From Fargo to Augusta: Tom Hoge basks in his first Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Tom Hoge grew up playing golf in Fargo. This week he took a private plane to Augusta, Ga., to play in the Masters, and on Tuesday morning he played a practice round with Jordan Spieth, strolling the Augusta National fairways with a three-time major winner as if this was no big deal.

This is a big deal. Hoge will be the first North Dakotan to play in the Masters since amateur Mike Podolak in 1983, and unlike Podolak, Hoge is more than an endearing long shot.

He proved that by outplaying Spieth to win the 2022 Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February for his first tour victory.

Was his first thought that the victory qualified him for the Masters?

"Yeah, for sure,'' Hoge said. "Especially because it's so hard to get here, right?"

He played Augusta National a month ago with his brother and father, and his family ties affected his first Masters week.

Last weekend, he attended his brother's wedding in Colorado. Then Bell Bank, one of his sponsors, sent a plane to take him to Georgia for his first practice round.

"My brother got married Sunday night in Denver, so Bell was very generous and flew me over here [Monday] morning," Hoge said, "so I got here in time to practice for the day. It was great.''

Hoge, 32, is an excellent iron player known for competitive grit. He's ranked 38th in the world. Tuesday, he played the back nine with Spieth, Daniel Berger and J.J. Spaun. What do they have in common? All four have won on tour.

Thursday, Hoge will play alongside two-time Masters champ Bubba Watson and Japanese amateur Keita Nakajima, in the tournament that he always wanted to play most.

"I would say the Masters is definitely on top for me," he said. "Growing up, watching Tiger [Woods] here at Augusta, and I think the familiarity with the golf course because you see it every year versus some of the other tournaments that rotate — what a cool spot, to be here."

Tom's father, Chuck, said that his son benefited from excellent instruction in Fargo and playing junior golf in Minnesota. Chuck said he appreciated the generosity shown his son by Minnesota's best golf courses, including Hazeltine National.

"I got to play Hazeltine right after the PGA Championship," Tom Hoge said. "For me, living in North Dakota, we didn't have a real strong junior program like Minnesota did, so just the opportunity to go play in real golf tournaments helped, and I think that's the best way to practice and prepare yourself. For me it was great to go test my game against better players in Minnesota."

His game looked solid on Tuesday, and he got to engage for the first time in a Masters tradition — skipping shots from the front bank of the pond on No. 16, trying to scoot the ball onto the green.

Hoge's first shot didn't make it. Then all four players lined up and hit shots together, and he couldn't tell where his ball wound up.

He is aware that golfers from North Dakota may still be using ponds for ice fishing this April. There is a reason few golfers from his state make it big.

"You certainly have the odds against you, just because our season is so much shorter, but I always looked at it as a positive that we had our season, go take advantage of it, and then you got to put the clubs away for a little while and be fresh again for the next year,'' he said. "I just tried to take advantage of those opportunities, and I think as my career has progressed, I just tried to keep getting a little better every year.

"Might have taken me a little longer than some of these guys, but we're here."