SCOTTSDALE, ARIZONA (AP) – The next time a verdict doesn’t go his way, Charley Hoffman might want to switch off his phone.
Hoffman, a four-time PGA Tour champion, slammed the PGA Tour and the USGA on Instagram on Friday after receiving a penalty on the par-5 13th hole at TPC Scottsdale during the second round.
Hoffman’s tee shot went right and into the water, and everything went wrong for him. Hoffman seemed unconcerned about the penalty shot. His ball, though, rolled back into the water after he took a penalty drop. He was given a second penalty shot, which resulted in a 7 on the hole, putting him at 1-over 72 for the day. Hoffman criticized the PGA Tour for the penalty area line’s location and claimed that the USGA, an amateur organization that governs the Rules of Golf in the United States and Mexico, shouldn’t set the rules for professional golf.
Hoffman suggested that scenarios like his drop are why players are interested in quitting the Tour for the proposed Saudi-backed Super Golf League, a leap of logic that may be deserving of another two-stroke punishment (as if that has nothing to do with the boatloads of money reportedly being offered). Consider how irritated Hoffman, who serves as an ambassador for title sponsor Waste Management, must have been when he clicked submit on this post. Without further ado, I bid you farewell.
Phil Mickelson (“I feel ya”) and Bryson DeChambeau (“Agree totally”) were among players who supported Hoffman in the comments. Last week, Mickelson chastised the Tour for being “obnoxiously greedy,” while DeChambeau was reportedly offered $150 million to join Saudi Arabia’s rival league.
However, not everyone was on Hoffman’s side. Emiliano Grillo and Blayne Barber both made the same joke (“Haha, don’t hit it in the water”) and did it with a smile on their faces.
On the PGA Tour, it’s just another Friday night.
UPDATE: On Instagram, Hoffman made a sort of mea culpa. “Well, it appears that I have some trash to pick up after last night’s diatribe!” he wrote. The PGA Tour has my undying admiration. Sometimes you have to use a platform to make a statement in order for the PGA Tour to remain the best place in the world to play professional golf!”
