THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome Tom Hoge to the interview room here at the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge. Tom, just overall thoughts being here this week?
TOM HOGE: Yeah, thank you. It's fun to have a week at home and sleep in my own bed, see so many people you're familiar with, familiar faces around here at Colonial and throughout town here in Fort Worth. It's been great. To see all the momentum here with the golf course and the renovation changes, just a lot of fun to be back.
THE MODERATOR: What is it that you are liking, what is some of the renovation, you played the course, like the updates, kind of how is that changing your game, kind of being able to look at all of that, what are your takeaways.
TOM HOGE: I've only seen all 18 holes once through kind of nine holes Monday, nine holes today. I really wouldn't speak a whole lot to the architecture changes there. I feel like I need to play it a few times, get really get a good feel for that. Super excited about the greens this week. Feel like they're probably the best greens we'll play on all year. They're firm and will present a great Colonial and a great challenge this week.
THE MODERATOR: Off the course you have a new partnership with Cook Children's can you take me through that and being able to go over to the hospital yesterday and do the Bedpan Open with the kids.
TOM HOGE: Yeah, it's fun. We got involved with Cook Children's a number of years ago here with the Bedpan Open with the tournament, and then I was fortunate to win the RSM Birdies for Love Campaign in the fall a few years ago, and we sent some money Cook Children's way. Just to learn more about what they do for this area and the impact that they have on our community and helping families really at a difficult time for them. It was great to spend the day there with some of the kids and just to see how such something we take for granted, something so simple, like a Bedpan Open, miniature golf, so to speak, for a few holes for those kids, and how much that can brighten their day was really cool. I would say it really speaks to what the PGA TOUR does in these communities, more so the wives association than anything. They're out right now, I know my wife is with them, and they do a lot more Tuesday, Wednesday, with these organizations and really have a big impact to where we're at.
THE MODERATOR: We'll open it up.
Q. You mentioned the greens and being excited about those and being firm. Besides that, what are you excited about in terms of the specifically what about the greens?
TOM HOGE: Just how smooth they roll really. I know from being in the area since college in 2007, when you get the heat here on these bent grass greens, I mean, I know at times they have had temporary greens here in the past because they have been so soft and really haven't rolled well. But to see them this week, my first steps on 'em, it really didn't look like bent grass, it looked more like Bermuda grass almost when you got on 'em. They really have this firmness, the ball's rolling out when you get on 'em. So it really does change strategy. You got to be in the fairway here this week to have any sort of control coming into these greens. I think the golf course will play quite a bit more difficult this year as a result.
Q. Being a North Dakota kid, why did you pick TCU to attend college?
TOM HOGE: I guess my answer will be a little shorter than Jordan's just now. I didn't really have many options. I guess I wasn't that good at that point, but I guess the real answer would be there were actually two golfers ahead of me from Fargo that came down to TCU and played here, so they kind of started it. I probably didn't know it at the time, but it was a great fit for me. TCU is a small here school, smaller community here that fit well coming from North Dakota, so I didn't get lost in the shuffle that I might of at a bigger school.
Q. When you think about your time at TCU is there any certain memory that you, every time you come back, whether you're, I mean, you're living here now, but is there any memory that you think of in your college days playing?
TOM HOGE: I would say more of my fond memories have to do with our football team at the time, some big football games. We played Utah when College Gameday came here for the first time. It would go more for that. College golf was great. All the places we traveled to. I would say more of those memories were on the road than being here.
Q. A lot of young guys here this week, which you were a young guy, not so long ago. Did anyone ever give you a good piece of advice when you were first starting out on the TOUR maybe that you were able to use for your advantage?
TOM HOGE: I think a lot of people probably did. I don't have anything specifically that comes to mind. J.J. Henry was a TCU guy that lives here in Fort Worth close to where I do, and he kind of took me under his wing a little bit and showed me around. I think more than anything just playing practice rounds with some of the older guys on TOUR, being invited to dinner with them to kind of show you the spots around the golf courses, as well as spots around town to all the places that we went to and kind of picked up by watching those guys.
Q. I know you travel a ton on the TOUR and everything. What's the best weekly perk would you say about being on the PGA TOUR?
TOM HOGE: I don't know if I have a good answer to that. We have people literally waiting for us to do anything, anything that we can think of here at these tournaments. Pretty much everything that we have is handled for us. Makes it pretty nice. I don't have anything specifically. Courtesy cars are great. You show up at the airports and they got a car waiting for you at the curb right there and off you go. Everything's fantastic. Kind of going back to Cook Children's, seems like all the stuff that we probably take for granted, just from the week-to-week travel that makes our life super easy, that you go back to that and see how something so small can make their day.
Q. I know the tee times are out, but are you a late/early guy or early/late if you had your preference?
TOM HOGE: I think we just get in the routine of playing 30 weeks a year and you're good either way. It's always nice if you can get some momentum going in an afternoon tee time on Thursday and come right back out Friday morning to easier conditions and try to keep making some birdies.
THE MODERATOR: All right, thank you, Tom.
TOM HOGE: Thank you, guys.
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