Hometown: East Meadow, N.Y.
Residence: Mineola, N.Y.
Home Course: Eisenhower Golf Club, East Meadow, N.Y.
College: SUNY-Delhi College of Technology
Interests: Snowboarding, music, reading
Occupation: Golf professional
The Golf Channel says:
The United States Golf Association has a television commercial in which a man is sitting on a bench outside a starters shack at a golf course watching it rain. A few people take one look and decide to go home because there is no way they can play in such a torrential downpour. The one hearty soul sitting on the bench, though, expresses confidence the rain will soon let up and he will be able to get on the course to play.Roger Fonnest could be that die-hard golfer in the commercial. After all, in high school he infuriated his prom date because, rather than getting ready for the prom, he spent four days camped out in a parking spot at Bethpage State Park to insure that he'd be the first player to play the newly redesigned Black Course. Always the optimist, he likes to say that he held the course record for a couple hours.
As intense as he is fanatical, Fonnest knows exactly who he is on and off the golf course.
"I'm a grinder," he said. "I don't give up and I am dedicated. My parents taught me to fight for what I want."
Battle is exactly what he does on the course. At 5-foot-6 and 115 pounds, he doesn't possess the power game and relies on his accuracy. But whatever you do, don't tell him he is a short knocker.
"I'm the little guy with the funky swing," explained Fonnest, who has a loop in his swing that resembles PGA Tour star Jim Furyk's action. "A lot of people underestimate me. I don't look like I can generate power, but I can. When they see me hit the ball they shut up real quick."
While an underdog, Fonnest is approaching "The Big Break: Mesquite" with the never-say-die attitude you would expect from a New York native. Fonnest will tell you that being on the show is a once-in-a-ifetime experience and that he already feels like a winner by being picked for the show. However, he will quickly add that he has something to prove in the competition.
"I'm not going to just occupy one of the spots on the show," said Fonnest, who currently works as the manager of Golf Operations at Eisenhower Golf Club in East Meadow, N.Y. "I'm there to win the thing."
Biography courtesy of The Golf Channel; used with permission
