“I'm excited about that” - Charley Hoffman honors promise to Tiger Woods despite 2024 Genesis Invitational exemption denial
Charley Hoffman made a promise that he would make it onto the Genesis Invitational roster. He had been looking for an exemption, but he did not get one. He wanted to play in the event so badly that he decided to push himself to play so well that he would have to land on the field. He succeeded, though in a surprising way to himself.
When he was told by a reporter that the Aon Swing 5 helped him get a ticket to the tournament, he was ecstatic, saying via Golf Magic:
"Did it?! That's awesome. I'm excited about that. I guess I'm playing next week and not going skiing. We were planning on going to Mammoth skiing for a few days. I guess we're going to have to change those plans!"
He also revealed that he had personally asked Tiger Woods for an exemption before qualifying, but that he could not get one:
"So I asked Tiger for an exemption and he said they're all taken, so I said, I'll play my way in, so I guess I did."
He resolved to make sure he made it onto the event's roster on his own merits, something he did impressively.
Charley Hoffman speaks on forcing way into Genesis Invitational
Charley Hoffman also spoke on the WM Phoenix Open, which saw him end in a tie with Nick Taylor, who won in the playoff:
"Yeah, putting myself in contention coming down the stretch, I didn't really falter, so I've got to give Nick credit. He came back with birdies on 16 and 18 and then 18 and 18. He birdied four of the last five holes he played. Hats off to him for doing that."
The golfer admitted that while he came up short, he had a terrific time and wants to continue competing for trophies at the end of tournaments:
"I played my butt off. I gave myself a chance. I knew if I got to that 22 number it would be hard for him to catch me, and left a putt short in regulation. But I love the juices. I love competing. This builds a little fire in the belly. I definitely want to be back here."
Perhaps his next chance to compete and put on a winning performance will be in the Genesis Invitational since he earned a spot in the tournament.
The Aon Swing 5 is a scoring system that names the five players who earned the most combined FedExCup points from several PGA Tour events: the Sony Open, American Express, Farmers Insurance Open, and WM Phoenix Open.
The Swing 5 standings were as follows after Phoenix:
- Matthieu Pavon
- Grayson Murray
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout
- Charley Hoffman
- Kevin Yu
Hoffman just barely made it in alongside, Grayson Murray, Matthieu Pavon, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, and Kevin Yu, but he is in nonetheless.