Charley Hoffman proves he belongs at Masters

At age 38 and playing in only his second Masters last year, Charley Hoffman was not a name many patrons expected to see hanging around the top of the leaderboard Sunday.

Hoffman, however, never backed down, sitting in fourth place to start the final round before finishing tied for ninth in his first top-10 major finish.

“I wouldn’t say it was a coming out party, but it showed that I could live up to where I think I should be,” Hoffman said. “That’s where I think I should be on a regular basis now. Sometimes I’m not there. I think it confirmed to the people who believe in me that I could do it and sort of puts some confidence in myself that I could do it when the pressure’s on in big tournaments.”

A three-time winner on the PGA Tour, Hoffman hasn’t often been at his best in the majors. In 18 majors he’s missed 10 cuts, and his best finish in one outside of Augusta was a T35 at the 2007 British Open.

In the Masters, however, Hoffman is two-for-two on reaching the weekend. He tied for 27th in his debut in 2011 before contending last year. Of all the majors, Augusta is the place he’s most comfortable.

“I think Augusta fits my eye the best out of any of them,” he said. “I’ve had success there and really I haven’t had much success in the U.S. Open, British or PGA for the most part. ... It’s a place I strive to go every year and hopefully I’ll get a chance to wear that green jacket.”

For a birdie-producing player like Hoffman, Augusta National provides the opportunities to do what he does best.

“What I like about Augusta is some golf courses are intimidating tee to green but actually Augusta is one of those golf courses that frees me up because you have to use your imagination so much on every shot,” said Hoffman, citing strategic placement off the tees and the need to shape shots into greens to reach certain pins. “So I’m always thinking and I’m always using my imagination to try to get the ball close to the hole. And then once you get on the greens you have to use your imagination on the greens because you rarely have a straight putt. So I think it keeps me free, which you would think Augusta and a major wouldn’t go hand in hand with being free. That’s how I feel at Augusta.”

Hoffman is at peace inside the ropes, where from the practice rounds through the final putt on Sunday only players and their caddies are allowed.

“There’s really nobody around you,” he said. “I think it’s comforting.”

Even when the only player inside the ropes with Hoffman on Saturday was Jordan Spieth with a five-shot lead, Hoffman didn’t back down. He shot 71 to Spieth’s 70 and went into Sunday 10-under par.

“I never pressed last year,” he said. “I played with (Spieth) Saturday and if you looked at it the majority of holes I was inside of him. He putted better than me. I putted great the first two days which is why my scores were so good. I just didn’t make putts the last two rounds.

Returning to the one major where he’s experienced the most success has raised Hoffman’s expectations. Augusta National obviously fits the eye of some of the game’s greatest players, but when Hoffman drives down Magnolia Lane he believes he can be one of them.

“There’s horses for courses and hopefully I keep it going,” he said. “Obviously I had some success last year and the prior time I played pretty good my first time around. So I feel comfortable around that golf course, which is important.

It just builds confidence knowing I can contend in a major come Sunday and have the potential to win one..”