Charley Hoffman ultimately delivered on his promise to Tiger Woods despite coming up short at the WM Phoenix Open.
Charley Hoffman delivered on his promise to Tiger Woods after initially being denied an exemption by the former World No.1 into this week’s Genesis Invitational, which is hosted by the Tiger Woods Foundation on the PGA Tour.
Hoffman, 47, lost a close playoff match to Nick Taylor, the runner-up from the previous year, and missed an opportunity to become the second-oldest winner of the WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale on Sunday.
Hoffman has, nevertheless, made it into Woods’ tournament this week, which has a massive $20 million total prize fund. This is in spite of the fact that Hoffman will not be eligible for any of the remaining PGA Tour Signature Events this season, nor for many other benefits that come with winning on the Tour in 2024.
Only, he didn’t know about it until late on Sunday night, when the media informed him.
Hoffman now enters the renowned Riviera for this week’s Genesis Invitational after passing through the PGA Tour’s new AON Swing 5.
The top five players who have accrued the most FedEx Cup points from the Sony Open, American Express, Farmers Insurance Open, and WM Phoenix Open this season are eligible for the Aon Swing 5 incentive.
Hoffman, who is ranked fourth on the list, is among the top five candidates for an exemption into the Woods event, along with Matthieu Pavon, Grayson Murray, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, and Kevin Yu.
Tiger Woods receives his promise from Charley Hoffman.
Hoffman was understandably disappointed after missing out on a fifth PGA Tour championship and his first in almost eight years in Arizona on Sunday, but at least one reporter was able to lift his spirits by letting him know he had qualified for the Woods Foundation-hosted Genesis Invitational.
The reporter said to Hoffman, “The Aon Swing 5 has got you into Genesis, just a few comments on that.” Hoffman answered, “Did it?!”
Hoffman went on, “That’s fantastic. That excites me greatly. I guess I’ll be playing instead of skiing the following week.
“We intended to spend a few days skiing in Mammoth. We’ll have to adjust those plans, I suppose.”
Hoffman then shared a little-known tale about Tiger Woods and how, in the end, he kept his word to the 15-time major winner.
According to Woods, there didn’t seem to be any exemptions left for the Genesis Invitational earlier this month.
So Hoffman took things into his own hands.
Hoffman said:
“So I asked Tiger for an exemption and he said they’re all taken, so I said, I’ll play my way in, so I guess I did.”
When pressed for comment about his near-miss at the WM Phoenix Open, Hoffman admitted he could not have played much better having closed with a pair of 64s.
Hoffman, once 20th in the OWGR, said:
“Yes, I have to give Nick credit for his persistence in keeping me in the running in the last moments. After making birdies on 16 and 18, he returned on 18 and 18. During his final five holes, he made four birdies. Bravo to him for taking that action.” I gave it my all. I allowed myself to try. I left a putt short in regulation because I knew it would be difficult for him to catch me if I reached that 22 number. I adore the juices, though. I adore engaging in competition. This causes a small internal fire to grow. I’d really like to return here.”
Now that he’s back to full fitness, Hoffman thinks he can still compete with the best in the business on the PGA Tour despite nearing the age of 50.
“Trust me, I want to kick the butts of all these young guys. I want to beat them as I relax. Be a part of these Signature Events, please. Once more, I want to be among the best in the world. I want to prove to these guys that I’m still got it and I can compete if I’m well enough.
He continued, saying:
“It’s been great to be able to practice and play every week and not just hopefully get a start and get in the round, but my back has been bad and just a lot of maintenance.”
If I’m healthy, I can still compete against these guys, but I can’t do it with a sore back.”
Hoffman gains some solace not only by making it into the Genesis Invitational this week, but also by shooting up the OWGR from 300th to 108th and rising to 25th in the FedEx Cup standings for the entire season.
In addition, he receives a meager $959,200 for coming in second at the Phoenix Open.
With $34,484, 336, Hoffman now climbs to the 30th spot on the all-time PGA Tour earnings list (players who were dropped from the list because they joined the LIV Golf League are not included in this list).
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