Richard 'Rico' Hoey is an American-Filipino professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He has two wins as a professional and earned his PGA Tour card in 2023 after finishing fourth on the Korn Ferry Tour points list.
Get to know Hoey better with these 15 facts…
Rico Hoey Facts:
1. Hoey was born on 19 September 1995 in Manila, Philippines.
2. He moved to Rancho Cucamonga, California with his family at a young age.
3. Along with his sisters Kay and Simone, who both played golf in college, Hoey learned the sport at Goose Creek Golf Club in Mira Loma, where fellow PGA Tour pro Sahith Theegala also grew up playing at.
4. Hoey says Theegala used to call him his “hero” when the duo were rising junior golfers. “He’s a genuine person who makes it a lot of fun to be around him,” Fisher said of Theegala in an interview with Fore Magazine in 2023. “His peers, the people around our golf course, everybody is pulling for him. You just want him to be successful.”
5. Hoey enjoyed success as a junior golfer, winning the 2012 Callaway Junior World Championship, where he beat future PGA Tour pro Beau Hassler.
6. He concluded his junior career at Rancho Cucamonga High School by winning the 2013 CIF Southern Section Boys' Golf individual title.
7. Hoey enrolled at the University of Southern California (USC) in 2014, where he majored in history. He had one of the best freshman seasons in USC history, finishing the year with a 71.36 stroke average and earning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year honors.
8. He continued to have success in college, winning the SCGA Amateur Championship and finishing second in the NCAA D1 Championship in 2016.
9. Hoey turned professional in 2017 and began playing on the PGA Tour Canada, where he won his first pro event in his rookie year, claiming the season-ending Freedom 55 Financial Championship title by one stroke over Jordan Niebrugge. That win earned him status to play on the 2018 Web.com Tour (now Korn Ferry Tour).
10. After grinding on the developmental circuit for several seasons, Hoey said he almost gave up professional golf. “I remember always joking around with my girlfriend, saying, ‘I’m going to fire up the LinkedIn’. And she’s like, ‘you won’t’. I’m so glad everyone talked me out of that.”
11. He says he rediscovered his love for the game after briefly working at kids’ clinics at his home golf club. “Seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces, seeing them light up when they hit a shot great – it reminded me of why I love the game,” Hoey said.
12. Hoey finally earned his breakthrough win on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023 when he won the Visit Knoxville Open, which helped him finish fourth on the order of merit to qualify for the 2024 PGA Tour season.
13. Hoey, who had previously played as an American, decided to switch his representation to the Philippines in 2023, with the hopes of representing his birth nation at the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, he was ultimately ineligible for the Games due to eligibility rules, with Hoey’s change in allegiance occurring after the Olympics qualifying period in 2022.
14. Hoey claimed four top 10s in his rookie PGA Tour season in 2024, including a runner-up finish at the ISCO Championship, where he lost to Harry Hall in a five-way playoff.
15. He is known for his distinctive ear rings, which he got when he was in the second grade. He said he got his ears pierced in elementary school in an attempt to be "different". He admitted he was teased by other kids in school, but has rocked the look ever since.
