Win probabilities: THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – He is back on the PGA TOUR for the first time since November 2019, back among friends, back in golf which has “always been something that I love.” But when Morgan Hoffmann is asked why he’s back at age 32, the answer hits on all angles of a story that pulls at the heartstrings and introduces worlds of wellness and holistic health that are not the norm. Some players return to the Korn Ferry Tour or a former coach to rediscover secrets to the game; Hoffmann in 2018 spent time in Nepal and for most of the last two years has resided in Costa Rica “with a drive for health” his main goal. “It is,” said Luke Donald, who played a Tuesday practice round with Hoffmann at the RBC Heritage, “a fascinating story, isn’t it?” Indeed, it is. Diagnosed with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) in 2017, Hoffmann wanted answers and was told nothing could be done. He refused to accept that and explored worlds that were available to him, so long as he had an open mind. Oh, did he ever. Nepal is where he went to cleanse himself. But the move to Costa Rica for Hoffmann and his wife, Chelsea, to live among “healers” unlocked ways to treat his muscular dystrophy and to reassess so many other aspects of his world. Hoffmann appreciates that people who embrace Western medicine will perhaps be lost to know what he’s embarked upon, but part of his mission to return to the PGA TOUR is to educate people. He has started a foundation and wants to build a wellness center in Costa Rica. “A lot of people call some of the things that I’ve embarked upon as hallucinogenic, but the way I see them is so much different,” said Hoffmann. “I think it’s like a backdoor or side door to different dimensions or different planes. I don’t really have it down yet; I’m still questioning and trying to figure it all out.” His journey from the PGA TOUR to Nepal to Costa Rica and back to the PGA TOUR was recently reported thoroughly and beautifully in Golf Digest by Dan Rapaport. Hoffmann said he received “amazing positive feedback.” But he laughs, too, because his journey “can be deemed as crazy, but I think that’s kind of what most people see me as anyway.” Donald, who got to know Hoffmann years ago and has stayed in touch, finds nothing crazy about the story. Rather, Donald admires how in Hoffmann’s quest to cleanse himself physically and mentally, important lessons have been learned. “I think everyone is excited to see the progress he’s made with the knowledge he’s gained and the self-belief he has,” said Donald. “He’s content. We always think we need material to be happy, but I think he’s learned that less is more.” While Hoffmann reported that he felt fine, that he was back to working out diligently, that his pectorals “are coming back from the atrophy, which is huge and very, very exciting,” Donald saw that himself and came away impressed. “We didn’t talk too much about his illness,” said Donald. “But he has figured out how to heal his mental self. He looks good. It doesn’t look anything has been degenerative.” The golf component to Hoffmann’s story is one of long odds. Playing in the RBC Heritage on one of three remaining starts on a medical extension, he must accumulate 238.42 FedExCup points to maintain full status, which he held in his most recent full season as a pro, 2017-18. Now he’s spent the majority of the past two years living in Costa Rica, where hitting wedges on the beach with his dog, Yama, a 4-year-old Doberman, can’t be considered prime prep work for the PGA TOUR. Plus, Hoffmann reported that he broke his shoulder and two ribs in a motorcycle accident in his driveway in Costa Rica and “it’s been a really tough rehab.” Still, he’s been working on his physical fitness and most recently was at the Ohoopee Match Club in Cobbtown, Georgia, “for the last 10 days or so.” He reports that “the swing speed is getting back slowly” and that being at Harbour Town Golf Links brings him back to being a 12-year-old. That’s because Hoffmann, who grew up in Wyckoff, New Jersey, attended the IJGA Academy with Gary Gilchrist on Dafauskie Island, “and we would come over here to Harbour Town to play on weekends.” It’s a homecoming, of sorts, on two fronts. A return to an area where he spent some of his formative years and to a community of PGA TOUR brethren. Which invites the question: What does Morgan Hoffmann expect of himself this week? “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. “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 (on TOUR), so might as well shoot for the stars, right?” In a way, he already has done that in an inspiring way.

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AVONDALE, La. – Adam Scott and Jason Day entered this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans with high hopes of showing why they should be partners in December at the Presidents Cup in their home country of Australia. Unfortunately, they failed to make the cut. An even-par 72 in the second round of Foursomes play left them at 7 under, one shot outside the cut line when Round 2 finally ended Saturday morning. Two late bogeys – Scott missed a 6-1/2 par putt at the 16th and a 3-footer at the 17th – proved costly. “Just unfortunate that we bogeyed 16 and 17 today,� Day said. “It was hard. There’s no excuses. We did have the tougher side of the draw, but there’s no excuses. “We just needed to come out and play well, and unfortunately I think we just didn’t have the momentum going.� RELATED: Leaderboard | Tee times | How team format works Scott, too, was disappointed, noting that he and Day failed to build on their 7-under 65 in the first round of Four-balls. “The Foursomes format can be tough,� Scott said. “… We missed greens from the fairway and then our short games were under pressure. It’s tough to get a rhythm going, and we were grinding hard and didn’t quite get it going.� Five of the 14 partnerships in which both players represented International Team countries made the cut in a week in which Captain Ernie Els pinpointed as a key building block for his team’s chances against the Americans. Els and fellow South African Trevor Immelman, one of his assistants, did not make the cut. Below is a quick look at how the other 13 teams fared after 36 holes, with each player’s International Team points ranking in parentheses. The top eight in points after the TOUR Championship will automatically qualify for the Presidents Cup, with Els making four Captain’s Picks at a date closer to the December event. MADE CUT JUSTIN HARDING (7)/BRANDEN GRACE (15) – The South Africans followed up their 65 in Four-balls with a 4-under 68 in Foursomes, leaving them at 11 under, three shots off the lead. That’s the highest position of any International duo entering the third round. COREY CONNERS (12)/MACKENZIE HUGHES (79) – The Canadians had a roller-coaster second round with eight birdies and four bogeys, with their 68 moving them to 9 under. SHUBHANKAR SHARMA (T-80)/ANIRBAN LAHIRI (172) – The duo from India made two birdies in their last five holes to sneak inside the cutline at 8 under, including Sharma’s 13-footer at the fifth hole. SUNGJAE IM (13)/WHEE KIM (245) – Kim converted birdie opportunities that Im set up with his irons, and the South Korean duo survived a double-bogey at the 17th to shoot 72 and 8 under through two rounds. JULIAN ETULAIN (128)/ANDRES ROMERO (288) – Although neither is close to competing for a 2019 Presidents Cup spot, they showed some mettle with birdies on two of their last three holes to make the cut with a 3-under 69. MISSED CUT JASON DAY (6)/ADAM SCOTT (11) – Those two late bogeys were painful in their even-par 72. LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN (2)/CHARL SCHWARTZEL (72) – The South African veterans started their Foursomes round with lost balls on consecutive tee shots en route to a quintuple bogey 9. Their 6-over 78 tied for the worst score of the second round. ABRAHAM ANCER (9)/JHONATTAN VEGAS (23) – Ancer (Mexico) just missed on a 21-foot eagle putt at the 18th that would’ve made the cut. Shot 2-under 70 in the second round.. SI WOO KIM (10)/SANGMOON BAE (73) – The South Koreans struggled in the middle of their round, dropping five shots in a six-hole stretch. DANNY LEE (25)/SUNG KANG (35) – Ended the second round with two birdies but their 72 wasn’t enough. DYLAN FRITTELLI (43)/JOAQUIN NIEMANN (117) – An early double-bogey and a seven-hole stretch with five bogeys sealed their fate. CARLOS ORTIZ (71)/SEBASTIAN MUNOZ (146) – Shot a pair of 71s but played better in Foursomes than Four-balls. JOHN SENDEN (T-255)/ROD PAMPLING (T-440) – The veterans from Australia aren’t in consideration for Presidents Cup spots, but they finished strong with four second-nine birdies in shooting 70.

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