Northbrook's Hardy leaves Hawaii with big finish

Northbrook's Nick Hardy and Arlington Heights' Doug Ghim are among the very best young golfers ever produced in the Chicago area. Ghim is a rookie on the PGA Tour and Hardy in his first season on the PGA's development circuit - the Korn Ferry Tour.

Still, what were the chances that they'd be paired together in the PGA Tour's first full-field event of 2021?

Ghim's participation in last week's Sony Open in Hawaii wasn't unexpected. He had earned his PGA membership at the last qualifying session. Hardy made the field through a Monday qualifier. It provided him some needed competition since the Korn Ferry schedule doesn't kick in until February.

While Ghim missed the cut last week, Hardy came ready to play. After winning a three-man playoff for the final spot in the starting field he covered the regulation 72 holes in 16-under-par and finished in a tie for 14th place. That earned him $113,850.

"I had Monday (qualified) into a few Korn Ferry events, but never into a PGA Tour event," Hardy said after earning a shot against the sport's best players. "I did lose in a playoff (the last spot in a four-man battle leading into the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open). That experience helped me (in Hawaii). Having had that experience, I knew what to expect. I learned how to handle my emotions."

A University of Illinois product, Hardy qualified for three U.S. Opens and made the cut in 2015. He also got into seven other PGA Tour events through sponsor invitations. Those experiences, some of which came when he was still an amateur, weren't all good. He made the cut in five of his first six events but had missed his last four cuts until the strong showing in Hawaii.

"I'm a much different golfer than I was during those four (missed cuts) events," said Hardy, noting that three of the misses were by 1 stroke. "I've learned how to handle myself better, handle my emotions and my thoughts. That's what really helped me play well on the Korn Ferry Tour last year."

He will be a PGA Tour member if he remains in the Top 25 on the Korn Ferry standings this season.

"I just feel I'm ready for the PGA Tour," Hardy said. "I really do feel I belong."

Bull Valley bonanza: Rarely have Chicago golf organizations announced their tournament schedules in January, but both the Illinois PGA and Chicago District Golf Association did this year. Both scheduled major tournaments at Bull Valley, which has never been a major tournament venue.

The private club in Woodstock landed the 101st CDGA Amateur, which will be played June 21 to 24, as well as the IPGA Match Play Championship May 10 to 13. The IPGA Match Play has had a long run at Kemper Lakes in recent years.

The IPGA also announced last week that its schedule will have two other major changes. The Aug. 2 to 4 Illinois Open finals will again be played at just one course - Stonebridge in Aurora. The biggest event for Illinois residents had used a two-course format to expand the finals, but that was scrapped during last season's pandemic-impacted campaign. Originally, Stonebridge was to share host duties with Naperville neighbor White Eagle, but White Eagle wound up the lone site for the last 54 holes of the monthlong competition as the finals were reduced from 264 players to 156.

Ivanhoe, meanwhile, will be the site of the IPGA Championship Aug. 23 to 25. That event had used a three-course rotation in recent years, and Ivanhoe - once the site of a Korn Ferry Tour stop - was not among the venues used.

Also notable on the CDGA calendar is the return of Cog Hill's Dubsdread course in Palos Park for a notable competition. The longtime Western Open and BMW Championship site will host a U.S. Open local qualifier May 3. Mistwood, in Romeoville, will be the site of the 90th Illinois State Amateur for the first time from July 20 to 22.

Here and there: Mistwood head professional Frank Hohenadel had a hole-in-one, dropping an 8-iron from 170 yards in a PGA of America Winter Series event in Port St. Lucie, Fla. ... The Ziehm & Spears Podcast Series kicked off its second season last week. The first campaign in 2020 included 40 weekly shows and the weekly format will be used again. ... The Western Golf Association has confirmed the Evans Scholars Invitational will return May 24 to 30 to The Glen Club in Glenview. Last year's Korn Ferry stop was moved to Chicago Highlands in Westchester because The Glen couldn't accommodate a late schedule revision.