It has largely been a season to forget for Charley Hoffman. Despite not having full status on the PGA Tour, the 46-year-old has managed to play in 25 events — he has been the beneficiary of several sponsor’s exemptions, including at this week’s Wyndham Championship. And yet he had made just 11 cuts, had no better than a T-14 finish (WM Phoenix Open) and started the week 156th in the FedEx Cup standings.

But on Sunday at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina, there was a little bit of solace for Hoffman in the form of something he has never done previously in his 18 years on tour.

Making a two on the par-5 15th, holing out from 198 yards, was a nice treat during a roller-coaster final round for Hoffman, having started the day bogey/double-bogey, then making three birdies.

? ALBATROSS! ?@Hoffman_Charley makes a 2 on the 546-yard par-5 15th.

It's the first albatross in Hoffman's 30-year career on TOUR. pic.twitter.com/MsyZvTBStp

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 6, 2023

How remarkable is Hoffman’s accomplishment? Consider for a moment that the Wyndham is his 485th career start on the PGA Tour. During that time he has played 1,589 rounds, including Sunday. And he had never had an albatross … until now.

Indeed, the feat a rare one. Hoffman’s two was just the fourth from anyone during the 2023-23 PGA Tour season. By comparison, there have been 35 holes-in-one during the season.

Hoffman followed that up with three birdies to shoot a closing 68 and finish at 11-under for the tournament, in a tie for 12th place. Again, at least a little solace in closing out the season.

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Charley Hoffman and Nick Watney have a lot in common. They are California guys in their 40s who have enjoyed very nice careers on the PGA Tour. Hoffman, 46, has four career wins in 475 events played, with a bankroll of nearly $33 million. Watney, 41, owns five victories in 463 appearances and has earned $29 million.

They’re friends, too, and that’s why they’ve paired up for all six editions of the Zurich Classic that have been played as a two-man team competition. They’ve done well, too, posting three top-11s, including a T-5 in the inaugural playing in 2017.

What they also have in common: White Men Can’t Jump syndrome.

In the third round on Saturday at TPC New Orleans, Hoffman pulled a 23-degree hybrid for his shot into the wind on the 210-yard ninth hole. As the tracer showed, the ball bulleted straight toward the flagstick. It took one bounce and rolled forward at perfect speed into the hole for the third ace of Hoffman’s career.

ACE ALERT @Hoffman_Charley couldn't contain his excitement after carding a 1 @Zurich_Classic. pic.twitter.com/ilbgAYom9z

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 22, 2023

Hoffman threw up his arms and let go of his club, and then he and Watney got their celebratory wires crossed, as they half-high-fived, half-chest-bumped themselves into laughable awkwardness. It was a “kids don’t try this at home” moment. Hoffman recovered nicely by running around and giving Watney a well-placed mid-five, and then moved onto the caddies and other players.

We’ll give them this: Rarely do PGA Tour players get to celebrate as a “team,” and it was a warm display of true joy.

On a day when they were playing best-ball among the twosomes, Team Hoffman-Watney had two eagles over the first 11 holes, with Watney coming up with his own bomb by pitching in from 54 feet for 3 at the par-4 11th. Alas, they were still in chase mode and tied for 20th.

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By Tod Leonard
The Golf Channel did something savvy this week. With undoubtedly smaller broadcast audiences because most of the U.S. has been asleep during the heart of play at the Zozo Championship outside Tokyo, the network took a bit of a leap by rotating in players after their rounds. Rickie Fowler was the first guest, followed by Charley Hoffman during the second round, and then the ever-colourful Pat Perez on Saturday.

Perez came through by providing some keen insight into the task Hideki Matsuyama faces as the Masters champion and now sporting icon tries to close out a victory on home soil in the Zozo Championship.

“I played behind Hideki [on Friday], and it’s like seeing Elvis,” Perez said.

With another solid round on Sunday (Japan time), Matsuyama will have the chance to deliver the kind of triumph that his now legion of fans will talk about for the rest of their lives. In April, he became the first Japanese player to capture the Masters, but there was also deep disappointment when he couldn’t bookend that in the Olympics, where Matsuyama lost in the playoff for bronze.

Thousands of adoring Japanese golf fans are following the 29-year-old around every hole at the tree-lined and pristine Narashino Country Club. Yet, remarkably, he has hardly showed any nerves. On a clear and breezy Saturday following Friday’s frigid round, Matsuyama shot a second-straight two-under 68 to get to 10 under and take a one-shot lead over Cameron Tringale.

The margin would have been two, but Matsuyama suffered a rare terrible miss from the 18th tee, hooking his ball so badly it ended up jailed in the adjacent fairway. From there, he eventually was short of the green on his third shot and went on to make bogey.

Still, Matsuyama would seem to be a happy frontrunner. In two appearances now in the Zozo in Japan since the event was inaugurated in 2019 (it was moved to Sherwood Country Club in 2020 because of the pandemic), Matsuyama hasn’t shot worse than 68. And this course isn’t going to yield a 62 like Collin Morikawa shot last week in challenging winner Rory McIlroy in Vegas.

After Matsuyama striped his tee shot on the par-3 16th to short-range—an opportunity he would convert for birdie—Perez grunted in the booth and said, “That’s just going to be hard to catch. He knows what he’s doing. He’s a phenomenal player.”

More than his play, Perez marvels at the way Matsuyama handles all of the attention that comes his way.

“He has so many cameras around him all of the time,” Perez said. “I tried to say hello. I told him I don’t know how you deal with the cameras all of the time. He said, ‘I pull my hair out sometimes.’ … He’s had it for so many years now. It’s second nature to him. I can’t believe being the guy he is in the country right now. Everybody wants him to win. And here he is leading. And the pressure … it doesn’t look like it phases him at all.”

Here are three other takeaways from Round 3 of the Zozo.

Tringale soaking up the challenge

Atsushi Tomura
Cameron Tringale hits his tee shot on the 10th hole during the third round of the Zozo Championship.

There’s one player who will have the best shot at catching Matsuyama, and that’s the 34-year-old Tringale. He’ll be grouped with Matsuyama for a second straight day after matching him with a 68 in the third round.

Tringale is clearly enjoying the fight. He appeared to be a man trying to make lifelong friends, waving and giving a thumbs up so much that the announcers joked that he was channelling Phil Mickelson.

“I’m not obviously going to win anyone over, but I’m just enjoying the moment,” Tringale said. “The crowds are really respectful and fun and happy, so I’m trying to mirror that back to them and let them know I’m enjoying being here.”

This is yet another shot for Tringale to earn his first tour win. This is his 314th start, and he’s earned more money than any other player without a victory. Three more shots behind him on the board are Sebastian Munoz, Brendan Steele and Matt Wallace. Perhaps the pressure and expectations being squarely on Matsuyama’s shoulders on Sunday will help Tringale in his latest pursuit of a victory.

Morikawa actually suffered the dreaded S-word

Atsushi Tomura
Collin Morikawa stands on the fourth tee during the third round of the Zozo Championship.

Morikawa could have begun his press briefing by discussing his best shot of the day—his chip-in on the 18th hole that polished off a three-under 67 that put him in eighth, six shots off Matsuyama’s pace.

Instead, Morikawa—ever honest and self-effacing—started his interview with one of the most shocking shots he’s hit as a pro. He didn’t even have to talk about it, mind you, since it was too early in the television coverage for anybody to have caught it. We’ll let the reigning Open Championship winner describe it …

“Well, I did something in my career that I haven’t done yet, [which] was shank a shot,” Morikawa said. “I don’t think many people know this. I was in the middle of the fairway on 6, the par 5. … Yeah, shanked a pitching wedge straight in the trees. So really good way to start the day after being one under through five.”

Hackers rejoice. The S-word can happen to the best of them. Morikawa bogeyed 6 and had to battle through a round that really only looked respectable because, after missing the green pin-high at 18, he chipped in for an eagle 3.

This was decidedly not one of those rounds when one of the world’s best ball-strikers was sending missles at the pins.

“It was kind of a grind,” Morikawa said. “I really had no clue where the ball was going to go. I was kind of just trying to make contact and, thankfully, the putting was working today.”

Perez comes through with a comical Charles Barkley story
Putting Perez on the air with a live mic was seemingly as bold as Roy Kent being tabbed as a TV pundit on “Ted Lasso.” Roy proceeded to toss blue insults all around, causing his studio partners to cringe. Perez can be hilarious, but away from the cameras he’s not exactly PG-rated. So kudos to Golf Channel for giving him a shot, even if it meant some guy in the production truck had his finger poised an inch above the delay button, ready to strike at the first f—.

Perez turned out to be a predictably colorful guest, even if his mood was not the best after a third-round 73 that concluded with a bogey. He provided details about the coiffing of his mullet and shared a funny story of the text he got early Saturday morning from Charles Barkley: “He texted me, ‘Did you retire? I haven’t seen your name on the leader board. And if you did retire, let me know so I can buy you a gift.’ “

Perez chuckled. “I might just take the gift anyway,” he said.

Perez, 45, said he soon will make his 500th start on the PGA Tour in a career in which he’s won three times and never lost his card.

“If you had told me at 22 that I’d have three wins, 500 starts, and not lose my card, that I’ve had that kind of career, I think I would have taken it,” Perez said.

The post Japan’s golfing ‘Elvis’ in control at Zozo, Morikawa suffers the S-word and Pat Perez is predictably funny in the booth appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
The Charley Hoffman Revival Tour is heading home.

The San Diego product was one of 13 players to earn their way into next week’s U.S. Open at Torrey Pines via Official World Golf Ranking and European Tour Qualifying Series exemptions.

Ten of those spots went to the top aggregate point earners, who were otherwise not exempt, in the three-event European Tour Qualifying Series. The notables among this group are Marcus Armitage (whose emotional response to winning Monday’s Porsche European Open went viral), Belfast British Masters champ Richard Bland, and one-time Ryder Cupper Edoardo Molinari. The rest of the 10 are rounded out by Guido Migliozzi, Mikko Korhonen, Jordan Smith, Adrian Meronk, Dave Coupland, Thomas Detry and Matthew Southgate.

Bernd Wiesberger, who won the second event in the Euro Tour Qualifying Series, got his invitation by moving into the top 60 in the World Ranking. A T-3 at Colonial two weeks back was enough to move Ian Poulter into the top 60 as well.

The top 60 is also how Hoffman will get to play in front of his hometown crowd.

Hoffman, who made the Presidents Cup team in 2017 but hasn’t finished better than 77th in the FedEx Cup since, is enjoying a career renaissance at 44 years old. As the season enters its final three months Hoffman has five top 10s and 13 top 25s in 24 starts, highlighted by a runner-up at the Texas Open. He enters the week ranked fifth in strokes gained/approach and 16th in strokes gained total, and is inside the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings.

“There’s only one goal,” Hoffman said after a T-3 at Colonial. “I’m obviously trying to win golf events but getting in that US Open is a key.”

Hoffman did not play at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, but does have 24 starts at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey with three top 10s.

The U.S. Open begins June 17. Bryson DeChambeau is the defending champ.

The post Hometown boy Charley Hoffman headlines latest U.S. Open exemptions appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Joel Beall
Jordan Spieth, whose three-plus-year odyssey from the top of the sport to its peripheries was one of its great wonders and concerns, capped the comeback that has dominated golf in 2021 with a win at the Valero Texas Open.

“It has been a long time,” Spieth said. “It’s been since July of 2017. There’s peaks and valleys in this sport. I never expected to go this long. Back then, in between wins, I just kind of took a lot—maybe more for granted than I should have,” Spieth said. “It’s very difficult to win out here and I’ll certainly enjoy this one as much as I have any other.”

This was no surprise; the win had been coming into focus for weeks now. There were near-misses at TPC Scottsdale and Pebble Beach and Bay Hill, strong showings at Riviera and Austin C.C. This victory seemed like a matter of if, not when. But though he was heading out of the darkness, the beauty of this game is the end is never predetermined. As Spieth’s past has proved, the present is no guarantee of the future.

A sentiment all too evident at the beginning of the final round. Sharing the 54-hole lead with Matt Wallace, Spieth looked very much like the guy who had laboured mightily on Sundays (146th in Round 4 scoring) by missing his first three fairways of the day. Yet his approach game kept him afloat as he settled down on the tee, with his putter—the tool that was once friend and now occasionally foe—cleaning up a handful of 10-footers for birdies. He made the turn in 33, and the Texas crowd was ready for the victory parade.

“Just to see those putts go in, I felt like I was doing everything right those other Sundays and I hit good putts and they wouldn’t go in,” Spieth said. “Today I hit a couple that I didn’t quite strike very well, but they went in. It’s a funny game. It shows that as long as you put yourself in that position enough times, the bounces do go your way.”

Only Charley Hoffman had no intentions of letting such a march happen. Hoffman, who’s made a living at this event (more on him in a second), also made the turn in 33, and a chip-in birdie at the 13th brought Spieth’s advantage down to two. After trading birdies at the par-5 14th, Hoffman cut the lead to one with another birdie, this one at the par-3 16th.

But Hoffman sprayed his drive into a bunker at the 17th, and though his approach was true, his birdie try was not. Spieth answered, his second from 75 yards finishing five feet from the hole. Five feet that was converted for birdie to move the lead back to two. With Spieth finding the fairway at the 18th, the tournament appeared to be a wrap.

Just kidding. This is Jordan Spieth we’re talking about. Anyone who thought he’d land this plane without skidding off the runway and deploying an emergency parachute hasn’t been paying attention, which is why his lay-up hooked far left and near a scoreboard. Somewhere, TV executives exchanged high-fives. But Spieth decided that was enough drama, his third safely finding the edge of the green. With Hoffman unable to apply pressure off another tee-shot miss, Spieth’s conservative lag completed the journey.

Where Spieth goes from here—starting this week at Augusta National, a course that has been his playground—is now the preeminent storyline in golf. And watching him at the Masters and going for the career Grand Slam at Kiawah and attempting to do the things that were on his former all-time trajectory will be fun. But Sunday was a day to cherish the day, and all the days that came before it. A day some thought might never come.

“There’s also moments I look back on where I hit balls till my hands bled and I wasn’t doing the right thing and I just went home [and] thought about it; sleeping, lost sleep,” Spieth said. “This sport can take you a lot of different directions. So I think it’s just most important to embrace when I have moments like this and just really appreciate them and keep my head down, keep the process that I’m doing.”

That in itself is a miracle to celebrate. Three other takeaways from the final round of the Valero Texas Open.

Steve Dykes

Hoffman keeps cashing cheques
Spieth won the day, but consider Sunday’s performance an official petition to change the Texas Open to the Charley Hoffman Invitational. Or at least put a Hoffman ATM on the first tee.

In 14 career starts at the event Hoffman has never missed the cut while racking up more than $3.7 million in the event. Though he failed to grab the trophy he’s adding to those figures with a $839,300 payday for finishing in second thanks to a final-round 66. Not that Hoffman was overly ecstatic about it.

“Obviously you come to each event trying to win, but second place isn’t that bad,” Hoffman said. “Obviously I want to get back to the Masters, I want to get back to Kapalua. I play to win, not finish second. But obviously had a chance, gave my best and just fell slightly short.”

To be fair, while he somewhat stumbled on the final two holes, this was a tournament Spieth won, not one given away by Hoffman. “Jordan played some great, amazing golf,” Hoffman acknowledged. “Bogey free on that back nine is something special.” And even though Hoffman is the epitome of a horses-for-courses at this tournament, this marked his third top-10 finish in his last six starts.

As he mentioned, Hoffman needed the W to earn the Augusta invite. But the 44-year-old, after a few lean years, is enjoying a late-career rejuvenation. There’s no doubt he’ll be a favorite once this tournament returns next year. Expect to hear his name again well before that.

Kuchar gets momentum into Masters
Two weeks ago it was fair to wonder where Matt Kuchar was heading. After finishing in 16th or better in nine of the past 11 FedEx Cups, Kuchar entered the WGC-Dell Match Play 183rd in the rankings thanks to missing the cut in five of 11 starts with his best finish a T-34. He was struggling in nearly every facet of the game—181st in SG/off-the-tee, 120th in approach, 124th in SG/putting—and turning 43 this summer, the question was raised if Kuchar was running out of gas.

Two weeks later, the man enters the Masters with Big Mo riding shotgun. Kuchar proved his run in Austin (ultimately finishing with a T-3 in Match Play) was no aberration, following up with four solid rounds at TPC San Antonio to log a T-12 at the Texas Open.

A bit of context is needed. Like the Match Play, Kuchar has a strong track record at the Texas Open. He also never truly contended and failed to break 70 all four rounds. Conversely, Kuchar was arguably the weakest player (by current form) in the world’s top 60; before the Match Play his last top 10 was at Riviera in 2020.

Now he rides into Augusta with his game trending and his conviction intact. Like the previous two tournaments, Kuchar has had success at the Masters with four top-10s and eight top-25s in 14 career starts. As we’ve seen at Augusta National, two of the key ingredients are experience and momentum. After a vague forecast just two weeks ago, the horizon looks bright—and possibly green—for Kuchar next week.

Steve Dykes

Fowler’s major streak comes to a close
He gave it a run. But it is a run that came up short.

Rickie Fowler needed a win in San Antonio to make the Masters and keep his streak of 42 consecutive major appearances alive. An opening-round 76 put the kibosh on those aspirations. The former Players champ battled to make the weekend and did thanks to a Friday 68, and followed that performance up with a 69 and 70 over the final two rounds. Still, for the first time since the 2010 U.S. Open, Fowler will be watching one of the big four at home.

For Fowler fans seeking solace, this week was littered with signs of hope. Entering the Texas Open 178th in SG/approach and 176th in SG/putting, Fowler made strides in both categories (30th in approach, 39th in putting). Although Bogey avoidance remains an issue (196th on tour), Fowler had a 14-to-5 birdie/bogey ratio over the final three rounds. And his T-17 is his first finish inside the top 20 this season.

A player of his skill set has higher ambitions. But when you’re engulfed in struggle like Fowler, every little step forward can feel like a leap. For the first time in what feels like forever, Fowler is heading in the right direction, even if that direction isn’t Georgia.

The post Jordan Spieth ends victory drought in very Spieth fashion appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Christopher Powers
To steal a phrase from the great Chris Vernon: Where the hell is Charley Hoffman?!?!

More specifically, where the hell has Charley Hoffman been? Up until Saturday at the Valero Texas Open, Hoffman had been a ghost of late. Once ranked as high as 20th in the World Ranking, the 44-year-old had fallen to 152nd following a string of withdraws and missed cuts last month, a byproduct of injury and poor form.

Now at full health, Hoffman has quietly strung together some solid results, starting with a T-7 at Pebble Beach and following that with consecutive top-17 finishes at Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass. Even with those weeks in mind, though, nobody saw Saturday at TPC San Antonio coming.

Of course, that would be ignoring Hoffman’s history in event, which is as elite as it gets. He proved to be a horse for the course once again in the third round, shooting a seven-under 65 to jump to within two shots of the lead with 18 holes remaining. This after starting the tournament five over through 14 holes on Thursday.

“It’s been a nice turnaround,” said Hoffman, who ended the first round in a tie for 95th. Since then, the San Diego native has gone 15 under par, giving himself a chance to get back to Augusta National, where his strong first rounds have become a running joke on social media over the years. Without a win on Sunday, though, he’ll miss a second straight Masters.

“I think I like Augusta just as much as I like this place,” he said. “It’s somewhere I want to get back to, obviously have had some success at Augusta. But I’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow to get there, and if I don’t I’ll be back soon.”

Hoffman won’t have to dig too deep in the memory bank to recall just how good he’s been at this place. In 2019 he finished runner-up, and three years earlier he won the event by one stroke over Patrick Reed. He hasn’t missed a cut at the Valero in 15 starts, and since 2006 he’s 99 under in the event, the best of any player.

“It fits my eye. You’ve got to shape tee shots. You’ve got to be in certain spots hitting iron shots into the green. I guess it just fits my eye and I really enjoy playing this golf course. You’ve got to hit right to left, left to right and make a few putts, and I’ve been able to do that so far and throughout my career.”

Where the hell is Charley Hoffman? He’s back at the Valero, and he’s given himself a prime chance to get back to Augusta National.

Three other takeaways from Round 3 at TPC San Antonio.

Steve Dykes

Jordan Spieth … party-spoiler?
There is so much at stake on Sunday for a number of guys in contention, the key prize for many of them a Masters invite, Hoffman included. Cameron Tringale is playing for one too, in addition to a breakthrough PGA Tour victory. Anirban Lahiri, Tom Hoge, Brandt Snedeker, Lucas Glover, all playing for Masters invites. England’s Matthew Wallace, a four-time European Tour winner, could notch his first win on American soil.

And then there’s Jordan Spieth, who sits in a tie at the top of the leader board at 12 under on the strength of his third-round 67, his second 67 of the week. Spieth’s already in Augusta for life, and he’s got 11 PGA Tour victories to his name. The kind thing to do would be to lay down, throw one of these other dude’s a bone and save some for next week.

Abso-freaking-lutely not. The comeback is near completion, and all that’s missing from it is a W. And if you’re one of these people who thinks he might be wasting his best stuff on the Valero, think again. This is a guy who used to rip off three victories in a blink, and if he wins tomorrow he’ll enter Augusta as confident as he’s been in years. If anybody can pull off the elusive win-the-week-before-then-also-win-the-Masters feat, it’s Spieth. The last to do it? Phil Mickelson in 2006.

So no, he won’t be laying down on Sunday. He is here to spoil everyone else’s party, which is ironic given he’s the reason this event is a party in the first place.

Steve Dykes

Matt Wallace ain’t going down without a fight either
Anybody prematurely handing this thing to Spieth should pump the brakes immediately, because Wallace will be giving it everything he’s got on Sunday. The four-time European Tour winner matched Spieth shot for shot, birdie for birdie down the stretch on Saturday, also shooting a five-under 67 to grab a share of the lead. He hasn’t won on the PGA Tour, but he’s come close in a few of the premier events, most recently at the Memorial last June, where he tied for fourth. He also tied for third at the 2019 PGA Championship at Bethpage Black, and posted a T-6 a few months prior at Bay Hill. He’s a big-time player with big-time guts.

Steve Dykes

Give credit to Cameron Tringale for hanging in
After a bad bogey at the par-5 second, things appeared to be going smoothly for Tringale, who responded with birdies at the fifth and seventh to take back the lead. But the wayward drives finally caught up to him on the back, leading to a disastrous bogey-bogey-bogey stretch at 11, 12 and 13 that allowed Wallace and Spieth to leap frog him and never look back.

Tringale could have really let it get away after that, but he was able to birdie the par-5 14th then par his way in to shoot a one-over 73. Yes, he was the only player inside the top 19 to shoot over par, but it could have been way, way worse. He could have completely played his way out of it, ending any chance at a maiden victory and a Masters invitation. Instead, he settled down and kept himself in striking distance at eight under, which has him in solo fourth, just four back.

The post Charley Hoffman still owns the Valero, Spieth inches closer to victory and a Euro looks for his first U.S. win appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
In the wake of Bryson DeChambeau’s convincing six-stroke triumph at the U.S. Open, there was an avalanche of analysis regarding the short- and long-term impact his victory might have on the game. Golf Digest contributor Shane Ryan summarised well what the Bryson Effect could wind up looking like, noting the immediate upshot was that DeChambeau could no longer be labelled a “pretentious pseudoscientist” but rather as a major champion whose bombs-away strategy have been validated on one of golf’s grandest stages.

Indeed, during the summer, when tour pros were asked about Bulked-up Bryson and his extreme approach to the game, many of them answer with curiosity in their voices, but it was often laced with scepticism, too. A few, like Tony Finau, had fun trying to mimic DeChambeau’s speed demon approach, but most chose to let Bryson be the unicorn.

But now, well, it’s hard to dismiss the man when he Secretariat’s the field on a golf course that many believed would disprove DeChambeau’s strategy as fool’s gold.

If you don’t believe that a U.S. Open win is going to grab tour pros attention, consider this response from Charley Hoffman when asked earlier this week about his thoughts on DeChambeau’s win.

“It’s very hard to win any golf tournament on the PGA Tour, let alone a U.S. Open, but to go out and shoot under par on a day that no one else broke par in the final group, it’s special,” Hoffman said during a press conference ahead of the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship. “He’s changing the game of golf.”

Jamie Squire
Bryson DeChambeau watches his tee ball on the 13th hole during the final round of the 120th U.S. Open.

Hoffman then offered more details that suggest he wasn’t just paying lip-service to DeChambeau, or taking the safe answer to the question posed.

“Fairways are important, but getting it close to the hole is the most important thing,” Hoffman said. “I think he sort of made you think differently around the golf course. When I first came on tour, you wanted to sort of plot your way around the golf course in between bunkers and give yourself opportunities that way. Now it’s hit it far, go get it, and the ones you hit in the fairway you can really attack and the ones you don’t you’re just sort of trying to make par.”

Sounds like somebody has been convinced.

Hoffman is only one member of the PGA Tour, but he’s an interesting member to listen to. The 43-year-old San Diego native has had his card since 2006. He’s made just shy of $29 million during his career, winning four times. He is just one of nine players that has qualified for the FedEx Cup all 14 years of its existence. He sits on the tour’s Player Advisory Council.

Also consider the kind of player he is. In his first few seasons on tour, Hoffman consistently ranked in the top 50 in driving distance as well as the strokes gained/off the tee metrics. As he’s gotten older, however, and a younger generation of even longer bombers has joined the tour, Hoffman has seen his distance numbers hover around the same spot, just shy of 300 yards, but with the average rising that means he now ranks between 50th and 100th each year.

Hoffman’s comments acknowledge a change in thought, one that the veteran appreciates might not settle well with all golf fans.

“So it’s something the modern game of golf is. You can like it, you cannot like it, but it’s just the reality. As I say, athletes are playing golf now, we’re training in the gym harder, we’re trying to find speed. It’s not the game that I grew up playing originally, but I’m trying to adapt and I love watching these young guys explore different avenues and Bryson’s definitely doing that.”

And so will others.

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By Dave Shedloski
Members of the PGA Tour overwhelmingly have expressed their eagerness to return to competitive golf after more than two months off. The question is are they ready for the “new normal” of safety protocols and changes in their routines that will be required amid the lingering coronavirus pandemic

Charley Hoffman, who is the chairman of the Tour’s Player Advisory Council, provided a frank and sober outlook for what his peers will encounter when the Tour resumes June 11 in Fort Worth at the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club. A four-time winner, Hoffman, 43, said that the protocols in place designed to keep players, caddies and other tournament personnel safe will test patience and alter routines.

He warned that there could be a lot of waiting around, be it for testing for the COVID-19 virus or for conveniences they have been accustomed to during tournament week. Sure, a few more delays in their daily routines is hardly a hardship. But they do require adjustments—to schedules and mindsets.

“As I’ve told a few guys that have asked me, the fact of this thing, it’s the new normal. What we used to do and how easy it used to be and how fluid it was … that’s not going to be it anymore,” Hoffman said during a conference call on Wednesday. “We’re going to have to come up with a new way to get to the golf course. We’re not gonna be able to just jump in our courtesy car and be there in eight minutes and be working out in 12 and so on and so forth. And we’re going to have to figure it out.”

The 16-member PAC voted unanimously for a return to competition, and the Tour on May 13 released a 37-page memo to players outlining plans for resumption of the schedule after nine events were cancelled. It’s an exhaustive document that covers everything from testing to travel to social distancing guidelines. The Tour intends to conduct at least its first four events without fans.

“Yeah, you know what their plans are. [But] they’re not set in stone,” Hoffman said. “We’re not acting like we know all the answers to the pandemic, and as a team with the tour, the player directors and myself, and obviously the board, uh, we came up with this plan and obviously also the leaders in [infectious disease]. It’s very comprehensive. It’s very detailed. I wouldn’t say it’s the be-all, end-all by any means. It’s for us to be safe and be able to put a product on the course and entertain our fans.

“For this plan to work, we’re all gonna have to abide by all the regulations that are out there, the CDC regulations and social distancing regulations. And we’re looking forward to competing and putting the sport back on TV.”

Of course, no protocol is more important than the testing for the virus, and the PGA Tour is projecting a test load of approximately 400 per week for its players. Fields are comprised of at least 144 players. Hoffman said he and his peers are comfortable with the plans being outlined.

“A hundred percent comfortable,” Hoffman responded, “as [both] a player or PAC chairman. And we wouldn’t have gone through with this if we didn’t have the consent from the players. The reality is I wasn’t sure if everybody wanted to go back to play. But when I can say that every single player that we’ve talked to under the circumstances was comfortable about was laid out, that was comforting to myself.

“I’m not saying that we’re bulletproof by any means,” he added. “This is serious, this is real. We have a great plan in place if something does happen. And you know what, we aren’t the demographic that this [virus] is really going after. Not saying we’re immune to it. But you know what? I think everybody’s sort of a little more educated than we were a month ago. I think we’re lucky to be in a sport that we don’t have to be within close distance to any of our competitors. You really don’t have to be within six feet of anybody all day long except for your caddie. That’s one person. Our numbers are very small and very low risk, and I think everybody understands that and feels good about getting back to the competition.”

A resident of San Diego, Hoffman took six weeks off from playing golf, mainly because of restrictions to access by the state of California. So he is definitely ready to get back into the mix and “get those juices going again.” He knows now that he is not alone. And he is confident that whatever little nuisances that he and his fellow competitors encounter along the way to getting back on the course will be quickly accepted as part of the process. And it will be worth it—not just for the players themselves, but for the sport and fans of the game.

“I think once the gun goes off and once a Wednesday comes around and everybody’s gone through that initial process on Monday, Tuesday, most likely, I think it’s going to be quite easy,” he said. “I think once we get in between the ropes, our instincts are gonna kick back in. The competition is going to be amazing, and I think our product’s going to be great. No question.”

The post Charley Hoffman lays out PGA Tour’s ‘new normal,’ says players are ‘a hundred percent comfortable’ with it appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Ryan Herrington
After eight weeks off due to the COVID-19 pandemic and with another six weeks until tournaments are scheduled to resume, many PGA Tour pros are eager to compete once more. That’s not to say, however, they’re willing to resume the 2019-’20 season without certain safety measures in place. And, at least for a majority of tour pros Golf Digest surveyed, those measures must include a comprehensive testing system in place at every tour event.

Our reporters received responses in recent days from 35 players after asking them to give their thoughts to the following query:

Which of the following describes your attitude about returning to competition:

A) I don’t need anything to be different than before the virus. I’m ready to play.
B) I am willing to compete under whatever safety measures the PGA Tour chooses to implement, but don’t think we need comprehensive testing at tournaments.
C) I am only willing to compete if there is a comprehensive testing plan in place at every event.
D) I am not willing to compete until a vaccine or major medical development is in place.

Eighteen of the 35 players (51.4 percent) said they most closely identified with Answer C, which stipulated the need for comprehensive testing at every tournament.

Players, who were told they could answer anonymously, were also asked to elaborate further regarding their thinking. Some chose to go on the record while others asked for anonymity, but their responses help frame the issues many within golf are weighing as they contemplate a return to competition.

“I do trust [the Tour’s] decision-making process, but I’m not sure that the decision to start playing or not start playing has much to do with trusting their decisions,” said Stewart Cink. “To me this feels like a very personal decision about when the comfort level is enough to get back out there travelling. And also there’s still the very significant factor of social accountability and whether it’s right to get back into a routine where everyone is travelling, etc.”

“I’m willing to compete when the Tour and the proper medical authorities come up with a good [testing] plan,” said Charles Howell III. “Golf is a different animal because we rely on travel, hotels, restaurants, gyms, etc., to be open and things functioning as safe as possible.”

Since the PGA Tour announced last month its plan to resume the season in June with the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, an event that would be held without spectators, tour officials from commissioner Jay Monahan on down have been clear that widespread testing being available for players, caddies and other constituents would be the only way they’d initiate a re-start to its season. Exactly what kind of testing the tour would employ, how frequently it would be done and who would be required to take the test are still, however, being determined. A source tells Golf Digest that discussions are ongoing as to whether nasal or saliva tests would be administered, and if a separate antibody test will also be conducted.

“Everyone’s safety is the No. 1 concern,” said Steve Wilmot, tournament director of the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town in Hilton Head Island, scheduled for the week after the Charles Schwab Challenge and, like any of the first four events on the new schedule, will be held without spectators. “We’re all—us, the Tour, the other first events—coordinating and bouncing ideas off each other to see how we can make this work. But we’re not going to jeopardize the health of the very people we depend on to bring this event to life. The Tour has a medical staff. They are identifying the right and the wrong. We will follow their lead.”

A little more than 37 percent of players who responded to Golf Digest’s query agreed most closely with Answer B (13 of 35), saying they trusted that the Tour would have sufficient safety protocols, but did not need testing in place for them to be willing to compete.

According to a PGA Tour spokesman, “health and safety measures as they relate to competition remain under review.” Some of those measures might potentially come from the guidelines that have been adopted at the state level in order for courses to open to the general public. Among them are prohibiting players from touching flagsticks and doing away with rakes in bunkers. If such measures were implemented at PGA Tour events, they could have a notable impact on the competition itself, one that some tour pros have balked at.

When PGA Tour pros competed this past week at the Maridoe Samaritan Fund Invitational outside Dallas, there were no bunker rakes on the course. A walking scorer with each group, however, carried a rake and helped attend to the bunkers when necessary, identifying a potential alternative to taking away rakes entirely.

Though looking out for the safety of anyone competing or working at a tour event is the top priority as officials plan out operations for tournaments moving forward, maintaining the competitive integrity of the events and the tour season overall also must be factored in.

“I’m 100 percent ready to play,” said Charley Hoffman, who is the chairman of the Players Advisory Council. “I’ve talked to many players who won’t have a problem playing. But is it fair for me to go out and play when others don’t feel safe? No. Is it fair for me to compete if so-and-so has a health issue and doesn’t feel safe playing? I don’t think so. Everybody has to be ready to play, not just me and somebody else.”

Those not ready to play come June got some reassurance from the PGA Tour on Thursday when officials announced that tour pros won’t lose their status for the 2020-’21 season if they fell out of the top 125 of the FedEx Cup list after the Tour Championship in September, the conclusion of the 2019-’20 season. All player eligibility will carry over into next season.

In the Golf Digest survey, three players chose Answer A, saying they didn’t need anything to be different, and one player picked Answer D, noting that more than testing needed to be in place for them to feel comfortable competing again.

“Testing is not enough,” said the anonymous respondent who answered D. “I need to know what the hotel, food and travel situation is, as well as what we are doing on the course. I hate the idea of getting to a city, having them test me, find out I’m positive and having to pull out of the event and quarantine there for 14 days while the tour continues on to the next city.”

– Reporting from Joel Beall, Tod Leonard, Daniel Rapaport, Dave Shedloski and Brian Wacker

The post Majority of PGA Tour pros need coronavirus testing in place at every event to return to competition, according to Golf Digest survey appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Scottie Pippen says Michael Jordan gave him a set of golf clubs as a rookie to “lure me in so he could take all my money.” Classic. #TheLastDance pic.twitter.com/Bgd4SZvuEt

— Alex Myers (@AlexMyers3) April 20, 2020

Jordan! What a savage. On second thought, I’m definitely going to keep watching because this docuseries is a content factory. In any event, let’s examine what else is (still) happening in the world of golf.

WE’RE BUYING

A June PGA Tour restart: At least, we’re buying its potential. The PGA Tour’s bold adjusted schedule seems extremely tentative at this point—especially because the European Tour continues to cancel events and has no timetable for a return—but it’s nice to have some positive news to report for a change. If all goes as planned, the season would restart at Colonial on June 11 and run all the way through a Labor Day Weekend Tour Championship for a total of 36 events in 2019-2020. The first four events wouldn’t have fans and there would only be one major (the PGA Championship in August) technically played this season and six next season, but who really cares? Golf would be back! Fingers crossed this all actually happens. There’s only so many possible Michael Jordan golf gambling stories to write about.

Alex Cejka: But there is still mini-tour news to report. This one-time PGA Tour winner and four-time European Tour winner is now a one-time winner on the Outlaw Tour after winning something called the Arrowhead Classic. Talk about a ringer. We’re guessing the $5,000 first-place check didn’t do much for a man who has about $20 million in career earnings around the world, but it looks like he’s keeping his game sharp. Cejka turns 50 in December so who knows? He could be senior tour eligible by the time play resumes.

Dinner at Tiger’s: Apparently, when you get invited to dinner at Tiger Woods’ house, bring a bat instead of a bottle of wine. As Justin Thomas told it on “Tiger Tales,” Woods and his son like playing home run derby in the living room after they eat. Yep, the living room.

Of course, JT couldn’t avoid breaking something. Anyway, sounds like fun. Speaking of “home runs”. . .

This invention: Kudos to Georgia’s Cobblestone Golf Course for coming up with a creative way to combat the spread of COVID-19:

Check out the new EZ Lift ball retrievers that we have installed on all flagsticks. No need to ever touch the flagstick again! pic.twitter.com/h5oKyXQME5

— Cobblestone (@CobblestoneGolf) April 16, 2020

Pretty slick. And pretty good for the back as well. I hope whoever invented this filed for a patent.

WE’RE SELLING

A Ryder Cup with no fans: Playing regular PGA Tour events without fans? Fine. I’d even be OK with major championships being contested this way. But the Ryder Cup? That’s a different animal altogether. The ELECTRIC atmosphere is what makes this biennial event so, well, ELECTRIC. How can you not have the absurdly large grandstands around the first tee packed with people? Or the incessant “Ole, ole, ole, ole! Ole, ole!” chants? Or the player song parodies? OK, so we could do without the last part, but you get the point. If this is how it’s going to be, let’s just punt to next year instead. Because if I can’t hear European golf writers bitch about how crude American crowds are toward the Euros, then what are we even doing here?

John Daly’s Coronavirus “cure”: In a video that we won’t share, the two-time major champ jokes(?) about drinking a bottle of vodka per day to help get “over this thing” really soon. “And that’s the way you kill this coronavirus I believe,” he adds. Hmm. It should be noted the World Health Organization says alcohol may actually put people at increased risk of contracting the coronavirus. Of course, it also should be noted that John Daly is not a doctor.

Tiger’s taste in gum: A year ago, golf’s biggest mystery was what gum Tiger Woods chewed on his way to his epic fifth Masters win. And now, we finally seem to have the answer and it’s not Big Red! Instead, Woods said during a recent fan Q&A with GOLFTV that he and caddie Joe LaCava like to chew on “orange Trident”:

What gum is @TigerWoods always chewing in competition? ?

Use #AskTiger to submit your questions. pic.twitter.com/I1McnhhOZu

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) April 17, 2020

We believe he means Trident Tropical, which is decent, but it’s no Trident watermelon. Or Bubbalicious watermelon. Or, really, any watermelon-flavoured. Or Big League Chew, which apparently makes a watermelon flavour now as well. That definitely wasn’t around when I was a kid. Man, we had it rough, huh? Anyway, Tiger, there are plenty of options out there. Then again, if you won the Masters chomping on this, maybe you should, um, stick with what’s working.

ON TAP

This week would have been the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, AKA that team event on the PGA Tour where Brooks Koepka usually invites his brother. This had become a fun one since switching to twosomes in 2017. Oh well, there’s always next year. We think.

Random tournament fact: Billy Horschel is the only player to win the Zurich Classic as both an individual and team event. Talk about a guy who is great at working alone and with others.

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Brooks and Bryson will team up at next year’s Zurich: 1 MILLION-to-1 odds
—My local courses will add some sort of flagstick contraption: Even odds
—More people will be chewing Trident Tropical on courses everywhere: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Thanks to Brenda Calcavecchia for sharing this (NSFW) scorecard from her husband Mark’s win at the 2007 PODS Championship (AKA the Valspar now):

This is a look into what I have been dealing with the past 20 yrs. The first day of pods he told me to pack up everything and be ready to go as soon as he was done. If you look closely before he signed his name he wrote “I fucking suck”. He ended up winning that week pic.twitter.com/zloGYLVgRV

— Brenda Calcavecchia (@brendacalc) April 14, 2020

Mark is certainly not the first or last golfer to write that on a scorecard. We’re guessing he’s the only one to go on to win a PGA Tour event that week, though. Good stuff.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

How about Rocco Mediate looking like any other guy on the range at your local course?

Good morning!@RoccoMediate on the range!#Golf #minnesotagolf pic.twitter.com/f0YKiX5O57

— goldenvalleycountryclub (@GoldenValleyCC) April 18, 2020

And yet he almost took down Tiger Woods at a U.S. Open. Golf. . . what a great sport!

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK (TRICK-SHOT DIVISION)

Or really, trick-shot video of the month. We’ve seen some impressive ones during #QuarantineSZN, but this won GOLFTV’s Lockdown Trick Shot bracket:

Best lockdown trick shot ?

The votes are in and you guys have chosen “the ring shot” as the winner of our #BestLockdownTrickShot bracket. pic.twitter.com/FPOt9Trj2h

— GOLFTV (@GOLFTV) April 20, 2020

And for good reason.

THIS WEEK IN TOUR PROS BEING QUARANTINED

Gaby Lopez misses going to the gym so much she shared an old workout video:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_LpBtjFC5l/?utm_source=ig_embed

Lee Westwood has created his own gym and is posting shirtless workout videos:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_AEInMjvxv/?utm_source=ig_embed

And Ian Poulter is still trolling people:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_AHe-EFsRW/?utm_source=ig_embed

All kidding aside, Lee looks pretty jacked. And I don’t care if that’s an old video from Gaby, that’s mighty impressive. And probably not covered in 8 Minute Abs.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Well, seagulls are known for flying around and sh–ing on people . . . so I am a seagull. I fly around and drop sh– on people. And it usually makes them laugh or sometimes is pisses them off. It all depends on what mood you’re in.” — Charley Hoffman to SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio on why his nickname is “Seagull.” Love it.

THIS AND THAT

This week’s Golf Digest Podcast guest is Erik van Rooyen, an interview recorded before the start of the Players Championship. So about 13 years ago in Quarantine Time. . . .

Congrats to Tim Finchem, who did a great job as PGA Tour commissioner, for being the latest selection into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Of course, he also had great timing with Tiger Woods coming along. . . . Speaking of Tiger, how about this stat our Ryan Herrington dug up? Woods has won more than 40 per cent of possible prize money seven times in his career and is on pace to do it again this season. Tom Watson is the only other player to do this even once in the past 40 years—and he did it 40 years ago. Tiger! GOAT! . . . And finally, I’m on a big Wheat Thins kick of late:

That’s the undisputed GOAT of crackers in my book.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

Who is the “Seagull” of the Golf Digest office?
What was Michael Joran’s go-to gum on the basketball court?
What are Michael Jordan’s career earnings on the golf course?

The post Gaby Lopez’ workout, Michael Jordan’s savage golf move, and a classic (NSFW) scorecard message appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.