“I like going walking down the fairways,” he said, “and guys are like, how old are you? I’m 48. And they sort of give you a look, like, what, you’re 48 out here still playing? And I consider myself, in this day and age when we’re going to 100 players now, guys playing 48 on the PGA Tour is a thing of the past, I don’t think you’re going to see that much longer through the PGA Tour.
“But I’m going to try to battle out here as long as I can.”
This week, Hoffman has, and he’s seemingly savored those looks of stupefaction. Through three rounds at the PGA Tour’s American Express tournament, he’s tied for second and four back of the lead. Sunday at the Pete Dye Stadium Course, he’ll play in the final grouping.
But back to those players’ questions. Shouldn’t Hoffman be slowing down? There’ve been older winners, for sure, but Father Time is undefeated. What’s Hoffman’s secret?
He says he’s healthier. Which in turn has made him confident.
“Three years ago, I wasn’t very healthy, and I wasn’t a very good golfer,” Hoffman said. “If I — I feel good right at this second. As I say, tomorrow morning I could wake up and feel completely different. When I’m healthy, the weather’s warm, I feel like I can beat anybody in the world. When it’s cold and my back’s not feeling good, I don’t think I can beat anybody in the world.
“So right now, I’m in a good spot. I still enjoy practicing, I still — I love the competition more than I do love the practicing. I don’t like being away from the kids, but I’m lucky enough my wife and kids are here. They’re actually competing over at Thermal, competing on their own, doing equestrian hunter/jumper stuff. So they’re spending money and I’m trying to make money.”
With that, here is the complete listing of tee times. Sunday’s TV coverage starts at 4 p.m. ET on Golf Channel.
2025 American Express tee times for Sunday: Round 4 (ET)
Tee No. 1 (Pete Dye Stadium Course)
11:49 a.m. — Lanto Griffin, Joe Highsmith, Rickey Castillo
Noon — Mackenzie Hughes, Vincent Norrman, Jeremy Paul
12:11 p.m. — Harry Hall, Sam Ryder, Nick Taylor
12:22 p.m. — Camilo Villegas, Kevin Roy, Cam Davis
12:33 p.m. — Ryan Palmer, Doug Ghim, Carson Young
12:44 p.m. — Harry Higgs, Rico Hoey, Rickie Fowler
12:55 p.m. — Billy Horschel, Keith Mitchell, J.T. Poston
1:06 p.m. — Taylor Moore, Ben Griffin, Will Zalatoris
1:17 p.m. — Frankie Capan III, Beau Hossler, J.J. Spaun
1:28 p.m. — Justin Thomas, Max Greyserman, Daniel Berger
1:39 p.m. — Justin Lower, Patrick Cantlay, Mark Hubbard
1:50 p.m. — Sepp Straka, Charley Hoffman, Jason Day
Tee No. 10 (Pete Dye Stadium Course)
11:49 a.m. — Matt Kuchar, Matthew Riedel, Sam Stevens
Noon — Quade Cummins, Alex Smalley, Lee Hodges
12:11 p.m. — Jacob Bridgeman, Trey Mullinax, Brandt Snedeker
12:22 p.m. — Victor Perez, Si Woo Kim, Kurt Kitayama
12:33 p.m. — Michael Kim, Tom Hoge, Brian Campbell
12:44 p.m. — Ryo Hisatsune, Ryan Gerard, Taylor Montgomery
12:55 p.m. — Davis Thompson, Matteo Manassero, Rikuya Hoshino
1:06 p.m. — Eric Cole, Chez Reavie, Vince Whaley
1:17 p.m. — Patrick Rodgers, Kris Ventura, Will Gordon
1:28 p.m. — Harris English, Mac Meissner, Alejandro Tosti
Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.