The First Look: Rocket Mortgage Classic

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For the record, Tom Hoge has seen the movie. And let’s be real. Isn’t that what you want to ask him when you find out he’s from Fargo, North Dakota? Yes, that Fargo. The city where Hoge grew up is the setting for the darkly comic 1996 crime film written and directed by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. The quirky movie, which stars William H. Macy and Frances McDormand, who won an Academy Award for her role, has become something of a cult classic. And no matter where he goes – Hoge now lives in Fort Worth, Texas – when he tells someone where he’s from the scenario is the same. “The first reaction is usually the movie, yes,â€� Hoge says with a wry smile. “And then the second statement is that I’m the first person they’ve ever met from North Dakota. “So I’m kind of ready for those two all the time.â€� Of course, with former North Dakota State quarterback Carson Wentz leading the Philadelphia Eagles into the Super Bowl on Sunday, the  sports landscape is changing a bit. But he grew up in Bismark and the only movie by that name is a 1940 film about the prime minister of Prussia. So, it’s just not the same. That said, “Fargoâ€� wasn’t filmed in North Dakota’s most populous city. The movie was actually shot around Minneapolis-St. Paul and in the town of Brainerd, Minnesota, which is about 90 minutes away from Fargo. “It’s kind of more out in the country than we would like to claim in Fargo,â€� Hoge said with a smile. “But it was pretty funny. A little different. Dark humor, for sure.â€� Fargo’s visitors center even has an exhibit that includes several of the original scripts, as well as few props. Among those is the wood chipper which the organization’s website calls the “most notorious prop in cinematic history.â€�  Hoge actually was born in Statesville, North Carolina, but moved to Fargo when he was 6 months old. He lived in North Dakota full-time until 2007 when he went to Fort Worth to play golf at Texas Christian University. He’s lived there ever since. At its best, the golf season in Fargo – which was voted as “America’s Toughest Weather Cityâ€� in a 2011 poll on The Weather Channel — only runs from mid-April to mid-November. Hoge can remember high school tournaments as late as in May that were snowed out but he made the most of the days when Mother Nature cooperated. “I kind of laugh, frost delays in Phoenix and places like that when it’s 40 or 45 degrees,â€� Hoge says. “I remember days out playing golf when it was 25 degrees in Fargo. “The golf courses probably didn’t like it that much but I was always trying to get out there and play.â€� Hoge started playing golf when he was 3 years old. He and his brother Charlie would tag along, hitting a few shots here and there, when their parents went to Fargo Country Club. He was inspired by Tiger Woods’ first Masters win and by the time he was 10, Hoge could be found hanging out at the golf course whenever there wasn’t any snow on the ground. “It doesn’t sound like it, Fargo, North Dakota being a golf town, but our golf club had a par-three course where the holes were 60 to 125 yards long and kids could go play that as much as they wanted,â€� he says. “It really was a good spot to grow up and learn how to play.â€� In fact, Hoge estimates, he’s one of 5 or 10 golfers from Fargo who went on to play NCAA Division I golf despite being limited by the relatively short season. A couple played on the Nationwide Tour, as did Hoge, but he is the first to make it to the PGA TOUR full-time. “There were a few times in the winter where I’d be trying to go to play in tournaments in Arizona or somewhere and there’d be snow on the ground,â€� Hoge remembers. “But I’d just kind of shovel the snow away and hit a few balls. “On more than one occasion I would say I’d be the only person on the course every day. But I always wanted to play on the PGA TOUR so I’d use whatever opportunities I had to get better.â€� When the snow piled up – Fargo had to dig out from a record 117 inches of the white stuff during the winter of 1996-97 – Hoge did have another option. He could go to the Sports Bubble and hit off mats at the indoor driving range. While it may not have been satisfying seeing the ball just go 50 yards or so, it was a good place to work on the fundamentals of the game. And it was warm. “So there’s parts when I look back on it growing up in Fargo that were very beneficial to me,â€� Hoge says. “Obviously, you’re limited just not being able to practice and get the experience other guys would in Texas and Florida or other parts of the country. “But it was a good spot. You learn work ethic up there pretty good just because your time is so much shorter than everyone else.â€� Hoge, who is quick to point out that he doesn’t miss the snow or the winters in North Dakota, is currently in the midst of the best year of his TOUR career. He’s had two top-10s in eight starts, including a tie for third at the Sony Open in Hawaii where he held the third-round lead. The way Hoge sees it, weathering the brutal winters in a city that is just 160 miles from the Canadian border, builds character and that has helped him along the way. “If you’d look at kind of the way my career’s been there’s been a lot of times where I’d been struggling and kind of close to losing status,â€� Hoge says. “And going back to the Web.com Tour finals this year I had to birdie seven of the last 12 holes to get back out on the PGA TOUR. “And I think there’s some of that fight that growing up in North Dakota instilled in me.â€�

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