CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE — There are very few things a 25-year-old can say are life-changing, but the world is going to be a lot different for Morgan Hoffmann in the next year.
Hoffmann made an impressive run during the final two days of the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills Country Club, and in turn put his career on the fast track. After setting the course record with an 8-under-par 62 on Saturday, he followed it with a 7-under 63 on Sunday and finished third in the tournament at 11-under 269.
More important, he jumped into the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings and secured entry into a number of big tournaments for 2015. After squeezing into the top 70 last week to earn a berth in the BMW Championship, he made the biggest gain in the standings this weekend, going from No. 68 to No. 21. Being in the top 30 gains him entry this week at the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
“Since the beginning of this season, I’ve had a goal to get to Atlanta,” he said Sunday. “Coming into the weekend, I knew I had to go pretty low. My caddie and I had a really good mind-set and everything was positive.”
But no matter his finish in Atlanta, Hoffmann already has earned a berth next year in three of the four majors — the Masters, U.S. Open and the British Open — by finishing in the FedEx top 30. He also will have exemptions in at least eight other PGA Tour events.
Hoffmann was 4-over after the first two rounds at Cherry Hills, his dream of making the top 30 fading fast. But he had a focused session at the driving range Saturday morning before the third round, and something clicked.
“It wasn’t in my mind-set on the course, like, ‘Oh, I got to get inside the top 30,’ ” Hoffmann said. “I think I had more of a number kind of goals on certain holes to take me there slowly. The game plan worked.”
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Hoffmann attended Oklahoma State, where he and Rickie Fowler were teammates. Having a breakout season of his own this year, Fowler knew that Hoffmann’s plans for 2015 changed after Sunday.
“I walked out of the scoring tent and Rickie pretty much chest-bumped me,” Hoffmann said. “He knew exactly what was going on. It’s going to be really exciting to play in the majors with him next year. … It’s always been a dream of mine to play in the Masters.”
David Krause: 303-954-1893, dkrause@denverpost.com or
