By Chris Dortch
When Steven Fox, an incoming freshman at UTC, turned up on the practice tee at The Honors before his first round in the Tennessee Amateur on Tuesday, the first person he saw was Sal Rende, father of Fox’s future teammate Derek Rende.
“What school are you going to?” the elder Rende asked Fox, who was decked out in black shirt and shorts and burnt orange belt and hat and could have passed for an Oklahoma State player. Not far behind was UTC coach Mark Guhne, who, it just so happened, was wearing a brand new hat with his team’s logo emblazoned on the front.
“He shows up in black and orange,” Guhne said, laughing. “We fixed that right away. He now owns a Chattanooga hat.” Fox didn’t mind trading and Guhne didn’t mind wearing burnt orange.
That sartorial misstep aside, Fox joins one of the nation’s up-and-coming programs with the complete package. The former star player at Hendersonville High School has shown an ability to go deep—witness his 8-under-64 and second-place finish in the Tennessee Open last May—was a 4.0 student and has the perfect temperament for golf. If there’s a notch below low key, Fox is right there.
“I just try to go out there and have fun every time I play,” Fox said. “I never let myself get too high or too low. Golf is supposed to be fun.”
It’s definitely fun the way Fox plays it, as he proved yet again at The Honors on Tuesday. He shot a 2-under-par 70, making five birdies to offset the inevitable bogeys that come at The Honors. Fox’s game is built for big tournaments and tough venues.
“He enjoys playing and he has no fear whatsoever,” Guhne said. “He never met a golf shot he didn’t like. He’s fun to watch. He never gets too pumped up or too down on himself.”
By his own admission, ball striking is the weakest part of Fox’s game. The low numbers he shoots usually come as a result of his putter.
“My putting has been very good at times,” Fox said. “If I hit 15 or 16 greens, I’m usually under par.”
Fox’s blade nets him a bunch of birdies, but occasionally it helps him save par. He made a couple of par putts in the 10- to 15-foot range on Tuesday (at tough par fours No. 4 and No. 15) that kept his momentum going.
Guhne started recruiting Fox when he was a junior, a bit before Fox started cranking out some really low numbers playing against golfers several years older and considerably more experienced. When Fox came to Chattanooga for a visit, it didn’t take him long to decide where he wanted to go to school.
“He told me as he left that he’d get back to me in a week or so,” Guhne said. “By time he got to Monteagle, he was calling me to tell me he was coming to Chattanooga.”
“My dad and I visited and we fell in love with the campus,” Fox said. “And the players made me feel like part of the team. And coach Guhne is a great guy. It’s great to be a part of a program that’s been so successful.”
Fox isn’t the only UTC recruit in the Amateur field. He joins Alex Ratliff of Kingsport. The two became fast friends after they learned they were both business management majors and had the same class schedules this fall. They will try to add to the impressive exploits of UTC’s program under the direction of Guhne, who has made a living out of finding and signing good in-state players.
“We’re going to try and keep it going,” Fox said, including Ratliff in on that statement. “If we can play our game, we’ll be able to compete and contend.”
