Charley Hoffman has revealed how he found the experience whenever he was paired with Tiger Woods during a PGA Tour event.
Woods is undoubtedly one of the most influential figures the game has ever had. The 50-year-old helped bring golf into a completely different era when he burst onto the scene in the late 1990s.
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He threatened to claim every single record available to him. Woods won 14 of his 15 majors before he had even turned 33. He also held all four majors at one time at one stage in his career.
Understandably, many players found it intimidating whenever they got the opportunity to tee it up alongside Tiger Woods.
Charley Hoffman explains what playing with Tiger Woods was like
Woods had at least a share of the lead after 54 holes for his first 14 major wins. He also did not fail to convert a 54-hole lead in the four biggest events of the year until the 2009 PGA Championship.
So clearly, being in the same group as Woods was not always easy.
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However, Charley Hoffman has told the We Need a Fourth podcast that he often enjoyed the opportunity.
Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images
“You’re always happy [being paired with him] because you want to compare yourself against the best in the world. And he was very easy to play with. Very cordial, good guy,” he said.
“Also I’ve known Tiger for a long time. He may not have known me as much, but he grew up in Cypress, California. I was down here in Poway, Southern California. We competed irregularly against each other in junior golf and amateur events in college. First time I played on tour with him was at Memorial, and I shot like 40 on the front nine and then I shot like 32 on the back nine after I got the jitters out. It was intimidating to play with him, but it was a great experience.”
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The difference between Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler
Filling Woods’ shoes has been incredibly difficult for the PGA Tour. While there have been glimpses of Woods at his best over the last 15 years – most notably, the 2019 Masters – few would have imagined that he would win just one major after 2008.
Rory McIlroy is the game’s biggest star currently, completing the Career Grand Slam in 2025. Meanwhile, no one has been more dominant over a handful of years since Woods than Scottie Scheffler.
But Hoffman believes that neither came close to having the same ability to bring fans to the game.
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“There’s no one that compares to what Tiger did for the game of golf. When Tiger came out, they came out in droves from the first shot if it was at 7 in the morning until he was done. And then they would sort of go away. Everybody came out to watch Tiger. They walked the golf course, walked all 18 holes. Golf has gotten to the point where it’s more of a hospitality thing,” he said.
“People come to the golf tournament, they follow Scottie or Rory for a couple of holes, but then they go in the corporate tent and hang out, entertain maybe clients or friends. It’s a little bit different nowadays. A lot of the stadium effects came off the WM Phoenix Open with the 16th hole, a lot of events tried to emulate that and entertain that way. But when Tiger was in his primetime heyday, he just had people following him on every shot, 10 deep, and it was crazy to watch from other fairways.
“I didn’t play with him a ton because I think my first three years on tour, I kept my card, played great and never beat him. The guy, no one could beat him. Not in any tournament I played in for three years I think. It could have been longer than that. And the demographic he brought, he brought the normal sports fan into golf, which was great. Now, Scottie and Rory, they’re not bringing anyone that wasn’t really already watching to the game of golf like Tiger did.”
Everyone on the PGA Tour now probably feels a sense of gratitude towards Woods. The interest he brought to the game helped turn the tour into the giant it is today.
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Woods has given so much to try and seek of level of perfection that golf has arguably never seen.
His legacy is not without flaws. However, that will not change the fact that he will probably remain the greatest player most have ever had the pleasure of watching.
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