Tag: Charley Hoffman

Brendan Steele in ideal place to make amends, leads Sony Open in Hawaii by 2

With 18 holes left in Honolulu, 16 players are within five shots of the lead, 22 within six shots. Weather has moved up Sunday tee times.

Brendan Steele is in position to take care of some unfinished business.

Steele led last year’s Sony Open in Hawaii by three shots with two holes to play but couldn’t close it out and eventually lost in a playoff to Cameron Smith. A year later, he’s right where he wants to be to exorcise that haunting defeat.

Steele posted a bogey-free, 9-under-par 61 in Saturday’s third round at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu and will take a two-shot lead into the final round. The 61 is the lowest round of the week (Kevin Na finished an hour earlier than Steele with a 61 as well). Steele obviously likes the iconic Seth Raynor design hard by the sea and has 22 birdies against just four bogeys in 54 holes.

“The first practice round we played was on the back nine and I was remembering some shots, some good and some bad, kind of kicking myself a little bit,” Steele said. “You hope that you come back and you play well and erase whatever negative memories there are, but all the memories are pretty positive.

“Playing great here last year was good, and I’m excited for the challenge tomorrow. I’m swinging really well and my course management is very good. The putts are really feeling good even if they don’t go in. I’m very happy all the way around.

“I know it’s going to be really tough. Guys are coming after me. But I’ll just do my best and hopefully it will be enough.”

Sony Open in Hawaii: Photo gallery | Leaderboard

Steele is right; a lot of guys are coming after him. He was one of six players who held at least a share of the lead in the third round. The final round could be similar as the leaderboard is stacked.

He is two shots clear of Na and Joaquin Niemann (63), who lost in a playoff to Harris English in last week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Five players are three back at 15 under – Peter Malnati (64), Charley Hoffman (64), Chris Kirk (third consecutive 65), Russell Henley (65), and Stewart Cink (65), who won the season-opening Safeway Open.

Four back at 14 under are third-round leader Nick Taylor (68), Keith Mitchell (63), Daniel Berger (64) and Marc Leishman (65).

Four players are at 13.

In all, 16 players are within five shots of the lead, 22 within six shots.

“I know I’m going to have to go shoot a great round,” said Steele, who is looking for his fourth PGA Tour title and first since the 2017 Safeway Open. “I know it’s going to be really hard. There should be a lot of birdies out there even with the wind picking up a little bit. I know I’m going to have to shoot one of the best rounds I’ve ever shot to go win it. So that’s what I’m going to go try to do.”

After three glorious days at Waialae, conditions could be very different in the final round and it could be a soggy sprint to the finish. Tee times were moved up two hours because of the potential for late afternoon showers. As well, as Steele said, the winds are expected to strengthen.

“If it’s soft, you can be more aggressive out here,” said Hoffman. “Obviously the wind is the protector on this golf course. If the wind is blowing, par is a pretty good score. If it’s just raining and soft, I expect a lot of birdies.

“I don’t think the forecast is for too much wind, so I expect guys to still keep making birdies out here, and you’ve got to go low tomorrow and keep it going.”

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Must be Thursday: Charley Hoffman grabs share of Sanderson Farms lead

Charley Hoffman has had at least a share of the lead after the first round on the PGA Tour six times in his career and No. 7 looks likely.

It’s not surprising that Charley Hoffman grabbed a share of the lead in the Sanderson Farms Championship.

It was Thursday, after all.

Hoffman has had at least a share of the lead after the first round six times in his career and No. 7 looks likely after he shot an 8-under-par 64 at the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi. He shared the lead with 2015 PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker among the early finishers.

Michael Gligic shot 65 while four players were at 66, including 2011 PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley.

“Because I play better than everybody on Thursday,” Hoffman joked when asked about his first-round success. “No, I mean, I think I come in with a good game plan. I think on Sunday I may in the past have not tried to execute the same game plan depending on where I am in the lead. That may be why I haven’t played as well as I’ve wanted to on Sundays. But on Thursday the game plan I set up early in the week and I follow through with it, and it usually pans out pretty well.”

Sanderson Farms: Leaderboard | Tee times, TV info

Hoffman has four PGA Tour titles, his most recent coming in the 2016 Valero Texas Open. None of the four, however, came after he took at least a share of the lead in the first round. His best finish after grabbing at least a share of the first-round lead was a tie for seventh in the 2013 Travelers Championship.

In hopes of turning his Thursday triumphs into a Sunday trophy, Hoffman will follow his game plan – hit fairways and greens – and rely on his new found length.

Spurred by his birth certificate – he’s 43 – and the enormous length of reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, Hoffman has worked to get longer. In the first round, he hit nine of 14 fairways in regulation and was ranked fifth in driving distance at 303.7 yards. He also hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation.

Hoffman has been working with Greg Rose of the Titleist Performance Center in San Diego to lengthen his swing, thus lengthen his drives.

“I’ve never struggled with yardage until the last like couple years,” Hoffman said. “That was never something I really explored before, so I started exploring how to do it. (Rose) trained a bunch of long drive guys, and it’s something that I’ve trained to do, be a little more efficient, swing longer. The reality is in this day and age it’s more important to be long than straight, so that’s something I’m trying to do.

“I’ve gotten in better shape throughout the years, but I wouldn’t say I’ve trained to hit it longer. I’m learning to be more efficient and hit it longer.

“It’s just the game is changing.”

But Hoffman won’t try and keep up with the big hitters all the time.

“As an older guy I’ve got to pay attention when I’m swinging it hard,” he said. “As I’ve said to people, my speed, I can get it up there pretty high. I don’t hit it on every shot. If there’s a par-5 where I need to get home in two I’m going to swing hard and hopefully hit the fairway. The other holes, like 18, I’m going to try to put it in the fairway and probably not swing quite as hard.”

Sanderson Farms Golf
Caddies walk up the ninth fairway during the first round of the 2020 Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi. Photo: Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press

Walker made the softest shots he hit count. After missing birdie putts from five feet on his first two holes, Walker made a slight adjustment in his stance and started making a bunch of putts. His 64 was his lowest round by five shots since golf returned in June following a 13-week break due to COVID-19.

“I haven’t been playing very well, but I feel good, and it just hasn’t really clicked yet,” Walker said. “I had a really good nine holes last week at home, and I was like, this is starting to feel pretty good, and seeing some putts go in. I had one good round at the U.S. Open.

“But last week at home was good. I’ve had some tendonitis in my elbow, shoulder has been hurting, so it’s been tough. I didn’t do much last week at home. I just rested quite a bit and I was with my buddies, but it actually felt pretty good day.”

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Abraham Ancer, Cameron Champ among four-man field in Northern Trust Charity Challenge

Abraham Ancer, Cameron Champ, Charley Hoffman and Marc Leishman will participate in the Northern Trust Charity Challenge at TPC Boston.

Abraham Ancer, Cameron Champ, Charley Hoffman and Marc Leishman will participate in the Northern Trust Charity Challenge Wednesday at TPC Boston. And if you hear them cry “Wolf,” just know they are asking for help from Matthew Wolff.

The nine-hole televised event with a $300,000 purse will be at 2-4 p.m. Eastern.

The Charity Challenge will be played on the back nine at TPC Boston in the Wolf format, in which all four players will compete independently to earn money for organizations benefitting education and youth services in the Greater Boston area. The winning golfer receives $125,000 for his chosen charity, second place receives $75,000 and third and fourth earn $50,000.

In the Wolf format, the “Wolf” is the first player to tee off. The order the players will tee off is decided prior to the round, and the teeing order is rotated at each hole. After each player tees off, the “Wolf” decides whether to take that player as a teammate, wait for the next player to tee off and choose him or play as a “Lone Wolf” after all three have teed off and attempt to earn the lowest score on the hole.

The player who wins the hole earns one point, but a “Lone Wolf” earns up to five points for the lowest score. The “Lone Wolf” point determination is based on when they decided to play the hole without a teammate.

Wednesday’s charity event also will include two challenge holes for a bonus pool of $150,000: the par-4 12th for a longest-drive contest and the par-3 16th for a closest-to-the-pin contest. These bonus challenge holes benefit The Greater Boston Food Bank and The United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley in support of COVID-19 relief efforts.

The Charity Challenge can be watched on PGA Tour Live, Golf Channel, GolfTV and the PGA Tour’s social channels.

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PGA Tour restart plan will require patience, time management from players

Players will be greeted with a new normal when the PGA Tour resumes play next month at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Forth Worth, Texas.

Players will be greeted with a new normal when the PGA Tour resumes play next month at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Forth Worth, Texas.

It’s going to take some getting used to.

“What we used to do and how easy it used to be and how fluid it was, that’s not going to be that way anymore,” four-time PGA Tour winner Charley Hoffman said Wednesday during a conference call.

Hoffman is the Player Advisory Council chairman. Since the PGA Tour shut down March 12 after the first round of the Players Championship due to the COVID-19 pandemic – Hoffman shot 70 that day – he has spent hours on end working with Tour officials, other players, tournament directors and health experts developing a plan for the resumption of play June 11 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth.

The 37-page plan details safety and health rules and guidelines for the return, including layered testing protocols and social distancing standards. Its objective is to create a safety bubble to limit as much risk as possible.

“They are plans. They are not set in stone. We’re not acting like we know all the answers to this pandemic,” Hoffman said. “It’s very comprehensive, it’s very detailed, but I wouldn’t say it’s the here all end all, by any means.

“But it’s a plan for us to be safe. For this plan to work, we’re all going to have to abide by the regulations of the CDC and social distancing regulations and we’re looking forward to competing and putting the sport back on TV.”

Hoffman is “100 percent” comfortable with the testing protocols and the plan.

“We wouldn’t have gone through with this if we hadn’t had the consent from the players,” he said “I can say that every single player we have talked to is comfortable how (the plan) was laid out. I’m not saying we’re bullet-proof, by any means. This is serious and this is real. But we’re lucky to be in a sport where we don’t have to be in close contact with your competitors.”

But the days of jumping into the courtesy vehicle and getting to the course in eight minutes and then start working out 12 minutes later are gone, Hoffman said. Players will have to develop new routines to deal with the new safety measures.

For instance, upon arrival to the course, players will undergo a thermal test and take part in a questionnaire. A hot breakfast won’t be at the ready as soon as players walk into player dining. The range and practice putting green will have social distancing rules that could lead to a waiting game.

“We’re going to have to figure it out,” Hoffman said. “Time management is going to be important. The first few weeks I’m sure there will be a lot of waiting around. It’s going to be new for everybody.

“We have to be patient. But once the gun goes off, once we get inside the ropes, our instincts will come back and the competition will be amazing.”

Hoffman’s biggest reservations as the restart nears are in travel, living arrangements and eating. The plan includes a charter plane to take players and caddies to the next tournament on the schedule and a designated hotel for all at each site. Room service is highly recommended. The plan is basically a beefed up version of shelter at home guidelines.

Still, there will be increased contact with people in airplanes, hotels and the quest for food.

“I’ve gotten a ton of homecooked meals the last eight weeks or so and it’s been very nice going to the grocery store once every two weeks and staying at home and eating. That’s not the case on the road,” Hoffman said. “So you’ll be doing a lot of takeout, probably with your caddie because that’s the person you’re in closest contact with. That’s the variable where there’s a little uncertainty we’re all going to have. But I think it will be safe.”

 

Charley Hoffman, Chez Reavie join hole-in-one club for 2019-20 season

Charley Hoffman and Chez Reavie both made an ace this weekend at the QBE Shootout.

NAPLES, Fla. — Most of the golf world’s attention was trained on Royal Melbourne for the Presidents Cup over the weekend.

And with good reason.

But golf junkies probably spent the earlier parts of their weekend days watching the QBE Shootout in Florida.

If you were among those who tuned in, you saw some pretty great shot-making, including a pair of aces.

The first one came in Friday’s first round off the club of Charley Hoffman.

On the par-3 12th hole, which was measuring 207 yards, Hoffman got a hole in one to help him and teammate Kevin Kisner get to 9-under for the day.

RELATED: All the aces on Tour, 2019-20 season

Then, during Sunday’s final round of the 54-hole event, Chez Reavie joined the fun with a hole-in-one, a 9-iron on the 175-yard eighth hole.

Reavie’s reaction seemed a bit subdued, maybe because it was his sixth ace on the PGA Tour and (yawn) 22nd overall.

“It was a solid shot from the outset, going straight at the flag,” said Reavie, who took the ball out of the hole, then gave it to a youngster alongside the gallery ropes.

Reavie and teammate Kevin Chappell finished 10th out of 12 teams. Hoffman and Kisner finished T-8.

Greg Hardwig of Naples Daily News contributed to this article.

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QBE Shootout: Bubba Watson says his game is just fine

Bubba Watson: “People forget I won three times in 2018 and was ranked just out of the top 10 in the World Ranking at the end of the year.”

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Bubba Watson is not finished nor is he wallowing in golf purgatory, or even remotely disturbed about the status of his game.

The reports from the critics or golf nerds on social media, noticing he is nowhere near Australia and the Presidents Cup this week, are running the gamut on what and why is wrong with the popular Watson.

Watson, while being besieged for autographs at Tiburón Golf Club after the QBE Shootout pro-am, delivered what amounted to a stern “state of Bubba’s golf game” message.

“The critics and social media are very premature with my situation and they just continue to make up stories,” said Watson, who lives near Pensacola and is involved with numerous business ventures in the Florida Panhandle.

“I didn’t win a tournament this past year so everyone says that’s it for a 41-year-old. I plan on winning again as soon as next year.”

QBE SHOOTOUT: Round 2 tee times, TV info

What prompted the growing chorus of concern about the two-time Masters winner was a year when he missed six cuts, had only three top-10 finishes, saw him drop to his current World Ranking of 41, and 81st in the FedEx Cup standings.

“People forget I won three times in 2018 and was ranked just out of the top 10 in the World Ranking at the end of the year,” said Watson, making his fifth appearance in the QBE Shootout.

Fueling additional speculation on his status was Watson not being a captain’s pick for the Presidents Cup team or even a vice-captain, a position he served at the 2016 Ryder Cup.

“I told Tiger at his tournament in the Bahamas last week that I’m probably way down the alternate’s or vice-captain’s list and I joked with him that I might hole up on the plane and show up at Royal Melbourne,” he said. “I do have a lot of confidence that I have the leadership skills to be helpful with team events.

“I enjoy helping, even if it’s just getting a team member a sandwich or a bottle of water. I still view being selected as a captain for a team event a Hall of Fame moment, an honor and privilege. Now other considerations have come into the selection process like trying to get the right people for TV ratings.”

While Watson is focused on getting back closer to the top or into a team event, he has a good reason to be happy when he comes home.

“In the old days there was a special feel when they selected you, but today the only thing I feel special about is having a wonderful wife and two great kids,” he said. “I would give up my two green jackets for their happiness.”

Watson joked that he would be a different captain, especially with a player like Tiger Woods.

“I would tell Tiger ‘You’ve won 82 times, just sit here and eat ice cream,’” he said.

Watson is teamed up with Charles Howell III. They shot a first-round 13-under 59. They are four back of Harold Varner III and Ryan Palmer, who tied the tournament mark with a 55.

Ace for Hoffman

Charley Hoffman was planning on an expensive post round cocktail hour after making a hole on the 207-yard par-3 12th hole with a 6-iron.

“I played the shot high in the air to the right and then let it come back in,” Hoffman said. “It landed soft and Kevin told me it rolled right in.”
Partner Kevin Kisner was waiting to start the celebration.

“He owes me some drinks starting right now upstairs,” Kisner said.

Hoffman’s partner last year, Gary Woodland, made a hole in one on the eighth hole.

“Neither one of us won a car,” Hoffman said. The ace was his fifth in PGA Tour competition and the 15th overall.

OSU coach watches Hovland, Wolff

Oklahoma State coach Alan Bratton followed former players Viktor Hovland and Matthew Wolff during the first round on Friday.

“You never know how you’re going to do out here,” Bratton said in an interview with Golf Channel’s Billy Ray Brown. “I know they would end up out here eventually, but I’m just really proud of the performance that they’ve had so far. Hopefully their career looks like this and just keeps taking off.

“We had Viktor for three years prepping him, whether it was Coach (Donnie) Darr and I, and all of our former players. It’s nice, OSU has four of the 24 players this week. They’ve had plenty of mentoring. They’ve been set free now, and they’re ready to take on the world. And hopefully they keep doing what they’re doing.”

The proteges didn’t do something they’d like to keep doing Friday, shooting a 7-under 65 and sitting in last place.

“We hit it good today but made no putts,” Wolff said. “This was my first scramble ever in competition but we’ve got two days left so we need to put up some low numbers.”

Greg Hardwig contributed to this article.

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QBE Shootout odds, predictions, picks and PGA Tour best bets

Analyzing the 2019 QBE Shootout and which teams of golfers are the best options for the event. Who will win at Tiburon Golf Club?

Twelve two-man teams will compete in the QBE Shootout at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, Fla., this weekend. The 54-hole event runs three days, from Friday through Sunday.

The first round is played under scramble rules, whereby both members of each team will play every shot with the better ball being taken each time. Round 2 consists of greensomes, where both players tee off on each hole and the alternate shot is played from the spot of the better ball.

The final round is played under standard four-ball rules with each golfer playing the hole on their own and the best score being taken.

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The 7,288-yard venue plays as a par 72. The teams compete for a $3.5 million purse, but it is not an official money event and no FedExCup points are awarded.

QBE Shootout – Odds, picks and best bets

Matthew Wolff. (Photo Credit: Rob Kinnan – USA TODAY Sports)

Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET.

Viktor Hovland-Matthew Wolff (+600)

The two combine for just 42 years of age, making them younger than several of the individual golfers in this event. Hovland is expected to be a top contender for PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, while Wolff came up just short of the award last year.

Hovland, 22, placed solo fourth at last season’s Wyndham Championship for the best result of his young career. He’s ranked 96th by the Official World Golf Ranking, while Wolff, who got his first career win at the 3M Open last summer, is 117th in the world. Their odds are lower as fan favorites, but the youngsters have the length and putting, and the motivation for the early-career win in an uninspired field.

Charles Howell III-Bubba Watson (+800)

Watson, ranked 44th by the OWGR, is coming off a last-place finish at last week’s Hero World Challenge. Howell, ranked 54th in the world, missed the cut at the RSM Classic as his last event. The two combined for four victories in 2018.

Howell finished tied for third here last year with partner Luke List. Watson was sixth with Harold Varner III.

Charley Hoffman-Kevin Kisner (+1200)

Hoffman also finished T-3 a year ago (with partner Gary Woodland), while Kisner finished last with playing partner Cameron Champ. Kisner tied for seventh at last week’s Hero World Challenge exhibition. The two have plenty of length off the tee, and Kisner, who’s the defending match-play champion, can get hot and carry the team with his putter.

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Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Mayakoba Golf Classic odds, predictions, picks and PGA Tour best bets

Analyzing the 2020 Mayakoba Golf Classic and which golfers are the best options for the event. Who will win at El Camaleon GC? We break it down within.

The PGA Tour returns to North America this week for the Mayakoba Golf Classic at El Camaleon Golf Club in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The course measures 6,987 yards and plays as a par 71 under tournament conditions.

Courtesy of historical data from Fantasy National, the stats best associated with success at this venue are:

  • Strokes Gained: Approach
  • Strokes Gained: Ball Striking
  • Opportunities Gained
  • Greens in Regulation Gained

My model looks at the most recent 36 rounds for each golfer in the field.

Mayakoba Golf Classic – Tier 1

Photo Credit: Rob Kinnan – USA TODAY Sports

Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Viktor Hovland +2000

Hovland, 22, is tied with Jason Day, Matt Kuchar and Tony Finau as the tournament favorite, according to the sportsbooks. He is ranked 97th by the Official World Golf Ranking and is still looking for his first career win after turning pro in the summer. Hovland leads the field in each of the four key stats.

Emiliano Grillo +3300

Grillo is a course horse. He finished 15th last year, T-9 in 2017 and T-10 in 2016. He’s coming off a T-30 in a much stronger field at the Zozo Championship in Japan, and he placed T-26 at The CJ Cup the week before. He ranks second to Hovland in most key stats and shares the lead in SG: Approach.

Mayakoba Golf Classic – Tier 2

Photo Credit: Butch Dill – USA TODAY Sports

Chez Reavie +5000

Reavie participated in all three events the PGA Tour just played in Asia. His best result was a T-46 at The CJ Cup in South Korea. The 33rd-ranked golfer by the OWGR ranks sixth by the stat model and is in the top five of the field in SG: Ball Striking, SG: Approach and Opportunities Gained.

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Kyle Stanley +8000

Stanley plummeted down the OWGR last season while missing the cut in 10 of 25 events and picking up just one top-10 finish with a T-8 at the Wells Fargo Championship. He was ranked as high as 26th at the conclusion of the 2018 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Mayakoba Golf Classic – Longshots

Photo Credit: Ray Carlin – USA TODAY Sports

Charley Hoffman +10000

Hoffman was the 2014 champion at El Camaleon. This number is too great for a winner from just five years ago as a $10 bet returns a $1,000 profit. He hasn’t made the cut in his last four appearances at this event, but he finished T-36 at The CJ Cup and certainly has experience on the course, even with the poor recent results.

Keith Mitchell +12500

Mitchell ranks just 73rd by the stat model, but he’s an excellent value as he has typically been priced much lower than this in more competitive fields. He made the cut here in each of his last two tries.

2019-20 winners: Joaquin Niemann – A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier (+2800)

Get some action on this tournament by signing up and betting at BetMGM. If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @EstenMcLaren and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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