Tom Hoge had the perfect pedigree for Saturday's windy round at Valero Texas Open
Tom Hoge, known for his accuracy over distance, excelled in tough conditions at the Valero Texas Open.
Hoge's steady play, including nine straight pars, kept him in contention despite the challenging weather.
He capitalized on the back nine with four birdies, propelling him near the top of the leaderboard.
Hoge's experience playing in windy conditions in Fort Worth prepared him for the challenging weather at TPC San Antonio.
SAN ANTONIO — For those familiar with the resume of Tom Hoge, it's not a huge surprise that the 35-year-old would pull out of the pack Saturday on a wicked day at the Valero Texas Open.
After two days of balmy temperatures, Saturday had a completely different feel at TPC San Antonio, winds whipping and temps about 30 degrees cooler than they were before the event's cut. With slow greens and gnarly rough, those who bombed their way to the top in the first few days had to play a different style of game in the third round.
Enter Hoge. Raised in North Dakota and a former member of the PGA Tour Canada, Hoge's game is based more on feel and accuracy than sheer distance, where he lags near the bottom of the Tour statistically.
And although he's comfortable with playing in uncomfortable weather, Hoge also has plenty of Texas pedigree, as he resides in Fort Worth after a successful collegiate career at Texas Christian University.
On Saturday, it took a bit, but Hoge hung tough through the front nine with nine straight pars and then got hot down the stretch, posting four birdies and no bogeys on the back to catapult himself near the top of the leaderboard after 54 holes.
"It was tough. Totally opposite wind than we've had the last two days, so made a little more thought off the tees to figure out the new golf course, so to speak," Hoge said. "Even the downwind holes, they were a challenge because the ball was bouncing out so much. You know, I just tried to battle and fight and knew I had to make a lot of those six-, seven-foot par putts in there, which I did off the start, and that kind of kept me in things."
Although he's still behind Andrew Novak and Brian Harman, Hoge will play in the final few pairings on Sunday and he's hoping to do something similar to what he did in his last start at TPC Sawgrass when he jumped into a T-3 finish by virtue of a 66 in the final round of The Players Championship.
And things are going to turn even chillier on Sunday, as wind chills could be in the 20s at the beginning of play. His recent practice has helped prepare Hoge for just such an opportunity.
"I just think that I've played in a lot of wind," he said. "I've been at home in Fort Worth, Texas, the last few weeks here, it's been really windy, so I certainly felt comfortable in these conditions.
"Just know everyone's going struggle with it, so just hang in there the best I can."
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