Lee Hodges (golfer)
| Lee Hodges | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal information | |
| Born | June 14, 1995 Huntsville, Alabama, U.S. |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) |
| Weight | 187 lb (85 kg) |
| Sporting nationality |  United States |
| Residence | Athens, Alabama, U.S. |
| Spouse |
Savannah Rae Kennedy
(m. 2021) |
| Career | |
| College | University of Alabama at Birmingham University of Alabama |
| Turned professional | 2018 |
| Current tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Former tour(s) | Korn Ferry Tour PGA Tour Canada |
| Professional wins | 2 |
| Highest ranking | 52 (September 10, 2023)[1] (as of November 3, 2024) |
| Number of wins by tour | |
| PGA Tour | 1 |
| Korn Ferry Tour | 1 |
| Best results in major championships | |
| Masters Tournament | CUT: 2024 |
| PGA Championship | T12: 2024 |
| U.S. Open | CUT: 2020 |
| The Open Championship | CUT: 2023 |
Lee Hodges (born June 14, 1995) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He claimed his breakthrough win on the PGA Tour at the 3M Open in July 2023.
Amateur career
[edit]As a senior at Ardmore High School in 2014, Hodges won the Alabama 4A individual state championship.[2]
Hodges spent two years at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and was named to the All-Conference USA first team both seasons, as well as winning the conference Freshman of the Year in 2015. After the 2015–16 season, he transferred to the University of Alabama and played there for the 2016–17 and 2017–18 seasons.[3] As a senior, he won twice and was named to the All-SEC first team and Ping All-America third team, alongside Alabama teammate Davis Riley in both cases, as the team finished second at the 2018 NCAA Division I championship.[4][5][6]
Professional career
[edit]In March 2018, while still in college, Hodges competed in a qualifying tournament for PGA Tour Canada. He tied for 28th, earning membership but no guaranteed starts.[7][8]
Hodges turned pro after the NCAA championship. In late June, he Monday qualified for the Lethbridge Paradise Canyon Open on PGA Tour Canada and finished in a tie for 12th.[9] This gave him access into further events; after finishing third at the Staal Foundation Open and second at the ATB Financial Classic,[10] he placed 15th on the tour's money list. Because of this, he was allowed to enter the Korn Ferry Tour qualifying tournament at the second stage, from which he advanced to the final stage with a tie for third.[11] At final stage he tied for 50th,[12] one stroke short of earning eight guaranteed starts but enough to get into some of the early events.
Hodges opened the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour season with a tie for 16th at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic and was able to play in most of the remaining events. Entering the final week of the regular season, he was 92nd on the points list, but a season-best tie for seventh at the WinCo Foods Portland Open moved him to 73rd. Finishing in the top 75 made him eligible for the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and gave him fully-exempt status on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020.
In 2020, Hodges had five top-10 finishes, culminating with a win at the Portland Open which moved him to third on the points list,[13][14] but due to the COVID-19 pandemic there was no graduating class in 2020 and the season extended into 2021. However, his play on the Korn Ferry Tour did make him eligible for opposite-field PGA Tour events in 2021 as well as the 2020 U.S. Open.[15][13] At the conclusion of the 2020–21 Korn Ferry Tour regular season, Hodges was 10th in points, thus graduating to the PGA Tour for 2021–22.
Hodges' best finish as a PGA Tour rookie was a tie for third at The American Express, where he co-led at the 54 hole mark. Aided by three other top-25 finishes, he retained his card and entered the 2022 FedEx Cup Playoffs 99th in points after the removal of LIV Golf players. He tied for 13th at the opening playoff event (the FedEx St. Jude Championship) but fell eight points short of moving into the top 70 and advancing to the second event.
In July 2023, Hodges claimed his first PGA Tour win at the 3M Open. He won wire-to-wire, winning by seven shots.[16]
Amateur wins
[edit]- 2014 Alabama 4A State Championship
- 2017 Desert Mountain Intercollegiate
- 2018 Puerto Rico Classic, Linger Longer Invitational
Professional wins (2)
[edit]PGA Tour wins (1)
[edit]| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 30, 2023 | 3M Open | −24 (63-64-66-67=260) | 7 strokes |  Martin Laird, J. T. Poston, Kevin Streelman
|
Korn Ferry Tour wins (1)
[edit]| Legend |
|---|
| Championship Series (1) |
| Other Korn Ferry Tour (0) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning score | Margin of victory |
Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 9, 2020 | WinCo Foods Portland Open | −11 (70-64-68-71=273) | 2 strokes |  Paul Barjon, David Lipsky, Chad Ramey,  Yuan Yechun
|
Results in major championships
[edit]| Tournament | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masters Tournament | CUT | ||||
| PGA Championship | T55 | T12 | |||
| U.S. Open | CUT | ||||
| The Open Championship | NT | CUT |
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Results in The Players Championship
[edit]| Tournament | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Players Championship | 70 | CUT | T35 |
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Week 36 2023 Ending 10 Sep 2023" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
- ^ "Golf Past State Champions – Boys". Alabama High School Athletic Association. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ "Lee Hodges". Alabama Crimson Tide. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ "Alabama's Lee Hodges, Davis Riley Named First Team All-SEC". Alabama Crimson Tide. May 10, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ "Alabama's Lee Hodges, Davis Riley Each Named PING All-Americans". Alabama Crimson Tide. June 21, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ Herrington, Ryan (May 30, 2018). "Oklahoma State wins the 2018 NCAA men's golf title in runaway victory over Alabama". Golf Digest. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ "2018 Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada Q-School USA East 1 Past Results". PGA Tour. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ "2018 Mackenzie Tour Player Handbook Player Handbook & Tournament Regulations" (PDF). PGA Tour. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ @PGATOURCanada (June 19, 2018). "Congrats to the following Monday qualifiers into the @LethPCOpen" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Gilbertson, Wes (August 12, 2018). "Pereira triumphs at 2018 ATB Financial Classic in Calgary". Calgary Sun. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ "Second Stage – Brooksville, FL | Leaderboard". PGA Tour. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ "2018 Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament | Leaderboard". PGA Tour. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ a b "Lee Hodges earns first title at WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by KraftHeinz". PGA Tour. August 9, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ Schmitt, Tim (August 9, 2020). "Lee Hodges takes home Korn Ferry Tour's Portland Open title, earns U.S. Open start". Golfweek. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
- ^ Bolton, Rob. "Fantasy preview for 2020–2021 season". PGA Tour. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ^ "3M Open: Lee Hodges takes commanding wire-to-wire victory to claim first PGA Tour title". Sky Sports. July 31, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
External links
[edit]- Lee Hodges at the PGA Tour official site
- Lee Hodges at the Official World Golf Ranking official site