But he recently moved back to his native San Diego where most of his family and in-laws live, making it a better situation for his school-age daughters. Hoffman attended UNLV from 1995-1999, then made Las Vegas his home for 20 years after that. “I made some good mid-range putts, and I made all my shots that I hit pretty close.” “It was one of those rounds where my good shots turned out pretty good and my bad shots I got away with,” he said. 18 that landed less than foot from the cup. But it also included nine birdies, including a dart from the fairway on No. Hoffman’s round Thursday had just a single blemish on the par-4 15th when he went from bunker to bunker and failed to get up and down for par. “They have made improvements and changes throughout the years, but it’s still the same bones that I started playing early on,” he said. He guessed 200 times while playing for UNLV, then hundreds more over the years in both tournament play and practice rounds while living in Las Vegas for 20 years. Hoffman joined Sungjae Im and Chad Ramey at 8 under, while Matthew Wolff topped a group of five players another shot back.Īsked how many times he’s played the course, Hoffman started doing the math. Kang made nine birdies, one bogey, and a closing eagle at the par-5 ninth hole, equalling the low round of his career (61) and one shot shy of the course record at TPC Summerlin. He took a big step toward changing that narrative Thursday, firing an 8-under 63 during the opening round to trail leader Sung Kang by two shots. (Chitose Suzuki / Las Vegas Review-Journal) Hoffman should have a home-course advantage when it comes to the Shriners Children’s Open, given the countless times he’s played TPC Summerlin over the years.īut Hoffman’s results often haven’t reflected his course knowledge, missing the cut eight times in the 14 times he’s played the tournament. Sam Burns lines up a putt on the first green during the first round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open golf tournament, Thursday, Oct.