Tom Hoge Fires 62 to Set New Course Record at TPC Sawgrass
TPC Sawgrass was calm and there for the taking on Saturday at the Players Championship. Tom Hoge went out and grabbed it, shooting a course-record 62 in his third round.
Hoge, 33, drilled a straight, 10-foot, 1-inch putt on the 9th hole, his last, to finish the round. His reaction was muted, but his playing partner Justin Thomas clearly knew what the final putt meant and gave Hoge a hearty handshake. Hoge was lucky to even play a third round on Saturday – he shot 78-68 in his first two rounds and made the cut on the number (+2). His 10-under-par third round pushed him to 8-under for the tournament and inside the tournament’s top 10. He shot a 31 on both nines with five birdies and no bogeys on each.
"Such a weird day. At one point I was booking a flight to head home this afternoon because it was looking like I was missing the cut," Hoge said in a Golf Channel interview. "Perfect conditions out here at Sawgrass. I just tried to go freewheel it and have some fun, and hit it pretty well and made some putts.
"Great day."
There had been nine previous rounds of 63 at Sawgrass, most recently by Dustin Johnson last year. Fred Couples shot the first 63 in 1992.
Hoge's final putt never left the hole, tumbling into the right half of the cup.
"Not a lot, really," Hoge said when asked what he was thinking when standing over the final putt. "Pretty straight putt. Just tried to give it good pace and somehow that one found the edge and fell in there."
It was the third time Hoge shot a 62 in his career. Hoge has one career PGA Tour title, the 2021 Pebble Beach Pro-Am.