MGLF: Thoughts from Bo Hoag at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational – Ohio State Buckeyes
7/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Bo Hoag, who will be entering his junior season on the Ohio State men’s golf team this fall, earned a sponsor exemption to play in the third annual Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational – the Nationwide Tour’s stop on Ohio State’s own Scarlet Course that runs today through Sunday.
The Upper Arlington, Ohio, native earned Honorable Mention PING All-America honors from the Golf Coaches Association of America as a sophomore as well as a First Team All-Big Ten selection. He has had an impressive college career thus far with a total of 12 Top 10 finishes and a stroke average of 73.
Hoag tees off of No. 1 at 9 a.m. Thursday for the opening round of the NCHI. Live scoring for the event will be on the Nationwide Tour’s page on www.PGAtour.com.
A few thoughts from Hoag as he enters the Nationwide Tour event:
What do you think it’ll be like playing Scarlet in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational vs. every other practice round and tournament you’ve played here?
It’ll be a little more exciting. We’ll have some galleries to deal with and get a taste of professional golf. It’s just a new and fun experience.
This is your first exemption. What has your experience been so far then, seeing the “pro” side of the game?
It’s been pretty good. There is definitely a difference between coming to this tournament and a PGA Tour event. They are a little more nurtured at a PGA event, these guys are just trying to get to the tour. It’s a little more serious. I feel like every shot is so important out here. It’s cool though. I like that atmosphere.
Is there a higher intensity than at most events, even NCAAs?
It’s really intense. You have the Nationwide Tour players who finish the year in the Top 25 that get their card, so that’s the big thing. The players are spending an entire year just working towards getting a chance to play on the PGA. Everyone who’s on the Nationwide Tour is trying to get to that next level. To me it almost feels like this tour would be one long, grinding qualifier.
Do you think it helps you and the other college players here see the motivation it takes and the grind the tour players go through?
It’s unbelievable what these guys do every week. You see the tournaments on TV or on Sunday, making some putts, but these guys are going to a different tournament every week. They make their putt on Sunday night, hop in a car and drive to the next tournament and there they go again. People don’t appreciate how their stamina is and how they just don’t wear or let up. I guess you get used to it, but the wear would be tough to adjust to and it really is a long grind they go through.
So what else have you been up to this summer and what else do you have on the schedule?
I’ve just played a nice amateur circuit. I played in the Monroe and Northeast amateurs, then the Porter Cup and the Southern Am. I’ve had a pretty good summer. Playing in this (the NCHI) and then playing in the Western Amateur next week – that’s a really big event.
How did it come about that fellow teammate, as well as former high school teammate, Tanner Murphy is your caddie this week?
He’s really been working hard. Last week I was in a tournament and he called me while I was on the course and he was like, ‘I’m on Scarlet, do you want be to laser the bunker on No. 8 and see how far it is?’ He’s really got it down. There are no excuses there.
Between the two of you, you should know everything that’s going on at Scarlet.
[Laughing] Definitely. We’re just going to have fun though. It’ll be a good time.
It’s a Nationwide Tour event, but carries big Ohio State theme with it being on Scarlet, Coach Brown is the honorary chairman and several Buckeyes out there. Does that help with the comfort factor?
Yeah, I think it helps. There’s a good amount of amateurs in the field too, so that kind of makes it a little easier transitioning to the pro event. I’m not the only amateur. Amateurs getting into tour events, most of the time people are just looking at them like ‘what is this kid doing?’ But there are 10 other guys this week, so it’s a little more spread out. At least I have that going for me.
