Tag: Charley Hoffman

Charley Hoffman, Ryan Palmer ride pre-tournament motivation to lead among takeaways from first round of 2022 QBE Shootout

Charley Hoffman and Ryan Palmer know they were picked last before the week.

NAPLES, Fla. — Charley Hoffman and Ryan Palmer were well aware where they were predicted to finish at the 2022 QBE Shootout.

12th.

In a normal week, that would be a strong finish. Yet at Tiburon Golf Club, that’s dead last. That prediction is as far from correct as it could be following the first round.

Hoffman and Palmer made eagle on three of Tiburon’s four par-5s and added 10 birdies. After Friday’s scramble format, the duo sits in front at 16 under by two shots over a pair at 14 under.

“All in all, we put ourself in great positions to make birdies,” Hoffman said. “I would say very low stress all day long. For me, I putted first so it wasn’t that stressful for me. Ryan made some great putts. I was able to hit some good drives and be able to capitalize on pretty much all our shots except 18.”

Hoffman and Palmer’s day started with an eagle on the first hole. They added another on the sixth and went out in 8-under 28. Then on the back, it was more birdies and an eagle on the 17th. Their only complaint from the day was not capitalizing on Hoffman’s great iron shot into the back left pin on 18.

Nevertheless, they’re in front heading to Saturday.

“Tomorrow, it’s a matter of just both driving it well and then you choose on which ball to play and all that. If we’re both hitting it well, I think we’ll have a lot of chances tomorrow.”

Hoffman is playing in his sixth QBE Shootout, and he has had a different teammate each time. Palmer is playing for the fifth time, and Hoffman is his fourth partner. Palmer and Harold Varner III shot 55 in the opening round in 2019, and Hoffman joked saying they needed to match that number again this year.

A 56 will do, though.

QBE: Saturday tee times, how to watch

Taylor Pendrith’s rib, Finau feasting and Young’s course record among five things we learned Friday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic

Cameron Young showed out in front of the 2022 Presidents Cup captain.

DETROIT – Taylor Pendrith fractured his fifth rib on the left side while hitting golf balls in March.

“I noticed it at the Players during the third round, just some pain in kind of my back,” he said.

He spent 12 weeks mostly sitting on the couch, watching the NHL Playoffs, and helping his wife decorate their new home. Not much one can do other than sit and let one’s ribs heal.

“I guess it fueled me a little bit to get back and play well,” Pendrith said.

The 31-year-old rookie Canadian is doing just that. In just his third start since the injury, Pendrith is the 36-hole leader at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He followed up his opening-round 64 with a birdie-binge out of the gate. Birdies at his first four holes lifted him ahead of overnight-co-leader Tony Finau, and Pendrith signed for 65 and a tournament record 36-hole total of 15-under 129, a stroke ahead of Finau.

“If you can get it in the fairways here, you can kind of attack,” said Pendrith, who finished T-13 and T-11 in his first two starts back from injury and is seeking his first Tour title.

Rocket Mortgage Classic: PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ | Saturday tee times

The best golf club tosses in history — from Rory McIlroy to Judge Smails

A recent club throw got us thinking: what are some of the other best on-course meltdowns?

Whether you’re a touring professional golfer, an avid amateur or weekend hacker, every player has hit a bad shot out on the golf course and felt the urge to wind up and throw his or her club.

Exhibit A: Matt Jones on Saturday after making par on the 11th hole at Bay Hill during the third round of the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando.

“Matt a little frustrated there,” announcer Steve Sands said on the broadcast. “Did you hear what he said? He said, ‘I’m done, I’ve had enough of it.’”

So that got us thinking: What are some of golf’s greatest club tosses? From Rory McIlroy to Judge Smails, here are a few of the best.

API: Leaderboard | Photos | PGA Tour Live on ESPN+
More: Drone shots of all 18 holes at Bay Hill

Two aces, two shirtless PGA Tour pros, and a Genesis Invitational preview

This week on the Twilight 9 podcast: Scheffler’s first, Hoffman’s IG post, a Genesis Invitational preview, and more.

No. 16 at TPC Scottsdale saw a little bit of everything last week at the WM Phoenix Open, including two aces and Harry Higgs and Joel Dahmen going shirtless on the green after finishing up the hole on Sunday.

Golf.

Anyway, this week on the Twilight 9 podcast, the boys discuss Scottie Scheffler’s first PGA Tour win and what this may do for his confidence. Charley Hoffman set the golf social media world on fire with a controversial Instagram post (that has since been deleted) about the PGA Tour not protecting its players — this made for a great roast of Mr. Hoffman.

The fellas also preview this week’s Genesis Invitational and discuss their favorite betting picks for the week.

Genesis Invitational: Best bets | Tee times

Listen, download, and subscribe to the show for free here: Apple | Spotify | Other links

Follow the guys on Twitter: Riley | Andy

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Charley Hoffman doubles down on critical Instagram post, says PGA Tour ‘under a threat’

Charley Hoffman emphasized that he has no interest in playing on any other tour.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Charley Hoffman is mad as hell at the USGA and he’s not going to take it anymore.

After being involved in a rules infraction on Friday, Hoffman blasted golf’s governing body for “a bogus rule” and he doubled down on his Instagram post, speaking after his third round at the WM Phoenix Open.

“Not a huge fan of the USGA and how they govern us all the time,” Hoffman said. “I’m making a stance for the USGA to change this.”

Hoffman, a four-time PGA Tour winner, received a penalty on the par-5 13th hole at TPC Scottsdale during the second round after his tee shot found the water. But after dropping twice, he place the ball on a tuft of grass and when he turned around, the ball rolled back into the water and he was assessed another penalty stroke.

Hoffman was under the impression that the USGA had changed that rule, eliminating the penalty since there was no intent in causing the ball to move. In 2019, WM Phoenix Open winner Rickie Fowler suffered a similar fate at the 11th hole in the final round and overcame a triple bogey to hoist the title.

Leaderboard | PGA Tour Live streaming on ESPN+ | Tee times, TV info

“I have to put it down where the ball landed. I have no control over that, I turn my back and the ball goes in the water. How is that a rule that is good for the game of golf and how we play?” Hoffman said. “I mean, not one person at a country club would have took another penalty for that, why is it, in professional golf, are we doing that?”

He added: “And I think the partnership between the USGA and the PGA Tour’s gotten much better through the last handful of years, but there’s no way that that’s good for the game of golf when balls move like that and can affect the outcome of golf tournaments.

“It didn’t make any sense at that point in time why that rule hadn’t changed, especially this exact tournament when it happened to Rickie Fowler, he ended up winning the golf tournament, but it could have cost him the golf tournament.

“But as I told the rules officials last night it’s like, everybody says, ‘We’re going to change it for the better, we’re going to do this and that, we’re close,’ or whatever but nothing seems to get done.

“And unless you come out on a platform like I did, it somewhat influences a change.”

Hoffman made clear that his leap implying that such rules infraction was a reason why “guys are wanting to jump ship for another tour,” as he wrote was intentional.

“So I put a jab in there on purpose just so that the media would catch it,” he explained.

Hoffman emphasized that he has no interest in playing on any other tour.

“If it came across in that Instagram post that I have been reached by them, I have not been reached by them, it came across wrong,” he said. “I added that so the media would catch it, so I would prove my point on the rules side.”

As a member of the PGA Tour’s policy board, he knew the chain of command to discuss his concerns but he implied that he was taking one for the team.

“I think it works really good,” he said of the Tour’s policy board structure, “but we have, we have a threat. I mean, that’s real. I mean, you can’t hide under a rock and say it’s not. … could I have done it behind closed doors? Probably. But sometimes that doesn’t always work.”

Hoffman’s frustration stemmed, in part, because he’s convinced that the penalty will come back to haunt him.

“I mean, one shot is, no matter what happens, is going to affect me point-wise, something, somewhere down the line. I don’t know what it’s going to be,” he said. “It’s going to affect me on a bogus rule that hopefully changes for the better in the long run and hopefully we learn from it.”

Hoffman shot 8-over 79 on Saturday to drop to last place among the 67 players to make the cut. He hit his opening tee shot out of bounds at No. 10 and had to take a penalty and also hit his tee shot into the water for another penalty at No. 11.

“I won’t have any tour to play on if I keep playing the way I did today,” Hoffman cracked. “Was I thinking about what I said? Of course, I was. I mean, could it have affected me? Maybe.”

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Lynch: It’s time the PGA Tour showed Saudi-linked hostage-takers the door

That it was Charley Hoffman who authored this episode shows just how deep the Saudi rot has set in among Tour players.

Even casual golf fans might wonder what is left for parody after Charley Hoffman castigated the PGA Tour for being insufficiently protective of its players, a particularly audacious claim from a journeyman who continues to reap a handsome living despite having registered zero wins and just four top 10 finishes in the last 500 days.

In an ill-tempered Instagram post on Friday evening, Hoffman railed against a ruling he received in the second round of the WM Phoenix Open. And like Phil Mickelson at last week’s Saudi International, he presented his personal grievance as an inflection point for the entire Tour. He whined about amateur rules-makers running the professional game, insisted the most coddled athletes in sport are not “protected,” said it’s no surprise players are considering bolting to a Saudi-financed splinter league, and demanded commissioner Jay Monahan do better—all while tagging a handful of media outlets and the Saudis.

Wittingly or not, Hoffman was acting as a crash-test dummy for his huckster neighbor in San Diego, Phil Mickelson, who has repeatedly peddled similar talking points favored by the Saudis in their attempt to hijack men’s professional golf. Like a general paying tribute to cannon fodder, Mickelson was among the first to comment favorably on Hoffman’s infantile screed.

The overwhelmingly negative reaction to Hoffman’s post focused on the obvious cheek of an ingrate who has earned more than $30 million despite a playing record that is derisory in career-defining major championships and only slightly better in regular Tour events. Fans, it seems, are weary of hearing even journeymen express entitlement to a king’s ransom, or at least a Crown Prince’s, thanks to the leverage afforded them by the threat of a breakaway circuit. But of all the players who could have brandished the Saudi sword this week, Hoffman was by far the most damaging. Which is why his distemper should make the Tour draw a line in the sand in how it responds to that threat going forward.

Waste Management sponsors the Phoenix Open. The company also sponsors Hoffman. And yet the 45-year-old, who hasn’t held a trophy in six years, felt sufficiently emboldened to embarrass his partner during its biggest week. Hoffman also sits on the PGA Tour’s Policy Board, which has discussed what is at stake with the Saudis, so he can plead stupidity but not ignorance. Still, he felt empowered to publicly rebuke his commissioner and tag the representatives of a murderous regime in the process.

That it was Hoffman who authored this episode shows just how deep the Saudi rot has set in among Tour players.

By Saturday morning, Hoffman was only slightly chastened. But the knock-on effects of his post will be felt, if not immediately seen. In tournament sponsors, who fear their events could also be held hostage to this ongoing drama. In corporations who balk at seeing their logos adorn craven apologists for a government that treats human rights as inconveniences. In agents who must choose sides as a few high-profile clients threaten to torch the house in which their many other clients live.

The looming Saudi threat is a subject of almost obsessive speculation every week on Tour, and the more time that is spent fretting about it makes it ever more likely that the entire business of golf will suffer from the distraction. Enough.

The PGA Tour’s response has been generous, to a fault. Monahan created programs that bonus stars regardless of performance, boosted FedEx Cup payouts, increased prize money in limited-field invitationals, and will launch lucrative, guaranteed money events for top players. And still all of that isn’t enough to quench the obnoxious greed of some.

It is time for the Tour to remind those players that there’s no barbed wire impeding the exit and to instead focus on stars who refuse to shake the Crown Prince’s pompoms as cheerleaders for Saudi ambitions in golf, men who are driven by history, legacy and the plentiful rewards already available.  That is a considerably more impressive roster.

Tiger Woods is out.

Jon Rahm? He’s out too.

Rory McIlroy. Ditto.

Brooks Koepka? Justin Thomas? Jordan Spieth? Out, out, out.

These are the players upon whom the future of the PGA Tour and the broader professional game will be sustained. Not Mickelson, and not the coterie of cash-poor, washed-up veterans eager for the Saudi’s insidious embrace.

For several years, Monahan’s response to this issue has been remarkably measured, an approach that lays bare the problem inherent in member-led organizations, where every hollering halfwit with a gripe must be treated like the chairman of the board. But excessive deliberation can become debilitating. A day must come—and soon—when the PGA Tour decides it will no longer be held hostage by a handful of players desperate for Saudi graft.

Let them go, if they really have the stomach for the gamble. The Tour will be no poorer for their departure.

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Charley Hoffman blasts the USGA and PGA Tour in scorched-earth level Instagram post: ‘You wonder why guys are wanting to jump ship and go play on another tour’

Charley Hoffman didn’t like a ruling during the second round of the WM Phoenix Open and let the powers-that-be know about it in an Instagram post.

Charley Hoffman may want to turn off his phone the next time a ruling doesn’t go his way.

Hoffmann, a four-time PGA Tour winner, took to Instagram on Friday and went scorched earth mode on the PGA Tour and USGA over a penalty on the par-5 13thhole at TPC Scottsdale during the second round.

It all went wrong for Hoffman after his tee shot headed right and found the water. Hoffman had no complaint about that penalty stroke. But after he took a penalty drop, his ball rolled back into the water. He was assessed a second penalty stroke that led to a score of 7 on the hole en route to shooting 1-over 72 for the day. Hoffman blamed the PGA Tour for the location of the penalty area line and charged that the USGA, an amateur association that governs the Rules of Golf in North America and Mexico, shouldn’t write the rules at the professional level.

In a leap of logic perhaps deserving of another two-stroke penalty, Hoffman implied that it is situations such as his drop that is why players are interested in leaving the Tour for the proposed Saudi-backed Super Golf League (as if that has nothing to do with the boatloads of money reportedly being offered). Take a moment to appreciate how ticked off Hoffman must have been to hit send on this post. With no further adieu, here’s Hoffman’s Instagram post:

“What a joke,” Hoffman said on the social media site. “Dropped twice then place on a small tuff of grass. Turned around the ball started rolling into the water. I was under the impression that the USGA had changed that rule. I was wrong. Had to take another penalty for doing nothing wrong at all. Did everything by the book. It’s still mind blowing that a group of amateurs rule the professional game of golf. I also blame the PGA Tour rules officials for putting out a terrible penalty area line where this could even happen. No accountability at any level here. No protection for the players at all.

“You wonder why guys are wanting to jump ship and go play on another tour. Players need transparency, protection and consistency. We don’t have that under the current governing bodies.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZ3EdrCFTin/

Hoffman tagged the PGA Tour and USGA and various media outlets as well as the Saudi International, which was contested last week as part of the Asian Tour and lured more than 20 PGA Tour players to play there with lucrative guaranteed money.

But Hoffman, who is a player director on the PGA Tour Policy Board, wasn’t done ranting. Next he added PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan to the conversation.

“Sorry Jay! We need to do better at all levels of the PGA Tour. Including myself who represent the players on the board of the Tour. If we don’t we won’t have a Tour any longer!” wrote Hoffman, who has won more than $32 million during his career. “Hopefully there will be a change soon.”

Among those who responded in the comments supporting Hoffman were Phil Mickelson (“I feel ya”) and Bryson DeChambeau (“Agree wholeheartedly”). Mickelson called out the Tour last week for being “obnoxiously greedy” and DeChambeau reportedly was offered $150 million to join the Saudi rival league.

But not every player lined up behind Hoffman. Emiliano Grillo and Blayne Barber sent essentially the same comment (“Haha, don’t hit it in the water”) and did so with good humor.

Just another Friday night on the PGA Tour.

Charley Hoffman loves playing at TPC Scottsdale, but he’s ‘glad it’s one week a year’

The reasons Charlie Hoffman circles the WM Phoenix Open on his calendar are plentiful.

The reasons Charlie Hoffman circles the WM Phoenix Open on his calendar are plentiful. Among them:

He’s had a 16-year relationship with title sponsor WM, so it’s natural he feels comfortable in his surroundings at TPC Scottsdale.

The golf in Phoenix can be likened to that in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas.

And finally — and this is a reality we all face — his aging body truly appreciates some time in the Arizona heat.

So even though Hoffman withdrew from last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with back issues after a 2-under 70 in his opening round, he was still eager to get after it during Thursday’s opening round. The four-time PGA Tour winner was happy with that decision at day’s end — as he used a trio of consecutive birdies on his first nine holes to finish the day with a 67. That left him just two shots off the lead after the early wave of players.

In describing his ailing back, Hoffman explained the specifics, but then quickly shifted to the reality that his age is also an issue. The UNLV grad turned 45 two days after Christmas.

Leaderboard | Tee times, TV info | PGA Tour Live streaming on ESPN+

“Degenerative disk, just bulging, fragmented, trying to dissipate — all the good stuff,” he said. “I’m no spring chicken, I’m 45 now and. … I don’t think I have ever really withdrawn from an event in my career and this has been sort of humbling, to be completely honest with you.

“It’s been a lot longer road than I ever anticipated, when I withdrew from the Houston Open back in November, I never would have thought that I wouldn’t have a start until last week. But hopefully, I finish an event this week. I never would have thought that.”

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Hoffman certainly didn’t look like a guy who’d essentially been on the shelf since before Thanksgiving, registering just one blip with a bogey on No. 8, but cashing in a total of five birdies on the day. He wasn’t supremely impressed with his own play, but he felt the Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish design was in immaculate shape.

“The course was amazing. My game was I would say very average,” he said. “I didn’t drive it very well, I was able to sort of scrounge around the golf course. And I think the greens I hit I made birdie for the most part.

“It wasn’t a very clean round, but I haven’t played a ton of rounds on the PGA Tour in a while, it’s been a long recovery with the back. And it’s nice to get in 18 solid holes.”

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As for the setting, which was back to pre-pandemic levels with massive crowds and plenty of rowdy behavior? Hoffman said it’s all part of the fun in Phoenix, and he added he’s always impressed with the effort put in by the Thunderbirds, the tournament hosts.

But could Hoffman handle a similar vibe at every PGA Tour stop?

“I’m glad it’s one week a year,” he said with a smile. “I think if it was every week it might be a little intense, but definitely one week a year this is a lot of fun and I embrace it.”

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The best commute to the Northern Trust is by ferry, and Collin Morikawa took the ride in style

Taking the ferry from lower Manhattan to Jersey City, N.J., and Liberty National Golf Club is easily the best way to get to a PGA Tour event.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Taking the ferry from lower Manhattan to Jersey City and Liberty National Golf Club is hands-down the best way to get to a PGA Tour event.

That is, unless you’re crashing at PGA National Resort & Spa during the Honda Classic or fortunate enough to rest your head at The Lodge at Torrey Pines during the Farmers Insurance Open and can stumble out of bed to the first tee. Sure, Donald Trump, pre-presidency, used to helicopter into Trump Doral back when it hosted a World Golf Championships event, but our chopper happens to be in the shop.

The next best thing is the ferry ride to Liberty National, where the great unwashed have pretty good odds they’ll be in the company of a PGA Tour pro on their ride. Members of the local First Tee chapter got an impromptu visit from World No. 1 Jon Rahm on Wednesday.

Have we mentioned the views? They’re to die for – Lady Liberty standing sentinel over New York Harbor off the coast of New York City and the Manhattan Skyline are more than Instagram-worthy. Tringale, however, has been there, snapped that photo of the Statue of Liberty so many times over the years that he had his nose in his Kindle most of the ride and said later that he was reading a golf book. But that doesn’t mean he’s not a fan of the ferry. Tringale actually switched hotels from one side of the Hudson River to the other once the free ferry for players (and all fans too, thanks to a Tour sponsor) kicked in.

Charley Hoffman wore his gym clothes and carried his golf outfit on a wire hanger whereas Collin Morikawa decided to make a grand entrance, dressing to the nines as if he we showing up at Madison Square Garden or MetLife Field for a big game. He was styling and profiling as if he were Lebron James or Tom Brady arriving in the tunnel before the NBA Finals or Super Bowl. Hey, this is the first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs after all.

“Why not make an entrance in NY, right?” Morikawa said. “Every other sport does it. I might as well make something of it. We’ve got to have fun in this sport. This is all about enjoying the day.”

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Party like it’s 2017 — Jordan Spieth is a winner again, takes Valero Texas Open

On Sunday at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course, things sure felt a lot like 2017 again.

SAN ANTONIO — There was a time when Jordan Spieth going to bed with a third-round lead meant Jordan Spieth was just a few hours from hoisting a trophy over his head.

In fact, from the 2015 Vivint Houston Open to the 2017 Northern Trust the noted Longhorn held the 54-hole lead on a dozen occasions, winning nine times. He left the other three as runner-up.

But then the 11-time PGA Tour champ fell into a slump nobody could foresee, especially for someone so young and seemingly at the start of a long stretch of dominance. A 2017 season that saw him win thrice, including the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, seemed long gone from his rearview mirror as the calendar flipped to 2021.

And even when Spieth returned to form in recent weeks, holding the 54-hole lead three times since February, he still lacked a piece that was once his calling card — closing the deal.

On Sunday at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course, things sure felt a lot like 2017 again.

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Spieth withstood a charge from veteran Charley Hoffman but kept his cool and made big shots down the stretch, capturing his first title in 1,351 days, this one in his home state.

For the 44-year-old Hoffman, the chase was an impressive one as he matched Spieth’s 33 on the front and then posted birdies on Nos. 13 and 14 to keep the pressure on. He took his biggest punch at No. 16, burying a 20-foot putt from the fringe to pull within one.

But the final stretch at the Greg Norman-designed course was Spieth’s strength throughout the week. He entered Sunday at 10 under on holes 12 through 18 and didn’t falter.

Hoffman had an 18-foot putt on No. 17 that would have temporarily pushed him into a tie, but he missed. Spieth followed by burying his own birdie putt — his 11th one-putt of the day — to take a two-stroke lead to the final hole.

Matt Wallace, who held the lead with Spieth heading into Sunday, never threatened in third place. Lucas Glover used a big day to pull near the top, shooting a 66 to finish 12 under, all alone in fourth.

Gary Woodland, Brandt Snedeker, Chris Kirk and Anirban Lahiri finished tied for fifth at 9 under.

The victory put Spieth in an interesting position for the upcoming Masters as his three other major victories have all followed similar patterns:

• Prior to winning the 2015 Masters, Spieth finished T-2 at the Shell Houston Open and second at the Valero.

• Prior to winning the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, he finished T-3 at the Memorial.

• Prior to winning the 2017 Open Championship, Spieth won the Travelers.

Spieth will now try to become just the third player since 1960 to win at Augusta after winning the week before the Masters. Sandy Lyle did so in 1988 after winning the Greensboro and Phil Mickelson turned the trick after capturing the BellSouth Classic.

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