It must have been difficult for Morgan Hoffmann to be so close and yet so far.
The native of Wyckoff, N.J., was hosting his inaugural golf outing Monday at his childhood home course, Arcola Country Club in Paramus. Just 10 minutes north on Route 17, at Ridgewood Country Club, the final preparations for The Northern Trust were going on before the first round starts Thursday, kicking off the four-tournament FedExCup playoffs.
Hoffmann would have liked to be playing for that $10 million first prize, but didn’t qualify thanks to a truncated season schedule and his subsequent ranking of No. 198 in the FedEx Cup standings. He recently revealed he has been diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, and in response, Hoffmann started a charitable foundation in his name. It has a mission to help treat and find a cure for the disease, and he drew quite a crowd for the first golf tournament.
Rory McIlroy, the four-time major champion ranked No. 7 in the world and No. 21 in the FedExCup standings, was in attendance. He joined Hoffmann for an interview on CNBC on Monday morning, and made it clear how touched he was when Hoffmann first publicly revealed his diagnosis with a piece for the Players’ Tribune website in December.
“I didn’t know about the struggles Morgan was going through until I read his Players’ Tribune piece last year, and I was just so moved by it,” McIlroy said. “I thought, here’s a guy that was dealt a pretty bad hand, but he’s trying to make the most of it and trying to help other people with the cause. I reached out straightaway and said what he’s doing is so brave and inspiring, and I wanted to help out in any way I can.”
Hoffmann, 29, hasn’t stopped striving for his goal of a win on the PGA Tour, and has had some solid years since he came out in 2010 after leaving Oklahoma State and a stellar amateur career. But he hasn’t played on Tour since February, soon after which he left to go to Nepal to seek holistic cures unavailable in the United States.
“My goal is to build a health and wellness center one day down in Florida,” said Hoffmann, who resides mostly in the Jupiter area with McIlroy as a nearby neighbor. “We’re raising money to be a one-stop shop for health and treating muscular dystrophy.”
The outing began Sunday night with a cocktail party, and continued into Monday with two different shotgun starts — one morning, one afternoon. It was also set to go into Monday night with live entertainment along with a silent auction.
The hope was to raise $2 million, and that might have made it a little easier for Hoffmann to deal with not qualifying for a hometown playoff event.
“I didn’t want it to be about myself,” Hoffmann said. “I know with my platform, I can help so many other people.”
