Hoffmann refuses to allow uncertainty of tragic diagnosis get him down

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — “Everything happens for a reason.’’

How many times have you heard somebody use that phrase when something bad happens to you or someone you care deeply about?

And how difficult have you found it to truly believe that?

I’ve never been an overly religious person to the point where church on Sunday is a mandatory appointment. But I frequently have heard that oft-used phrase and believe in it.

After a conversation I had at this week’s Genesis Open with Morgan Hoffmann — who two months ago publicly revealed he has been diagnosed with muscular dystro- phy — my belief in that mantra has been reinforced: that there is, indeed, a reason why Hoffmann was chosen to face the overwhelming challenges that disease presents. Because he can handle it.

And because Hoffmann’s strength and raw bravery might very well turn his battle into a positive by helping to find a cure for the disabling disease that has left his future well-being as a normally functioning person, not to mention as a professional golfer, in serious doubt. The Wyckoff, N.J., native is determined to turn his fight into a positive by helping to find a cure.

Diagnosed in November 2016, Hoffmann publicly revealed his plight for the first time in a powerful essay for The Players’ Tribune in December. The response and outpouring of support since have been overwhelming to him and his family.

Hoffmann said his right pectoral muscle is completely atrophied and his left side is breaking down. Which muscles will be affected next and how rapidly? No one knows. Because of that unknown, human nature sometimes tugs at his mind, taking him to a place where he wonders how long he can continue playing.

“Of course it’s always crossed my mind,” Hoffmann said. “But I’m thinking I’m going to find a cure for this in the next couple years and I’ll be on the PGA Tour until I can’t play anymore. So I’m not going to let this affect me. This is my dream.”

I asked Hoffmann if, in private moments, he’s scared.

“No, I’m not scared,’’ he said. “I have full belief that whatever happens … if I die today … I’ll be completely happy in my life. So I’m not scared. I just want to get things better.”

When you listen to Hoffmann — who is 5-over this week with one more hole to play in Saturday morning’s resumption of the second round, which was halted Friday due to darkness, and likely will miss his sixth consecutive cut — you believe he’s going to have a profound influence on making it better. Not just for himself, but for others.

Before Hoffmann was diagnosed and before he was on the PGA Tour making more money than he ever dared to imagine, he was a highly charitable person. Inspired by one of his Oklahoma State teammates from Kathmandu, he went to Nepal and helped build two schools.

Now Hoffmann has his own foundation

and is raising funds to build a wellness center for people who have MD. He’ll have an outing at his home course, Arcola, in Paramus, N.J., in August to raise money for it.

This was a motivation for Hoffmann, generally an introverted person, to reveal his plight publicly.

“There was really no point in just becoming a recluse,” he said. “I obviously had moments where I was like, ‘I don’t want to tell anybody.’ But those thoughts were very short-lived. My nature is I love helping people out — especially kids — and changing lives is really special to me.”

Hoffmann’s father, Gregory, said: “I thought that I couldn’t cry anymore,” before reading his son’s essay, “but I was wrong.”

“No one knows what the future holds with this crazy disease,” Gregory Hoffmann said. “He can be playing for six months or six years. We don’t know. It kind of adds beauty to every day knowing that everything in life is temporary. If he wasn’t so positive and so strong, it wouldn’t be as easy to believe that if there is a silver lining in all of this craziness, that he would be the one to find it.

“There’s a Chinese proverb that says, ‘When the winds of change blow, some people build walls and some people build windmills.’ Morgan, I guess, is a windmill builder.”

Hoffmann is playing in his 146th career PGA Tour event this week and still is seeking his first career win. If and when he does win, it’s difficult to imagine a more emotional and popular victor among his peers.

“That would be an unbelievable story,” Gregory Hoffmann said wistfully.

It already is.