N.J. Native Morgan Hoffmann (-7, 63) Tied For Lead In Sony Open
A 26-foot eagle putt on his final hole earned Wyckoff, N.J., native Morgan Hoffmann a share of the lead at the ongoing PGA Tour’s Sony Open at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu.
Hoffmann’s 7-under-par 63 tied him with PGA Tour regulars Brandt Snedeker, Ricky Barnes, Vijay Singh and Kevin Kisner. His round included the eagle, six birdies and one bogey (on his first hole).
Hoffmann’s eagle came on the par-5 ninth hole on Thursday, Jan. 14. He tees off Friday in the second round at 1 p.m. local time (6 p.m. on the East Coast). GolfChannel will broadcast the event live beginning Friday at 7 p.m. EST, so Hoffmann's round will be on air live. His playing partners are Boo Weekley and Kyle Stanley.
In 2014, Hoffmann, who won the NJSGA Junior Championship in 2005, became the first player to advance from outside the Playoffs bubble three consecutive weeks (The Barclays, Deutsche Bank Championship and BMW Championship) to earn a spot in the TOUR Championship
That year, he arrived at Ridgewood Country Club for The Barclays ranked 124th in the standings, just inside the top 125 mark. Three events later he finds himself slotted at 21st and headed to the TOUR Championship at East Lake, Ga., where he finished T-27.
He ended the season with $1.6 million in earnings.
In 2015, his earnings stood at $1,111,240. So far this season, he has made two cuts in three events and earned $171,823. His highlight thus far was a T-11 in late October at the Shriners Hospital for Children Open in Las Vegas.
Among the highlights last year, Hoffman finished T-27 at the U.S. Open, made the cut t last week’s PGA Championship, was T-13 in early July at the Greenbriar Classic and was fourth at the Arnold Palmer after leading the first two days.
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