Former Hokies: Where are Brendon de Jonge and Drew Weaver now?
Mar 1, 2014; Palm Beach Gardens, FL, USA; Brendon de Jonge hits out of the trap to the 14th green during the third round of The Honda Classic golf tournament at PGA National GC Champion Course. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
In the third part of our series “Where Hokies are now” examines two former Hokie golfers. The Hokies have had small success on the links in the NCAA but there are two Hokies who experienced success after their college years. Brendon de Jonge and Drew Weaver have both went on to professional careers after their time in Blacksburg.
Brendon de Jonge came to the Hokies in the year 2000 from Salisbury (which is now known as Harare), Zimbabwe. De Jonge was a standout for the Hokies as soon as he stepped onto campus. He was the MVP of the golf team all four years he was a Hokie. Winning multiple tournaments and leading the Hokies to births in the NCAA regional championships as a team and finishing as high as 22nd as an individual.
Brendon De Jonge also finished as the all-time leading scorer on the golf team. It was an honor he held until this year as he was unseated by Scott Vincent. De Jonge was selected as an all American twice during his college career. He made second team all American in 2002 and 2003. Coach Jay Hardwick stated that De Jonge could go as far professionally in golf as he wanted to because he had the talent to do so.
De Jonge turned pro in 2003 and began competing in professional events. In 2004 he joined the Nationwide tour. In 2007 he earned a PGA tour card at Q-school. However, he finished 155th on the money list which resulted in losing his tour card. In 2008, De Jonge earned his tour card by finishing 2nd on the Nationwide money list. He also picked up his first career win by winning the Xerox Classic. He was also named the Nationwide Tour Player of the Year in 2008.
The following year, Brendon De Jonge finished 139th on the money list giving him a conditional tour card. Later that year, De Jonge earned his full tour card during Q-school. In 2010, De Jonge had his best year on tour with seven top ten finishes. These stellar finishes shot him to 34th on the money list. However, De Jonge has had minimal success in the four major championships.
Apr 13, 2014; Augusta, GA, USA; Brendon de Jonge hits his tee shot on the 7th hole during the final round of the 2014 The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports
He has played in the Masters only once, in 2014, finishing in a tie for 37th. De Jonge has had only one chance to play in the US Open finishing tied for 33rd in 2010. However, this year de Jonge will make his return to the US Open. De Jonge has never played in the Open Championship also known as the British Open, but he has played in the PGA championship every year finishing as high as 26th.
A fellow Hokie in the line of successful Hokies on the links is Drew Weaver. Weaver came to Blacksburg in 2005 from High Point, North Carolina. Weaver is fifth all time in scoring at Virginia Tech. He competed for the Hokies for all four years at Virginia Tech. During his time at Blacksburg, Weaver played in several pro tour events as an amateur.
These events included the Memorial Tournament, the AT&T championship, the Wyndham Championship and the 2008 Masters where he missed the cut. Weaver also played in the 2008 US Amateur Championship, making it to the match play part of the event. The year before, Weaver won the 2007 British Amateur Championship. Before turning pro, Weaver played on the Walker Cup team where he was a part of the winning US team.
In 2009, Drew Weaver turned pro. He mainly played on the eGolf Professional Tour during his pro career. However, his pro career was somewhat delayed as he had family issues that sidelined him for part of his initial year as a pro. Weaver’s mother had cancer and as her health improved, so did Weaver’s game. After May of 2010 Weaver didn’t finish lower than 8th in any eGolf event. That year, he also played in three PGA tour events, making the cut in all three events. These three events represented the only cuts Weaver has made in ten PGA tour events.
At the start of 2012, Weaver started the year poorly but quickly turned it around with two wins on the eGolf tour and was the quickest player to ever reach a hundred thousand dollars in winnings. However, Weaver has not had too much luck with professional majors. He as only played in three total missing the cut in the Masters in 2008 and in the Open Championship in 2007. Weaver finished tied for 40th in the 2009 US Open.
These two Hokies had a vast difference in success once they left Blacksburg. However, both are striving to make their pro tour dreams become a reality. Both have the talent to compete at the highest level and time will only tell if either one will reach his full potential on the links.
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