On The Tour Road, with Dominic Dastoli, Cleveland Golf Tour

    Atkinson, NH-June 11th-Marc Lawless, a member of Atkinson Country Club and Resort, has had a significant amount of success as an amateur in the game of golf. In 2001, while at California State Stanislaus, he was Division 2 National Player of the year. Last summer, he advanced to the match play portion of the U.S. Amateur at famed Oakmont Country Club. Most recently, he traveled to Scotland to participate in the British Amateur at St. Andrew's, the official home of golf.  Well, if yesterday's round of 2 under par 70 at his home course in the season opening event of The Cleveland Golf Tour is any indication, Lawless is in store for an equally impressive career as a professional golfer as well.

    Teeing of at 7:36, Lawless encountered a course which had been soaked by over night rains and was still feeling the effects of mother nature in the form of a nagging drizzle.  Like the weather on this day, though, Lawless' golf game improved as the day wore on. 1 under after 3, he turned in even par 36 and did not begin to hit his stride until the par 5 12th hole.  After laying up to within wedge distance, Lawless knocked his approach to 15 footer and canned the putt.  From there, he added a birdie on the par 4 15th hole and finished strongly en route to his stellar opening round as a professional.

    As grueling as the demands of professional golf can be, Lawless appears unfazed by any added pressure that is commonly felt by many top professionals.  "It doesn't feel any different," said the 25 year old Lawless, who competed this past winter on the Northern California Golf Association circuit.   His inexperience showed in other areas of the profession though. "I'm just naive, really," he admitted. "I don't really know how the checks work yet." For the time being, how he will be compensated for his play appears to be of little concern to him. And for good reason.  He is currently tied for 4th place with veteran Geoff Sisk, who recently qualified for next week's U.S. Open. Just behind him at 1-under par are Paul Dickinson, who competed last year on the Nationwide Tour, Eric Egloff, a winner on this same tour last season, and Matt Donovan, a former Canadian Tour member who has recorded numberous top finishes on this tour in recent years.

    For Lawless, though, it all comes down to worrying about his game and his emotions, specifically how he controls his temper. "I've worked alot on mellowing out, he said. "I've grown up a bit."  As the Cleveland Golf Tour season progresses, Lawless will strive to put himself in position to compete with the best players on the Cleveland Golf Tour on a weekly basis.  For right now, though, he's focused on earning his first check in his first tournament as a pro.