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 Charley Hoffman is finally being noticed for something other than his hair. The San Diego native is enjoying a successful rookie season after several years on the Nationwide Tour. Hoffman was on the 1998 UNLV golf team that won the NCAA championship and was expected to qualify for the PGA Tour when he turned pro in 2000. It didn’t happen. Hoffman played on the Nationwide Tour for a couple of years and then was relegated to mini-tours. He qualified again for the Nationwide Tour in 2004 and won the Permian Basin Charity Golf Classic, but didn’t earn enough to finish in the top 20 and get his PGA Tour card. Last year, Hoffman accomplished his goal. He finished 19th on the Nationwide Tour money list and earned an exemption. He hasn’t let the opportunity go to waste. But it was his hair that people noticed. Hoffman has blonde hair that sticks out from underneath his golf cap and makes him recognizable from two fairways away. “If I am going to walk around with this sort of hair I have to be able to take a few comments here and there,” Hoffman said. “I think that is my personality, being a little different than everybody else out here.” His golf has made a simultaneous impression. Hoffman finished tied for 16th at the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines in January, and he has three top-10 finishes this year. “Maybe [finishing high] early in the year may have been a little bit of a surprise,” Hoffman said. “It’s been happening regularly now. So now my whole focus is not just to get a top 10, it’s to get a win.” Another goal Hoffman might reach is Rookie of the Year honors, though it’s an achievement he hasn’t thought too much about. He is in a battle with Camilo Villegas and J.B. Holmes, both of whom are higher on the money list. “I think I have to get a win,” Hoffman said. “J.B. has a win already, and Camilo has a few seconds. And I’d say those two are at the top of the race. If I get a ‘W’ somewhere down the line, I think there’s a chance.” One thing is certain. Hoffman will be back next year. Though it’s midway through the season, he already has earned enough money to keep his PGA Tour card. “Sometimes you have just got to believe in yourself that you can make it through and get out here,” Hoffman said. “I think that is the most important thing. So many guys have so much talent, and until you really start believing in yourself you are not going to get over that hump to get out here.” |
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