Hoffmann, dressed head-to-toe in Greyson attire (the joggers game is strong with this one), is “home” for a collaboration between his foundation and the First Tee, which was hosting the day’s outing. Foursomes rolled through every few minutes, and each one had the opportunity to use Hoffman’s tee shot on the 142-yard par 3, which is guarded by bunkers on both sides and a small pond in front. By my count, he missed the green only once the entire day, and after that one hiccup, he nearly jarred the next shot he struck. There is no question that his hands are still there, but in terms of swing speed and power, there’s still a ways to go.

“My pecs are coming back,” says Hoffmann, who was diagnosed with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy nearly seven years ago.

“Muscle’s definitely coming back stronger than it has in a long time. It’s not a hundred per cent, I’m still working on my health a lot, doing a lot of different modalities. But it’s getting there and it’s going in the right direction.”

That direction, Hoffmann says, is another return to the PGA Tour. In April of 2022, Hoffmann made his first tour start in 30 months, playing on a major medical exemption. In need of 238.42 FedEx Cup points in just a handful of starts to continue playing, Hoffmann came up short, missing three of five cuts with a high finish of T-51 that included a second-round 64 at the John Deere Classic.

He made only one start after that at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in July of 2022 before quietly fading out of the picture once more. But with full Korn Ferry Tour status for 2024 (Hoffmann is exempt because he was fully exempt on the PGA Tour for his previous five seasons), the star still has a path back. He and his trainer have outlined a three-month workout plan to get him where he needs to be.

“It’s definitely the best I’ve felt in a long time,” said Hoffmann, who had played a full round at his old home course, Arcola Country Club, a day earlier. “When I stopped playing a couple of years ago, my swing speed was down to 104mph with my driver. Right now it’s back to 111. I’m planning to get that up higher before I start playing. Definitely trending in the right direction, and my short game is still there, which is nice. Made a bunch of birdies yesterday. Good to get that confidence boost.

“It’s going to take some work to get back to the place I want to be, but I think three or four months should do it.”

Once down to 20 per cent muscle due to his disease, which a number of doctors told him was incurable and would only worsen with age, Hoffmann believes he is around 40 per cent now, or nearly average for a 34-year-old male. Baby steps.

“It’s a lot better than going in the other direction,” he says.

Speaking to one group as they waited on the 16th tee, Hoffman noted the feeling of Wi-Fi in the air. One of his favourite things about living in Costa Rica is the lack of this thing we are all hopelessly addicted to. Hoffmann only needs the internet on rare occasions, and he often receives texts from friends asking him to tell his wife, Chelsea, to respond to their messages so they know she’s OK. She’s just fine, as is their 10-month old daughter Rai, who loves to travel and, more importantly, loves to watch dad play golf.

Ideally, Chelsea and Rai will get to watch dad compete against the best in the world in 2024, which was the part of professional golf Hoffmann realised he missed the most when he made his mini-return in 2022. Seeing progress when practising and playing by yourself is certainly nice, but nothing matches the feeling of seeing how you stack up against your peers.

“You can get as good as at golf as you want on your own, right?” he said. “And you can try to be the best that you can, but then like, going up against the best in the world and really testing that out and seeing like how good I’ve really gotten. That’s what I’ve always missed.

“The competition, playing on the best courses in the world. It’s a game that I love and I’ve always loved and it’s ingrained in me. I think that there’s a part of me — I know that there’s a part of me that I still believe that I have goals that I haven’t attained and can obtain, and I want to see that out. I’m 34 years old, still somewhat young. Look at Phil [Mickelson] still killing it when he is 50, over 50 years old. I still got time, so we’ll see how it goes. I just want to play and have fun.”

Hoffmann plans to bounce between the Korn Ferry Tour and Monday qualifiers for the PGA Tour, where he’s made over $6 million in 167 career starts with nine top-10 finishes, including a runner-up at the 2017 Honda Classic. That result, plus a solo fourth at the 2015 Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he led after 36 holes, remain the closest Hoffmann has come to achieving the ultimate goal of winning on the PGA Tour, a goal he believes is still attainable.

“It’s the most basic one [goal]. I’ve always wanted to hold a trophy,” Hoffmann said. “I think I can do it more than once, but I haven’t at all. So, we’ll see. We’ll see if I can prove it to myself or not.”

Main image: Kevin C Cox

The post ‘The best I’ve felt in a long time’: Morgan Hoffmann vows to return to PGA Tour in 2024 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Hoffmann was fortunate to receiver another crack, however, when Steve Stricker was forced to withdraw from the John Deere Classic this week. The former Oklahoma State standout was given an unrestricted sponsor exemption, presenting him with another opportunity to earn valuable FedEx Cup points. That was good break No. 1.

Good break No. 2 came on Thursday morning, when Hoffmann was cruising along at one-under par through six holes at TPC Deere Run. At the par-3 16th, disaster was seemingly about to strike when his ball plugged in a greenside bunker, leaving him with an impossible up and down. Things appeared to get really bad when, after Hoffmann took a huge whack at it, his ball went directly up in the air and made contact with the brim of his own hat:

Hit your hat ?
Hit the pin

Wild hole for @Morgan_Hoffmann ? pic.twitter.com/Mkf7wmZXHE

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 30, 2022

Prior to the simplification of many of golf’s more archaic rules in 2019, Hoffmann would have been hit with a one-stroke penalty here and would have been lucky to then make double-bogey. Not to be dramatic, but that would probably be a week-ender, especially for a player in desperate need of another made cut and then some.

As you could hear in the video, Hoffmann was under the impression it may have been a penalty, unaware that the rule had changed (understandable given he was hiding away in Costa Rica for the past few years). Under Rule 11.1a, if a player’s ball in motion accidentally hits any person or outside influence there is no penalty to the player. Key word there: accidentally, which was clearly the case here.

Hoffmann, impressively, nearly holed out for par his very next shot, then settled for a bogey. Late in his first round, he sits at even par. He’s still got all sorts of work to do, but this was a much-needed good break that we might remember if he goes on to make the cut and moves up the leader board on the weekend.

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The post WATCH: Morgan Hoffmann’s own ball hits his hat, but he avoids penalty thanks to rule change appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

It’s a rather fanciful proposition to attempt to sum up the totality of a person in five spoken words. How fair would that be to most of us? How authentic? Five words to distil the essence of an individual? Five words to capture his character? A life in a two-second sound bite?

But here we offer five words spoken by Morgan Hoffmann, and they tell us so much about the 30-year-old PGA Tour player, more than just about anything else we can write about him as a golfer, as an outdoor enthusiast, as a certified pilot, as a Yankees fan, as a friend or husband or son.

Ah, yes, context. Hoffmann intends to find a cure for muscular dystrophy, with which he was diagnosed in late 2016 after sensing that something wasn’t quite right starting in 2011, which happens to be the year he turned pro. After consulting more than two dozen physicians, Hoffmann saw a neurologist in New York who suggested a blood test. It revealed that Hoffmann was suffering from the progressing effects of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.

Muscular dystrophy actually refers to a group of more than 30 genetic diseases that cause progressive weakness and degeneration of skeletal muscles. Because there are different strains of the disease, prognoses can vary. But there is no cure for a malady that affects one of every 5,000 males. Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy causes atrophy of the chest, back, neck, arms and sometimes legs.

A two-time All-American at Oklahoma State and a former No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Hoffmann first noticed a change in his body in his right pectoral muscle. It was a bit sunken. That was late 2011. He was 22. Nevertheless, two years later he became a PGA Tour member and played well enough to make the FedEx Cup Playoffs in three of his first four seasons. That included finishing 81st in the FedEx Cup standings in 2016-’17, the season after his diagnosis.

Because of the progression of the disease, Hoffmann has competed just 24 times since, including four starts this season, all in the fall and the last in early October in Las Vegas. He is targeting January, at the earliest, to resume his attempt to retain his card while on a major medical extension. For the foreseeable future, he is concentrating all his energy on beating the illness, primarily by undertaking a holistic, nature-based protocol. That might sound unconventional, but not to a young man who made a frustrating foray through the medical community before receiving an accurate diagnosis.

Jared C. Tilton
Hoffmann’s PGA Tour career is on hold as he continues to fight his affliction.

So, here’s the crux of what he had to say about his determination to not just beat the odds, but to beat those odds over the heads of physicians espousing so-called conventional wisdom:

“What’s frustrating is that most if not all of the doctors in the United States say that MD is incurable, and I disagree. So, I’ve been studying with doctors around the world, and this is the path that I’m on, that I’ve chosen to take. So, I’m trying to pave a new path to health and, hopefully, educate people once I find a cure.”

He did not intend to say if I find a cure. He didn’t intend to say once they find a cure. He is taking full ownership of his condition and the fight to overcome it. He is not thinking he will fail. He is not leaving his fate to others.

“Once I find a cure.”

Because of his steadfast determination as well as his dedication to helping others who suffer from MD through his Morgan Hoffmann Foundation, which he and his wife, Chelsea, started in 2017, Hoffmann is the latest recipient of the PGA Tour Courage Award announced Monday at the Honda Classic.

According to the Tour, the Courage Award “is presented to a player who has overcome extraordinary adversity, such as personal tragedy or debilitating injury or illness, to make a significant or meaningful contribution to golf.” Introduced in 2012, the PGA Tour Courage Award previously has been presented to Erik Compton in 2013, the late Jarrod Lyle in 2015 and Gene Sauers in 2017. The award comes with a $25,000 contribution that Hoffmann can designate to the charity of his choice.

Hoffmann would prefer to not be in a position to receive this award. That’s only human nature. But he is nonetheless grateful because he hopes it brings more awareness to MD and his foundation.

“It’s a true honour to be among that list of recipients,” Hoffmann said. “Obviously, it’s not a position anybody wants to be in to receive this award, but anything that the PGA Tour gives out is really special. Going forward, to make do with what you have and, hopefully, help people and create awareness is really all that we can hope for. And I think each of those people [honoured] in the past have done that.”

As he spoke on the phone from his home in Jupiter, Fla., Hoffmann was preparing his breakfast, which consists of various kinds of fruit. Lunch was to be the same. Dinner, too. In fact, he is early into his second month of a six-month all-fruit diet to cleanse his body of toxins. He does not eat meat, dairy, breads or even vegetables, nor does he consume alcohol or caffeine.

Todd Warshaw/Getty Images
In three of his first four seasons on Tour, Hoffmann made the FedEx Cup playoffs, including 2017, a year after his diagnosis.

Hoffmann is taking his cues from Dr. Robert Morse, a Florida naturopathic physician and herbalist. “He is all about regenerative detoxification. So, what that means is you’re pretty much detoxing the body to regenerate new cells and rebuild your body,” Hoffmann said. “And what that looks like is getting rid of all the waste and build up that you have and breaking your body down to rebuild it.”

One of the few variations to his diet will come later this month when he visits Costa Rica for herbal tea treatments. “I’m in the belief system that you don’t need drugs or pills or needles to cure your disease. I think it can be done all naturally, and the earth has everything that is needed. The hope is that you can kind of reorganize your neural pathways in your brain and tell your body to heal itself and create neurogenesis. It’s a pretty amazing concept, really.”

You know who is amazed by all of this? Chelsea, who is supportive of Morgan to the point that she is sharing his strict diet.

“I’m proud that Morgan is receiving this award because I see how he lives his life,” Chelsea said. “Since he got the diagnosis, there have been a lot of different aspects to how he’s had to change his life. He’s had to relearn the game of golf, a game he has loved since he was a little boy, and I think, That has to be so hard on him. He’s had to change what he does day to day, and when you see his determination, how he remains so positive, it has an impact on your own life. He’s shown a lot of strength.”

Whenever he is strong enough to return to competition, Hoffmann will have only three tournaments remaining from his major medical extension. He wishes he hadn’t burned so many starts when he wasn’t 100 percent, but his confidence hasn’t wavered. At most, he plays just once a week, primarily at the Bear’s Club in Jupiter, basically to retain muscle memory for his swing, an athletic move he’s executed probably hundreds of thousands of times since he was a kid growing up in New Jersey. Last week, at another course near his home, Lost Tree, he shot a five-under-par 67. “So that was not too bad,” he said, sounding pleased.

His next big golf outing comes June 21-22 at the third annual Morgan Hoffmann Foundation Celebrity Pro-Am at Arcola Country Club, his boyhood course in Paramus, N.J. Last year, dozens of fellow tour pros helped Hoffmann raise more than $1 million, most of which was socked away for the purpose of one day building a health and wellness centre to help other MD patients.

Facebook/Morgan Hoffman Foundation
Morgan and his wife, Chelsea, are using their Foundation to raise money for a future health and wellness centre for MD patients.

That wellness centre is a few years from fruition, so Hoffmann has chosen to give grants to individuals battling the disease rather than to institutions or medical facilities. One exception was to make a $10,000 grant to the sister of an MD patient he has met. She is working on some novel concepts independently involving research on zebrafish, something that intrigues the preternaturally inquisitive Hoffmann. Otherwise, the foundation has given grants to families dealing with terminal cases. This past weekend Morgan and Chelsea welcomed a young teenager to their home who has Duchenne’s MD, a common form of the disease that typically strikes young males and proves fatal by the time a person has reached his 20s. Morgan planned to take the boy to the Honda Classic this week to meet some tour pros.

“We really just want to get to know the people that we give the money to and keep it all honest and loving,” Hoffmann said. “I think we make a bigger difference when we interact directly with people.”

At the charity event, Hoffmann said, “I don’t play golf for myself anymore,” but that doesn’t mean he is giving up on being a golfer again. His hope is to resume his career and use it to raise money and awareness for his foundation.

“I think everybody ultimately comes across the question, Why are we here? And, you know, it doesn’t matter how you come to ask that question,” he said. “Everybody has goals in life, whether within business or family … whatever that is. But I think there’s something more in all of us to help each other, and that’s ultimately what I hope to do.”

But before he can help others, he must heal himself. And he seems to be on an encouraging path. Hoffmann said that because of his diet and other healthful regimens such as meditation, he is seeing some positive effects. Back acne that has plagued him since he was a teenager has cleared up. He is sleeping better and is cognitively more alert. “And with regards to the MD, it’s definitely slowed down,” he said. “The atrophy is, I’m reluctant to say it’s stopped, but it’s been very slow, which has been awesome. And I’ve also been able to feel some muscles firing in places that haven’t for a while. I feel like I am making progress, and it would be amazing to bring hope to others, eventually.”

Marianna Massey
“I think there’s something more in all of us to help each other,” Hoffmann says, “and that’s ultimately what I hope to do.”

It’s not quite accurate to say that Hoffmann is the recipient of the PGA Tour Courage Award because of any contributions to golf. More accurately, it’s his contributions using golf as a vehicle.

“I know he has a strong sense of what his purpose is now. And I just want him to feel like he’s fulfilling that, no matter what that means,” Chelsea said. “Honestly, I think that he stands for a larger purpose is bringing him more joy than golf ever could. I see a light in him when he’s working with the foundation, with healers trying to find a cure. I couldn’t ask for more for him than just living a life that makes a difference. I know that’s what he wants, and that’s what I want for him the most.

“It makes me so happy watching him take joy out of something so difficult,” she added. “He’s a pretty inspiring guy.”

For a five-word summation of a person’s life, those last few also would suffice.

The post There’s no stopping Morgan Hoffmann in his fight against muscular dystrophy appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 18-year-old Indian took to social media on Sunday to confirm his long held ambition to play collegiate golf in the U.S. And what a team he’s been courted by and verbally committed too.

Extremely excited to verbally commit to Oklahoma State !! ? #gopokes #silverback ?

A post shared by Rayhan Thomas (@ray_jthomas) on Dec 16, 2017 at 10:18am PST

Oklahoma State University is among the most decorated schools in U.S golf with 10 national championships and one of the most dominant forces in the modern era thanks to names such as world No.7 Fowler who responded to Thomas’ Instagram announcement:.

“@ray_jthomas congrats bud and look forward to seeing you in Stilly!”

The OSU Cowboys won the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Golf Championship in May. Among its other famed alumni are Charles Howell III, Bob and Kevin Away, Peter Uihlein, Hunter Mayhan, Bo Van Pelt, Scott Verplank, Morgan Hoffmann, Alex Noren and Brian Watts who was runner-up in the 1998 Open Championship. Verplank (1986), Watts (1987) and Howell (2000) won individual national titles as Cowboys.

Thomas, the world amateur No.22 who qualified No.1 for the International team for the Junior Presidents Cup earlier this year, isn’t expected to line-up for the Cowboys until 2019.

The post Rayhan Thomas is a Cowboy and Rickie Fowler is delighted appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

But Fowler knew that with an 0-4 record with 54-hole leads in his PGA Tour career, he needed to start closing out tournaments when he had the opportunity to win.

He did so Sunday, shooting a wild one-over 71 to win the Honda Classic by four strokes over Morgan Hoffmann and Gary Woodland for his first victory since Abu Dhabi 13 months ago, and fourth on the PGA Tour.

“Mistakes were going to happen,” said Fowler of windy conditions on a pressure-filled day. “Bad swings were always going to happen. You can’t play a perfect round of golf.”

With a four-shot lead at the start of the day, Fowler made two sloppy bogeys and a double after hitting into the water at the par-4 6^th to see his lead eventually shrink to just one going into PGA National’s scary back nine.

But Fowler poured in a 38-footer for birdie from the back of the 12th green to go back up by two, and then made another from 23 feet on the 13th to go up by three. He was five ahead before harmless bogeys on his final two holes.

Just how big might the victory be? “I say this with all of my guys,” said Fowler’s swing coach Butch Harmon, who had played golf with his pupil the Friday before and came away liking what he saw.

“Everything we do is pointed toward the majors and peaking for them.” The Masters is just six weeks away.  – Brian Wacker

The post The finish Fowler’s <br> been waiting for appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.