Recovered from wrist injury, Hoch making splash on Champions Tour
By Lauren Deason, PGATOUR.com Editorial Coordinator
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Tiger Woods isn't the only player riding a winning streak these days.
In case you didn't hear the news from ESPN, PGATOUR.com, GOLF CHANNEL or your grandmother, Woods has made headlines lately for winning six tournaments in a row, including four on the PGA TOUR.
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There's another professional golfer, however, who has put together a consecutive wins streak. That'd be Scott Hoch, who has won the last two times he's teed it up on the Champions Tour.
Hoch captured his first title in Woods-like fashion, making birdie on three of his last four holes at the Allianz Championship three weeks ago for his second career Champions Tour title.
One week later, Hoch beat three of his compatriots in a playoff for his second straight victory. His win at the ACE Group Classic gave him over half-a-million dollars in earnings in 2008 alone and placed him in sole possession of the Charles Schwab Cup points lead on the Champions Tour.
His 13th and 14th victories in PGA TOUR-sanctioned events gave him plenty of cause for celebration.
"After the first win, I celebrated a little too much," Hoch said with a chuckle. "We had a party at the club, a party with the volunteers and a party at a restaurant in Fort Lauderdale.
"After the second win, I took it pretty easy," he added.
Since he was playing so well, Hoch considered entering the PGA TOUR's event the following week in Mexico. Fred Funk, his fellow 50-and-upper, won the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya in 2007. Hoch sees some similarities between their games and thought the course there would suit him well.
"I really should have played in Mexico. But I had a tweak in my hand the day we had to commit [Friday of the ACE Group Classic]. It was something in the seam of my glove that was pushing against my hand," Hoch explained.
Once he switched gloves, it was fine on Saturday and Sunday but the opportunity to go to Mexico had been lost. Hoch skipped Mexico for a much-needed off week at home in Orlando, Fla., but this week the Champions Tour had another blank on the schedule.
So Hoch hit the Florida Turnpike and headed two hours south to PGA National, a place full of memories from 1987.
Hoch, then a three-time winner on the PGA TOUR, came to PGA National for the PGA Championship that year. Few players could muster up a round in the 60s that week. Larry Nelson and Lanny Wadkins managed to finish the tournament under par but only by a stroke.
On Sunday, however, Hoch led a charge up the leaderboard by shooting 69 -- the low round of the day. If not for four lip-outs in three holes, which included a three-putt on No. 18, Hoch could have been in a major championship playoff with Wadkins and eventual winner Nelson.
Now, over two decades later, Hoch is back at PGA National for The Honda Classic. Not only is he back on this venue, he's also back on the PGA TOUR for the first time since 2005.
Hoch's career was rolling along nicely in 2004 as he picked up four top-10s in 16 starts throughout the season. Then, while at Whistling Straits in August for the 2004 PGA Championship, Hoch stepped off a tee box, onto a patch of sand and felt the ground give way. He stuck his hands out to catch himself but wound up with a sprained left wrist in the process.
"I didn't really play golf for two and a half years after that," he said.
He was 48 at the time. Hoch attempted to return to the PGA TOUR in 2005 but re-injured his wrist at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He finally underwent surgery in late October and rehabbed his left wrist for most of the following season.
After a two-year hiatus, Hoch ventured back to the professional golf world for his Champions Tour debut. A year after turning 50, Hoch entered the Constellation Energy Classic in September 2006 and tied for 27th.
By May of 2006, Hoch was back in, pun intended, the full swing of things. He captured his first Champions Tour title at the FedEx Kinko's Classic in May, just his 10th start on the Champions Tour.
In 2008 Hoch decided to use a one-time exemption for being in the top 25 on the PGA TOUR Career Money List. That means he has eligibility for PGA TOUR events but doesn't expect to use his exemption often this season.
His last two TOUR wins came at the 2001 Advil Western Open (now the BMW Championship, a FedExCup tournament) and the 2003 Ford Championship at Doral (now a World Golf Championships event), tournaments Hoch is no longer able to enter. So he plans to focus on the Champions Tour, which heads to California for the next two weeks.
"It beats working. This is too much like work out here," the 52-year-old joked.
This week, on a tough venue like PGA National where playing smart golf and driving the ball straight makes a difference, Hoch felt he didn't capitalize on the fact that he's normally an accurate ball-striker.
"With my injury, I'm hitting it shorter. Guys are hitting it 40 yards past me when I hit a good drive," Hoch said, adding that he would normally be rewarded for hitting it straight.
"That's one of the reasons why I'm here, is because I hit it straight. But this week I have not."
Hoch logged a 75 on Thursday but rebounded to make the cut after posting 69 on Friday. Barring a Tiger-like miracle, his 6-over par total -- Hoch shot a 2-over-par 72 on Saturday -- won't have him hoisting a trophy for the third straight week.
Hoch did, however, have one GOLF CHANNEL highlight to add to recently expanding repertoire. On No. 7, to the delight of the fans, his 33-foot chip from the bunker rolled into the hole for a par save.
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