07 February 2022: Another cliff-hanger at Pebble Beach, this one memorable for Tom Hoge delivering all the right shots on the back nine to surge past Jordan Spieth and win the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for his first PGA Tour title.
Hoge, one of seven players who had at least a share of the lead Sunday, came within inches of holing out from the 16th fairway, tapping in for birdie to catch Spieth. Then after Spieth made bogey from the bunker on the par-3 17th, Hoge rolled in a birdie from just outside 20 feet.
He closed with a par for a 4-under 68.
Hoge, a 32-year-old who grew up in North Dakota, had been runner-up twice in his previous 202 starts on the PGA Tour, most recently at The American Express two weeks ago.
His time came amid the magnificent setting of Pebble Beach under a clear sky, and it didn’t come easily with so many players in the mix for so long.
Spieth looked like a winner when he birdied the 12th and 13th holes, and he reached the 15th tee with a two-shot lead. But he missed a 5-foot par putt on the 17th, and only as he stood under the pine in fairway on the par-5 18th did he realize he needed an eagle.
He caught a sandy lie that left him in a fairway bunker, and the best he could do was par for a 69. Hoge had to wait for Beau Hossler, one of three players who shared the 54-hole lead, who needed eagle on the 18th to force a playoff.
Hossler sent his fairway metal right into a bunker, blasted out long and three-putted for bogey for a 71 to finish alone in third.
Hoge earned his first trip to Augusta National for the Masters, along with getting a two-year exemption. Until this year, his best season on the PGA Tour was in 2020 when he was 50th in the FedEx Cup and won just over $1.8 million.
Hoge finished at 19-under 268 and earned $1,566,000.
AP News
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