Marc Gladson played golf at Linn-Mar High School and Wake Forest for fun, but he's a professional golfer now and it's his job. And not an easy one, either.

Gladson has been a pro for about 14 months and has earned "maybe $1,200" on various mini-tours and a few events in Iowa, barely enough to buy new golf balls.

Gladson's struggles continued Friday when he shot a 4-over-par 76 in the opening round of the Greater Cedar Rapids Open at Hunters Ridge, putting him in jeopardy of missing the 36-hole cut for Sunday's final round.

Gladson, 24, said he isn't worried about the money at this point. His parents, Julie Gladson and Elmcrest Country Club pro Larry Gladson, are helping him financially, and his friend Zach Johnson has encouraged him to stay patient and keep working hard.

"If you measure yourself with how much money you make, then you're not going to keep your chin up very much," Gladson said after Friday's round on a hot, muggy day in Marion.

"There's a lot of good players out there, doing exactly what I'm doing. So it's good competition," he said. "My game over the last year as a professional has gotten better, but it still needs to be just a little sharper in order to be getting into the money more consistently.

"I just haven't been performing at the level that I expect to play at," he said. "You're not going to get any breaks. You're not going to play average and make money. It doesn't matter how good you are. You have to go out there and play your tail off.

"It's definitely a big step from college, it's a huge step from junior golf, it's a huge step from high school as well."

Hunters Ridge was ripe for low scores Friday following a three-hour rain delay in the morning. Brock Mulder, formerly of Waterloo, broke the course record with an 11-under-par 61 that included nine birdies, an eagle and eight pars.

Judd Cornell of Omaha shot an 8-under 64 and numerous others broke par-72 as well. The top 45 golfers (and ties) will make the 36-hole cut after Saturday's second round. The total purse is $76,000 and the winner will pocket $20,000.

Gladson made approximately $60 in the Greater Cedar Rapids Open last year. He's in danger of getting nothing this time.

"Not too sharp off the tee. My ball striking was inconsistent," he said after his 76. "It was a stressful round, and I made it harder on myself than I needed to.

"Just an off-day," he said. "You try to make the best of it, and hopefully I'll come out tomorrow and do better."

Gladson hit only one fairway on the front-9, but his second shot on that par-5 sixth hole landed in a puddle in a green-side bunker. He was allowed a free drop, then skinned his bunker shot over the green and into the rough on the other side of the hole. He finished that adventure with a bogey.

Gladson yanked his tee shot on the second hole into the tall grass and thigh-high weeds on the left. They finally located the ball after a five-minute search and Gladson managed to salvage a par.

Gladson had a three-person "gallery" at Hunters Ridge that consisted of his mother, his sister Kimberly Kray and his girlfriend Carolyn Daman. They followed him for all 18 holes on a fatiguing round that took 5 hours, 15 minutes in extreme heat.

"I like it when they come out and support me," he said. "I like coming home and playing."

Gladson did not make the cut at the Waterloo Open last weekend, so his two-week trip to Iowa probably won't do anything to help his bank account. He's confident his time will come, however.

"I feel like now I'm getting accustomed to the travel and just the professional atmosphere, as opposed to high school and college," he said. "I've been around this game for a very, very long time and know that it can turn around in a heartbeat.

"You're going to have bad days, you're going to have bad weeks, you're going to have bad months. Golf is kind of a roller coaster. I know that about as well as anybody. So I know that I need to stay patient and keep working at it and good things are going to happen."

Gladson is living in Raleigh, N.C., and has been playing on the Carolina Pro Golf Tour. He graduated from Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., in 2010 after an injury-plagued college career that included knee surgery as a sophomore and back surgery two years later.

Gladson developed a benign tumor in his back at Wake Forest, a tumor that was wrapped around the sciatic nerve and sent sharp pain down his right leg.

"I was having trouble sleeping, because I had that shooting pain," he said. "I'm healthy now, thank god. My body wasn't doing me any favors there for awhile."

Gladson grew up in a golfing family in Cedar Rapids. His father, Larry, worked with Zach Johnson when Johnson was an aspiring young golfer in Cedar Rapids, and Gladson views Johnson as a role model.

"We talk occasionally. Not often. I know he's busy," Gladson said. "I don't like to get in his hair too much. But we see each other a few times a year and we'll talk a little bit."

Johnson has given Gladson advice about surviving the rigors of mini-tours and pro golf.

"Just stay patient and keep working," Gladson relayed. "He got where he is through hard work and patience. I've definitely learned that from him. If you get down, it's tough to get back."

Gladson plans to keep playing and keep working.

"I haven't given myself a time frame in terms of how long I'm going to play professional golf. I haven't done that," he said. "But I have set goals for myself. I have steps that I want to take.

"But in terms of how long am I going to do this, how long am I going to try? I'm not going to put a limit on that. I just hope by this point next year I'll be better than what I am right now. As long as I keep getting better, that's the really important thing."

Because of the delayed start, only 68 golfers completed their first round.