Nick Hardy

My earliest golf memory was attending the Tucson Open and getting a golf ball from Billy Andrade after the round. Coming out of high school, Hardy was ranked by the AJGA as the No. 2 junior player in Illinois and No. 14 nationally in the class of 2014. Golfweek ranked him 12th nationally among the class of 2014. Hardy competed in a slew of USGA and other high-profile championships. In the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur, Hardy advanced to the Round of 32. A year later, he burst through to the semifinals of the 2014 Western Amateur before falling to eventual champion Beau Hossler. He pushed champion Raymond Kroll to four playoff holes in the 2014 Illinois State Amateur. He qualified twice for the U.S. Amateur, in 2014 and 2015, but failed to reach match play both times. In the 2014 Western Junior Championship, he finished 2nd and T-3rd at the 2014 AJGA Footjoy Invitational.
Hardy chose the University of Illinois, and he graduated in 2018. As a freshman, he shared the Big Ten individual crown at Victoria National Golf Club in Newburgh, Ind., while Illinois won the conference championship as a team. Hardy was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and paced the Fighting Illini to the semifinals of the NCAA Championship before falling to USC. In 2016, Hardy helped Illinois reach the semifinals of the NCAA Championship, but the team fell to eventual champion Oregon.
Hardy broke through in 2015 after qualifying for the U.S. Amateur and the 2015 U.S. Open. He made the cut and finished the weekend 52nd.
He calls himself a Fantasy Football expert and played baseball and basketball growing up. His favorite movie is Caddyshack, and he calls himself a huge supporter of Chicago sports teams.
Hardy turned pro in 2018 and has played a combination of Korn Ferry Tour and PGA Tour events.
2019 Notes: On the Korn Ferry Tour, played in four events. Their best finish was T-27th at the Evans Scholars Invitational. Qualified for the U.S. Open but missed the cut. At the end of the year went to Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School and finished T-5th.
2020/21 Notes: Played in 41 Koren Ferry tour events over the two years. He made 34 cuts and was in the top ten ten times. He was 21st on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List (after he ended the regular season at 20th), recording 10 top-10s and 19 top-25s across 41 starts. His season-high finish was a T-3rd at the 2020 The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at Baha Mar. One of three members of The 25 who earned a PGA Tour card without a victory in the combined season.
2022 Notes: Played a combination of Korn Ferry Tour events (5) and 21 PGA Tour events. On the PGA Tour, he made 12 cuts with one top-ten, T-8th at the Travelers Championship. He was 143rd in the FedExCup and played in the Korn Ferry Finals. Before that, in May finished 2nd at the NV5 Invitational, losing a playoff to Harry Hall. In the finals was T-15th at the Albertsons Boise Open, T-28th at the Nationwide Children's, and T-12th at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. He finished 18th in the Finals Points and, with his 21st finish in the priority ranking, got his PGA Tour card for 2023. At the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, he finished T-21st but injured his left wrist and was hospitalized. An MRI revealed an ECU tendon subluxation and torn sub sheath. They didn't need surgery but were forced off the tour for two months. His first event back was T-35th at the RBC Canadian Open. He was also T-14th at the U.S. Open.
2023 Notes: Entered the season on a Minor Medical Extension and fulfilled it with a T-67th in the season starting Fortinet Championship. The following week was T-5th at the Sanderson Farms Championship, his first career top-five on the PGA Tour. A year after hurting his wrist, he returned to the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and, with partner Davis Riley won the event. They shot 63-65 over the weekend to win by two shots over Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and, with their winning score of 30 under, became the first duo in the team event to finish 30 under or better.