PGA Tour professional Morgan Hoffmann has been diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, he revealed in a lengthy post to The Players' Tribune on Monday.
In the first-person article, Hoffmann, 28, wrote that he first started noticing a deterioration in his right pectoral muscle back in 2011. After five years of misdiagnoses and tests, it was determined last year that he has the incurable disease.
"In my case, my muscular dystrophy is currently causing my right and left pecs to atrophy," he revealed. "Where the disease will attack next, I'm not sure. The characteristics of this specific type of MD (facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy) are atrophy of the chest, back, neck, arms and sometimes legs. Each case is different, and some muscles degenerate more quickly than others. As of now the disease has progressed slowly -- only the right and a minimal amount of the left pec have deteriorated since I first started noticing an issue six years ago.
"Doctors are searching for a cure, conducting stem cell research and experimenting with growth hormone treatments. I'm hopeful that they are on the right track."
Hoffmann, who finished 81st on last season's FedEx Cup points list, insisted his goals as a professional golfer haven't changed since the diagnosis.
"Please know this: This disease won't keep me from achieving my dream of winning on the PGA Tour -- and it shouldn't keep anyone else from chasing their dreams either."
A large portion of Hoffmann's post centered around his charitable efforts with various organizations, and he maintained that helping find a cure for muscular dystrophy will rank among those efforts moving forward.
"I believe now that this is why I was put on this Earth -- so that when a child is diagnosed with muscular dystrophy, there will be a cure; there will be people to help with mental, nutritional and physical training guidance. And especially so that no disease will ever hinder a little boy's or girl's passion for life."