With his brother and other extended family members losing their homes in L.A. wildfires this month, Denver native Mark Hubbard manages 12th-place finish at American Express as they attend in La Quinta
By Gary Baines – 1/19/2025
If anything put golf into perspective for Denver native Mark Hubbard, it’s been what his extended family and friends have endured over the last couple of weeks.
While Hubbard and his wife and kids live in Texas, his brother Nathan and several members of that extended family lost homes to the Los Angeles-area wildfires.
“There’s just been so much loss and heartbreak with everyone, and with people close to me,” Mark Hubbard, a Colorado Academy grad, said on Friday from the PGA Tour’s American Express in La Quinta, Calif. “It’s been tough, but like anything else it puts stuff in perspective and it definitely makes it easier to realize that this is just a dumb game and none of this really matters at all.”
Still, close to 20 family member and friends, including Nathan, joined Mark in the Palm Springs area in the wake of the losses suffered.
It’s “a welcome respite from not-my-favorite week,” Nathan said on his Fairway Rollin’ podcast. “… The first thing to say is we’re all OK. We got everybody out. It was close. We lost four houses across my (extended) family in the Palisades fire, but we didn’t lose anybody.”
Still, given the loss of property and the mental anguish those close to him have suffered, Mark Hubbard performed remarkably well on the golf course in La Quinta. Coming off a 21st-place finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Hubbard placed 12th on Sunday despite playing his final nine holes in 3 over par.
The 35-year-old, competing in the 233rd tournament of his PGA Tour career, recorded rounds of 65-64-69-73 for a 17-under-par total, which left him eight strokes behind winner Sepp Straka.
“It’s been super weird,” said the former Colorado junior player of the year. “I’m actually moving right now to a new house and that should be exciting. And with everything going on it feels weird and almost bad being excited for that.”
Hubbard was trying to provide a respite of sorts for his family members by playing well at The American Express.
“I think it’s a nice escape to be out there and not thinking about other stuff,” he said. “It feels kind of like a little oasis out there right now. Selfishly, it’s been horrible for them, but I’m getting to see a ton of them more than I would normally, so it’s been just great to see them and to try and be there for them.”
Hubbard earned $169,400 for his performance.
For all the scores from The American Express, CLICK HERE.
Meanwhile, the 2025 season opener on PGA Tour Champions concluded on Saturday in Hawaii, and former Aspen resident Justin Leonard tied for eighth at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. Leonard posted scores of 69-66-68 for a 13-under-par total, which left him five strokes behind champion Ernie Els. It marked the ninth top-10 finish for Leonard in 43 PGA Tour Champions starts. He also placed eighth at Hualalai last year. Leonard lived in Aspen from 2015-22.
For all the scores from the Champions opener, CLICK HERE.
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com