Thursday.  “I putted real well. I made almost every putt that you think that you should make, and I drove the ball pretty well.”

There’s still 54-holes left to play, but perhaps Marino may finally be able to break down victory’s door this week in Jersey City.