Jordan Spieth leads the class of 2011

Trinity Forest Golf Club is back to host its second edition of the AT&T Byron Nelson, the PGA TOUR’s longtime Dallas stop, after Aaron Wise’s record-breaking performance last year. Jordan Spieth makes his ninth appearance in his hometown event, still seeking to top his share of 16th he achieved in his debut as a teenager. Fellow Texan Ryan Palmer also tees it up for the first time since winning the Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Jon Rahm. FIELD NOTES: Patrick Reed takes his first spin around Trinity Forest, hoping for better fortune than his three previous Nelson appearances. His best finish at TPC Four Seasons was a share of 20th. … In all, Trinity Forest welcomes eight of the top 30 in the current FedExCup standings. … European Tour standouts Thomas Pieters and Thorbjorn Olesen were given sponsor exemptions as they prepare for next week’s PGA Championship at Bethpage Black. … Tony Romo, CBS’s top NFL analyst, takes a sponsor invite for the first time in the city where he spent 14 NFL seasons. He’s previously made two starts in the Corales Puntacana Championship, missing the cut each time. … Former U.S. Amateur runner-up Doug Ghim, a University of Texas alum, also tees it up on an exemption. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 points. STORYLINES: Koepka tees it up for the third straight week after teaming with younger brother Chase for a share of 22nd at the Zurich Classic. Koepka also was second at The Honda Classic in March. … Spieth hopes a little home flavor will help turn around a scuffling season that has yet to produce a top-20 finish. A share of 21st at the Masters has been his best finish since last year’s FedExCup playoffs. … Spieth or Boo Weekley can become the 16th man to complete the “DFW Double� by winning both Dallas-Fort Worth events in their career. Spieth captured the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial in 2016; Weekley did it three years earlier. … Wise carded all four rounds in the 60s at Trinity Forest, making him the 13th winner in the past 19 Nelsons to accomplish that feat. In all, 14 entrants last year broke 70 in every round. COURSE: Trinity Forest Golf Club, 7,371 yards, par 71. Surrounded by the Great Trinity Forest, but without a tree on the property itself, the 2016 Ben Crenshaw/Bill Coore design was built over 160 acres of sand-capped landfill. The layout more resembles a windswept rolling meadow that offers fans numerous spots to watch the action on multiple holes. Most striking is a double green serving Nos. 3 and 11, one of the largest in North America at roughly 35,000 square feet. Last year’s Nelson debut was a birdie fest, as only one course on TOUR surrendered more birdies and eagles than Trinity Forest’s 1,970. For those visiting the Dallas-Fort Worth area, must-play courses include The Tribute at The Colony (The Colony, Texas), Cowboys GC (Grapevine, Texas) and Bear Creek GC (Dallas). Book your reservations via TeeOff.com. 72-HOLE RECORD: 259, Steven Bowditch (2015 at TPC Four Seasons). Note: Aaron Wise’s 23-under-par 261 in 2018 is the lowest against par; Bowditch was 18-under after heavy rain turned TPC Four Seasons into a par-69 layout for the final three rounds. 18-HOLE RECORD: 60, Arron Oberholser (2nd round, 2006 at Cottonwood Valley GC), Keegan Bradley (1st round, 2013 at TPC Four Seasons). Trinity Forest record: 61, Marc Leishman (1st round, 2018). LAST YEAR: Wise withstood a four-hour rain delay to make Trinity Forest’s inaugural hosting of the AT&T Byron Nelson his own first PGA TOUR win, closing with a 6-under-par 65 in dying light for a three-shot triumph. Wise fired three rounds of 65 or better at the new venue, sharing the 54-hole lead with Marc Leishman and pulling away with a string of four birdies around the turn. That gave the former Oregon standout a four-shot advantage with eight holes to play, each of which he parred down the stretch to set a tournament record at 23 under for the week. Wise also became the second-youngest winner of the event (21 years, 10 months), just six months older than when Tiger Woods captured the 1997 edition at TPC Four Seasons. Leishman stood alone in second after a 68; Branden Grace was another shot back after a Sunday 62. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3:30-6:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday-Sunday, 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured groups). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday-Friday, 12:00 to 22:30 GMT. Saturday-Sunday, 14:30 to 22:00. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-6:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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It’s not like Morgan Hoffmann could just go to the drugstore and get a prescription filled and he’d suddenly feel better. Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy doesn’t work that way. There’s no known cure for the progressive neuromuscular disorder that the PGA TOUR veteran has. For five years, Hoffmann had consulted more than two dozen different doctors in an effort to find out why his right pectoral muscle seemed to be deteriorating. He could tell his swing speed had decreased and he could see the atrophy in his chest when he looked in the mirror. In December of 2016, Hoffmann received the life-altering diagnosis of FSHD, which primarily affects the muscles of the face, chest, shoulders and upper arms. There is no treatment to halt or reverse the progression of the disease that reportedly affects one in 15,000-20,000 adults in the United States. Hoffmann eventually went public a year later, writing a first-person essay in The Players Tribune that touched on not only the diagnosis but also his desire to raise awareness of the disease and continue his long-time mission to promote health and wellness for kids in need. “All the doctors in the U.S. told me there was no cure and pretty much (said) good luck,â€� Hoffmann recalls. “… That’s pretty unfortunate to hear what the doctors had to say, but I don’t believe that.â€� So, Hoffmann, who is playing in this week’s Sanderson Farms Championship, decided to take control of his body and his health. One of the first things he did was go to Nepal for four months to undergo a series of herbal and holistic treatments. Hoffmann actually had been to Nepal before. He and one of his Oklahoma State teammates, Sean Einhaus, whose mother is from Kathmandu, had played 108 holes to raise money to send some computers to a school that his family had built there. Several years later, Hoffmann got to see the technology put to use. This trip was different, though. The actual treatment lasted for 90 days. He’d stretch out on a bed each morning, and therapists would rub herbs and plants mixed with water on him. The mixture would dry and soak into his body, then at night he could finally shower. The next day, they’d do it all again. “I just laid there,â€� Hoffmann remembers. “I kind of like learned the language a little bit. I had a translator and he kind of taught me a bit every day. That was cool.â€� Hoffmann thinks the treatments slowed the progression of the disease. He has also adopted an alkaline diet – eating only fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds – that proponents feel can rid a person’s body of acids that promotes disease and increases inflammation. “I just take it day by day,â€� Hoffmann says. “My muscles aren’t as fast as they used to be, and my energy is pretty good. I think my diet has a lot to do with it.â€� Hoffmann also has established a foundation to raise money to build a health and wellness center, likely in Florida, where people can learn about everything from nutrition to meditation. Two fundraising pro-ams in the span of 14 months have raised a phenomenal total of nearly $2.6 million. “We’re not raising money for research because you don’t know where it goes exactly,â€� Hoffmann says. “… We’re going to just build a health and wellness center and try to educate people on how to eat properly and make sure that they can alkalize their body and get rid of disease that way.â€� As far as golf is concerned, Hoffmann is playing this season on a major medical extension. He has six more events, counting this week’s Sanderson Farms Championship, to earn 232.40 FedExCup points so he can retain his TOUR card. Last week, Hoffmann opened A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier with rounds of 66 and 65 but shot a pair of 71s on the weekend and ended up tied for 31st. He says he has worked on getting his legs more active in his swing, and he’s excited to see some speed coming back. Most importantly, his attitude is positive. He is not stressing out about whether he can fulfill the requirements of his medical extension. He knows there are more important things in life. “I don’t see it as pressure anymore because it’s just golf and it’s something that I love and I’m just trying to have fun,â€� Hoffmann says. “I’m trying to enjoy the process.â€�

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