In his Masters debut, former TCU golfer Tom Hoge lays out his game plan for success
If you’re not one of the best golfers in the world, you’re not receiving an invitation to the Masters. It’s the smallest field of golf’s major championships with the exemption list difficult for some of the more accomplished players to meet.
Jason Day, who was once the world’s No. 1 golfer, did not qualify for this year’s tournament. Neither did Rickie Fowler, who has two top-five finishes in his 10 Masters appearances. And the list goes on.
That’s what makes this week even more special for PGA Tour veteran Tom Hoge, the TCU product and Fort Worth native who will be playing in his first Masters starting Thursday at Augusta National Golf Club.
Hoge earned his way into the prestigious event by winning his first PGA Tour event, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, in early February. Hoge, who has odds of +10000 to win (compared to favorite Jon Rahm’s +1000), recently sat down with the Star-Telegram to discuss playing in the Masters.
Hoge is paired with two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson and Japanese amateur Keita Nakajima for the opening two rounds. The group will tee off at 11:35 a.m. Thursday.
When you think about playing in the Masters for the first time, what’s going through your head? It’s going to be fun. It’s something I’ve always dreamt of playing there. Our hardest tournament to get into is the Masters. You basically have to win in order to get in. It’s pretty cool to get to go do that for the first time and hopefully make some return trips as well.
You played the course with your dad and brother about a month ago. What are your initial thoughts on the course? It’s a very demanding golf course. You’ve really got to be sharp in all areas of your game, so that’s the focus. Making sure everything is ready to go this week. You’ve got to be sharp. They put some of those pins in the funnel areas that you see; you can make some birdies when they get some accessible pins, but you’ve really got to be sharp. The short game is certainly important around those greens that are so severe.
This will be your seventh major championship. You’ve made the cut in your last four majors, including last year’s U.S. Open and PGA Championship. Are you better equipped to handle this stage? I certainly feel more comfortable playing those big events. Now the next step is to get a little higher up on the leader board and be in contention. My best finish is around 40th, so haven’t been much of a factor in those events. It’s nice to make the cut, but I’d like to go play better in some of these events.
You’re ranked 38th in the world. Do you feel like your game is in a place to make a run? Yeah, I’ve been playing really well. I’ve been hitting it well this year. The last few weeks I haven’t putted as well as I would’ve liked, so I’ve been putting in good practice time there. But I feel good ball-striking wise. That’s going to be important. For me, if I can get that putter figured out just a little bit, get that back in the form earlier in the year, things should be in good order.
Are you playing with more confidence since you’re now a PGA Tour winner? A little bit. More than anything, it’s just all those good weeks build on each other. It’s not just the win, but I finished second at the American Express and a couple of fourth-place finishes in the fall. So it’s just building those weeks one on top of the other. It’s been a nice year for me so far and hopefully I can keep building on it.
Finally, what’s your week leading into the tournament going to look like? I’ll get there Monday morning and play nine holes on Monday. Then more practice Tuesday and Wednesday. In the majors I played early in my career, I feel like I overdid it Monday and Tuesday and then I was worn out on Thursday. So the last couple of years, I’ve just done nine-hole practice rounds and shorter practice days, so I have more energy for the actual tournament.
TCU’s Masters history
TCU has produced one Masters champion — Charles Coody in 1971.
Coody held off Jack Nicklaus to win the famed green jacket that year and has attended every Masters since. Past champions receive a lifetime exemption into the event but Coody hasn’t competed in the tournament since 2006. Coody still attends the annual champion’s dinner.
The last TCU player to play in the event was J.J. Henry in 2007. Henry finished tied for 37th that year.
Other golf news
The ClubCorp Classic, a PGA Tour Champions event featuring 50-and-older professionals and celebrities, is being held later this month at Las Colinas Country Club in Irving.
The inaugural event, scheduled from April 22-24, announced that it will grant free admission to military and first responders. Active duty, reservists, National Guard, veterans and first responders can register to receive two free tickets for each day of the tournament at https://clubcorp.spinzo.com. There are 500 tickets available each day on a first-come-first-serve basis.
This story was originally published April 5, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
