Hoge Earns First Pro Win, PGA Tour Exemption
7/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
July 18, 2011
TOURNAMENT RECAP (CANTOUR.COM)
Former TCU men's golfer Tom Hoge, who concluded his Horned Frog career this past spring, recorded his first professional victory over the weekend by winning the 2011 Players Cup tournament in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The victory earned him a spot in this weekend's RBC Canadian Open, a PGA Tour event.
Hoge carded a bogey-free, 5-under-par 66 Sunday at Pine Ridge Golf Club to finish the four-day tournament at -16, two strokes ahead of runner-up Ben Alvarado. In addition to earning a $32,000 paycheck for the victory, Hoge also gained exempt status as a member of theCanadian Tour for two years as well as a spot in the RBC Canadian Open held at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The win was remarkable for several reasons. In addition to it being only Hoge's third event since turning professional earlier this summer, he also had to go the qualifier route just to be eligible to play in the tournament. After surviving a playoff in the qualifier, the Fargo, N.D., native shot consecutive sub-70 rounds of 66, 67 and 69 leading up to Sunday's final-round 66 that earned him the victory. In the process, he became the first player since the Canadian Tour's 1985 inception to win a tournament after advancing through the Monday qualifier.
Hoge, anAll-American at TCU, concluded his four-year college career earlier this spring by helping lead the Frogs to their 22nd consecutive NCAA Regional. He earned All-Mountain West Conference honors for the first time in his career in 2011 while finishing with a career-low scoring average. As a sophomore in 2009, he led TCU to ninth place at the NCAA Championships with a third-place individual finish, the second-highest ever for a MWC golfer.
Hoge will be among a group of 156 players competing in this weekend's 102nd Canadian Open. Portions of the tournament's opening two rounds can be seen Thursday and Friday on the Golf Channel from 2-5 p.m. CT, while CBS will pick up coverage of the final two rounds Saturday and Sunday during the same broadcast window.
Players Mentioned
