Charley Hoffman: From Masters fan to Masters frontrunner
Charley Hoffman had himself a nice little Thursday at Augusta National.
First, he went to the first tee to watch Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player hit their ceremonial tee shots to kick off the Masters. Then, he shot 5-under 67 in Round 1 to take the early lead.
Hoffman, who was first off with Brian Harman, warmed up alongside the Big Three before they took the stage at the first tee. On the putting green, Hoffman, playing in his second Masters, decided to ask Nicklaus and Palmer for their autographs.
“I was sort of scared,” Hoffman said. “Should I ask them, should I not ask them?”
Hoffman will auction off the flags Nicklaus and Palmer autographed to benefit his foundation which helps kids in San Diego and Las Vegas.
Making his first Masters start since 2011, Hoffman didn't waffle on the course. He closed very strongly, making an eagle at the par-5 15th, hitting his 7-iron to 5 feet for birdie on the par-3 16th and sticking his 6-iron inside the leather at the 18th for a closing birdie.
Hoffman doesn't know if he'll be able to replicate this on Friday, but he's going to stick to the game plan that worked on Day 1.
“It worked today," he said. "Don't know if it's going to work tomorrow, or the next day, but I'm going to try to keep my game plans I have going into it. If you hype this thing up too much, you're not going to play good because you'll let your nerves get the best of you.”
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Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
