Tag: Muscular dystrophy

‘I’m just happy to be back’: Morgan Hoffmann feeling fine despite likely missing cut in RBC Heritage

“I definitely wanted to prove to myself that I could do it again.”

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Onward.

That’s Morgan Hoffmann’s mindset following his return to the PGA Tour this week in the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links. Playing for the first time in 923 days, Hoffmann, who was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy in 2017, likely missed the cut with rounds of 71-72 but proved to himself he belonged.

“I feel solid. Excited to play again,” he said after his round. “I don’t know when that will be. I’m excited about the progress. I definitely wanted to prove to myself that I could do it again. I know that I can and just need to sharpen up.

“My short game was pretty bad. I actually came into the week with my short game feeling solid. I don’t know, caught some weird lies and just didn’t really hit my spots. Putting had a lot of lips out there, and my irons can improve a lot out there.

“I knew I had a chance at least to make the cut, but it happens.”

RBC Heritage: PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ | Leaderboard

Playing on a medical exemption, Hoffmann has two more starts to secure playing privlidges for the rest of the season. He is hoping to play in the Wells Fargo Championship in three weeks. The tournament has relocated from Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, to TPC Potomac at Avenal Farm in Potomac, Maryland, as the Presidents Cup is being played at Quail Hollow in September.

“I really like that course,” he said. “I saw they did some changes. I want to play these three starts I have somewhat soon so I can continue playing the rest of the year and hopefully get my card for next year.

“If the Tour doesn’t have an opposite field event, I’d play probably a couple Korn Ferry events. Just depends on where my status is.”

Hoffmann, whose search for alternative treatments for his incurable disease took him around the world and led to his present home in the mountains and jungles of Costa Rica, will stay in Jupiter, Florida, while his home is being renovated.

He’ll continue to hone his game – especially his long game that he thinks he can cure with more repetitions – and look forward to raising more awareness that non-conventional treatments can help people in search of improving health. In 2017, Hoffmann and his wife, Chelsea, established the Morgan Hoffmann Foundation to help the fight against muscular dystrophy. The two’s goal is to build a wellness center in Costa Rica, tentatively called Nekawa, which is awaken backward.

“What surprised me the most (this week) was how pure this course was and just how pure PGA Tour events are and how awesome the camaraderie and welcoming back was,” he said. “The support was amazing. I felt very grateful.

“It was really special. I’m just happy to be back out.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Diagnosed with MD in 2017, Morgan Hoffmann makes remarkable return to PGA Tour, shoots 71 in first action in 923 days

There were no signs of Hoffman’s battle against an incurable disease.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – If one didn’t know the fascinating tale of Morgan Hoffmann, he or she would have had no idea watching him play golf in Thursday’s first round of the RBC Heritage that he was diagnosed in 2017 with muscular dystrophy.

They would have seen no hints that the disease had savagely attacked the former muscle-bound, world No. 1 amateur’s body and sent him worldwide in search of alternative cures involving non-conventional and ancient treatments, a journey that led to his current residence in the jungles and mountains of Costa Rica, where he lives with his wife, three dogs, two cats and healthy doses of peace and purpose.

That some of the healing choices along the way included urine therapy, a diet of hundreds of grapes per day, potent hallucinogens – and plenty of meditation and surfing.

No, there were no signs of his daily battle against an incurable disease. Instead, they saw a happy, healthier Hoffmann fire an even-par 71 on Harbour Town Golf Links in his first action on the PGA Tour in 923 days.

2022 RBC Heritage
Morgan Hoffmann plays his shot from the second tee during the first round of the 2022 RBC Heritage at Harbor Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. (Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

In his remarkable return, he had three birdies and three bogeys, at one time reaching 2 under. He’s still regaining more strength – he averaged 275 yards on the measured holes. He split the fairway on the first hole with his first shot and hit 80 percent of the fairways on the tight course he adores.

RBC Heritage: Friday tee times | PGA Tour Live on ESPN+ | Leaderboard

Ahead of his first round, he said he felt like a 12-year-old playing an AJGA event, that he just hoped to have fun and smile a lot. Mission accomplished.

“A lot of fun moments today,” he said. “I felt great. The first tee shot wasn’t as nerve-racking as I thought it would be. The game didn’t feel anywhere near as bad as I thought it was, so it was pretty exciting.

“I didn’t have really any goals of a score, I guess, per se, but I was just trying to hit it solid. I mean, 80 percent of (the shots) were decent enough. So I hit some balls on the range after, and I think I should have a good round tomorrow.”

Harold Varner III, who shot 67, played with Hoffmann and said he’s “still good at golf. It’s like riding a bike. Obviously it’s going to take a while to get the rust off, but it’s just good to see him.”

Hoffmann is playing on a medical exemption and has three starts to regain full playing status for the rest of the season. But right now he’s focused on Friday.

“I’m going to go kind of by the seat of my pants on this one, hoping that I play well. If I don’t get my card back in the three starts, hopefully get some sponsor’s exemptions for the rest of the year,” Hoffmann said. “If I don’t get sponsor’s exemptions, probably try to Monday (qualify) in a few.”

Hoffmann is eight shots behind pace-setting Cameron Young, who shot a bogey-free 63. Joaquin Niemann is at 65. Six players – Patrick Cantlay, Graeme McDowell, Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka, Miro Pereira and Corey Conners – are at 66. Conners punctuated his round with an ace on the seventh hole – a 7-iron from 187 yards. It was his fourth ace in the past three seasons, the most of any player.

As for Hoffman, he isn’t back just to play golf. He hopes to raise awareness that non-conventional treatments can help people in search of improving health, that there are many paths to getting better. In 2017, Hoffmann and his wife established the Morgan Hoffmann Foundation to help the fight against muscular dystrophy. Their goal is to build a wellness center in Costa Rica, tentatively called Nekawa, which is awaken spelled backward.

“It was pretty surreal today, a lot different than the lifestyle I’ve been living the last 2½ years, and having people cheer your name out there, it’s very special,” he said. “Having the support and the media and getting that kind of focus on what we’re trying to build, the natural health and wellness center in Costa Rica, it’s going to be great. I’m really excited about the outcome and the building process.”

He’s excited about his game, too. He loves how he’s putting but knows he needs to get longer – repetitions will help in that area.

“I love this game so much,” he said. “It’s so difficult. I had a great time out there. I think the game’s closer than I thought, and it’s exciting. I’m pumped.”

[vertical-gallery id=778263380]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Morgan Hoffmann’s return to PGA Tour has been a fascinating, soul-searching ride, including urine cleansing, hundreds of grapes

“I think I have been put in this position for a reason and I just want to help people believe in themselves.”

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Morgan Hoffmann has been on a journey unlike any other from the day in 2017 he learned he was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. From treks the world over searching for alternative cures involving non-Western and ancient treatments, to his current residence with a view of the ocean but no windows or doors in the mountains and jungles of Costa Rica, to back to the PGA Tour with his former fellow peers.

Along the way, with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy deteriorating his patience and ravaging his body, the former muscle-bound World No. 1 amateur who turned pro in 2011 ate 800 grapes per day for 17 days, went through urine therapy that included using his excretion as mouth wash when he spent 90 days in Nepal, and spent four days absorbing an ancient mishmash that contained the potent hallucinogen DMT.

“On paper it’s definitely interesting, it’s a crazy story, for sure,” the 32-year-old said Tuesday ahead of Thursday’s start of the RBC Heritage at Harbor Town Golf Links. It will be his first action on the PGA Tour since the 2019 Shriners Children’s Open.

“Any athlete in this position or anybody with a drive for health would do something similar as well and I don’t think I’m special in any way. I think I have been put in this position for a reason and I just want to help people believe in themselves and get through really anything that they’re going through.”

RBC Heritage: Best bets | Sleeper picks | PGA Tour streaming on ESPN+

Hoffmann’s tale was reported recently in a fascinating piece by Golf Digest. But it’s an account that deserves to be retold many times over. And with his improved health, the latest chapter in his story involves golf again.

“I knew that golf has always been something that I love and I wanted it to be fun again,” he said. “And I’ve always put a lot of pressure on myself and I think that’s why on Tour previous to this was the reason why I didn’t reach my potential, at least in my mind. So I just wanted the main goal when I came back to be fun.”

Hoffmann said since he left Nepal about three years ago, his body has slowly gotten stronger. While his swing speed continues to gradually improve, he has been in the states for the past 10 days honing his skills.

“There hasn’t been any more atrophy, which has been amazing,” Hoffmann said. “And now, my right pec was the worst, it just, it kind of got down to my ribs, where all you could see is bone, and now like when I put my hand here and I flex, I can feel it again, which is pretty cool. It’s been improving slowly and now I’m in kind of the testing process of pushing it back in the gym again to see how hard I can go. I’m back in the gym every day and getting stronger. It feels really solid.

“I’m being subdued to the excitement of seeing muscle firing again right now.

“Every day is a success.”

For the most part, his days have been a success since he moved to Costa Rica in 2020 where he and his wife, Chelsea, live with three dogs and two cats. Daily meditation and surfing are often on his agenda – he let his hair out and resembled Jeff Spicoli from “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.” He’s at peace and cherishes his soul-searching exploration to discover what makes him feel better fighting an incurable disease.

In 2017, he and his wife established the Morgan Hoffmann Foundation to help the fight against muscular dystrophy. The two’s goal is to build a wellness center in Costa Rica, tentatively called Nekawa, which is awaken backward. The cost, he estimated, would be around $1 million; Hoffmann earned $6 million on the Tour, plus sponsorship money, and currently has other investments.

“Now that I’m having some success with my health I can show people who are interested and who have questions on what I’ve done to heal something that has been deemed incurable,” Hoffmann said. “How to do it naturally and I think there’s many paths to health and it’s really exciting to give that advice to someone and not just say, oh, there’s just this one way. Because I found there’s so many.”

His mind, however, is on the task at hand this week in the RBC Heritage. He was aiming to return for the Honda Classic in February, but on the way to the gym in Costa Rica in December, he crashed his motorcycle on his steep driveway and wrecked his shoulder and cracked two ribs. But he’s healthy again and back on the PGA Tour.

“I’ve been telling everybody I feel like a little 12-year-old kid again playing an AJGA (event) out here,” he said after his practice round at Harbor Town. “Just playing this course is very euphoric for me. It’s one of my favorite courses in the world; you got to be very creative around it and my game is the creative type.”

And what does he expect?

“Some smiles,” he said. “Some golf on a beautiful course. That’s really about it. I’ve been practicing hard and my game actually feels pretty solid. I have a great caddie on the bag this week and my clubs are dialed in, so I feel good. I don’t really know. Obviously, you come to tournaments to win and I’ve never done that before, so might as well shoot for the stars, right?”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]