Golfer Sarah Hoffman Returns to Nursing to Help People Affected by COVID-19

Sarah Hoffman, who competes on the Symetra Tour, returned to her home state of Michigan to work as a nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I just couldn't keep sitting on the couch and not helping my friends who were on the front lines," Hoffman said to Golfweek's Beth Ann Nichols.

Hoffman studied nursing at Grand Valley State, where she also competed on the women's golf team and was a Division II All-American in 2012.

She recounted to Nichols one instance in which juggling nursing and golfing proved tricky: "I do remember one time I was playing in the Michigan Amateur. I worked a 12-hour shift and then teed off an hour after I stopped working. I was up for over 24 hours. We had a rain delay and I was just chugging Red Bull."

GolfChannel.com's Randall Mell wrote that Hoffman was in contact with nurses based out of Michigan to understand the scope of the situation. Her father, Randy, said those conversations helped influence her choice.

"They said they could definitely use her back here," he said. "I think that made it an easier decision for her."

According to Mell, Hoffman is working three 12-hour shifts at the University of Michigan's medical center. She worked in the orthopedic trauma unit at Michigan Medicine for two years before focusing on golf.

Hoffman made her debut on the Symetra Tour in 2016. The Tour serves as a developmental circuit for the LPGA.