Hard-working Hardy believes he can be top-50 material in 2 years

If you think about some of the golfers ranked 20 to 50 in the world, plenty of familiar names come to mind.

There's Tiger Woods at 22. Justin Rose at 23. Jason Day ranks 38, with Rickie Fowler (39), Lee Westwood (41), Henrik Stenson (43) and Sergio Garcia (48) not far behind.

Achieving this status takes talent, steely determination, constant commitment and a burning desire to walk among golf's elite.

It's a place Nick Hardy envisions himself in two years.

Hardy, who graduated from Glenbrook North in 2014 and had a decorated career at the University of Illinois, is putting together an impressive season on the Korn Ferry Tour (steppingstone to the PGA Tour).

Two weeks ago Hardy tied for 13th at the Evans Scholars Invitational at Chicago Highlands going 69-71-70-66.

"I'd like to be Top 50 in the world," Hardy said. "That would be a really cool goal. And I think it's attainable. If I keep working hard and learning from these experiences that I'm getting this year, I can get there faster than I think."

Hardy ranks 17th on the Korn Ferry Tour regular-season points list, a spot that would normally punch his ticket to the PGA Tour in 2021.

One problem: Just like in other sports, the coronavirus wreaked havoc in the professional golf world and the PGA Tour decided not to award cards to the Top 25 Korn Ferry players this year. Because all tours lost three months worth of tournaments, the PGA felt it wouldn't be fair to yank 25 cards from players who didn't get to play a full season.

It may be a sore spot for some. But not for Hardy.

"I look at it as a positive," said Hardy, who is in his first full season as a pro and is ranked 402nd in the world after ending 2019 at No. 2,074. "I just get another year of a lot of experience playing a schedule. So I have a lot to learn and feel like it's only going to benefit me down the road once I get my PGA Tour status someday."

Early starter

Walking down the 11th hole at the Evans Scholars Invitational, Kim Hardy pulls out her phone and shows the first picture of her son with a golf club in his hand.

Nick, wearing a beaming smile standing next to his dad, was 1.

His love of the game began at Anetsberger Golf Course in Northbrook, and Nick later honed his craft at the Merit Club in Libertyville and at Crystal Downs in Frankfort, Mich. Crystal Downs, where Kim's father has been a member for 20 years, is an Alister MacKenzie course that is often ranked in the Top 20 courses in the world.

"It's still my favorite golf course to this day," said Hardy, who holds the course record with a 62. "I'm lucky to be able to grow up on it.

"It's a great place to learn the game as a kid because it's so complex. It's very challenging, but it's not long. So it's a fair golf course. You learn how to green read; you learn how to miss in the right spots."

Unlike some up-and-comers who cut up to 10 strokes off their game in one year, Hardy said he steadily improved as the seasons went along.

"That's one thing I'm proud of about my career as an amateur and a pro," he said. "I learned and figured out what works best for me each and every year. I just grow from all these experiences."

Off to college

Some of Hardy's best experiences came during his four years at Illinois. His list of accomplishments is as impressive as it is long as he:

• Twice won individual medalist honors at the Big Ten championship.

• Was part of four straight Big Ten championship teams.

• Was named Big Ten Player of the Year and first-team All American as a senior.

• Established a program record for lowest single-season stroke average (70.61).

• Ranks fourth all-time with a 71.9 average.

• Was part of three teams that reached the national semifinals.

His decision to attend Illinois came down to one reason - coach Mike Small.

"Coach Small, with him having played on the PGA Tour, I trusted him with everything - every part of my game," Hardy said.

Small said Hardy arrived at Illinois as a good ball striker and a "great putter," but his wedge play needed work. His chips around the green, and shots from 60 to 80 yards weren't good enough.

Once Hardy improved, he turned into one of the top collegiate players in the country.

"A lot of these kids just never spent any time or paid any attention to the scoring shots and the intricacies of the game," Small said. "That's what good college programs do. You don't create a 74 player into a 70 player. It's got to be in there.

"But what you do is you tie their deficiencies and weaknesses and make them better and meld them into their entire game. You chisel here and there. His short game had to improve."

Small was always impressed by Hardy's competitiveness and willingness to take instruction.

"He loves the game," Small said. "It's very near and dear to him to be good at it, and he worked hard. Never had to motivate him to practice.

"He loves to see how good he can be and he loves to compete. That what's going to make him a good pro."

Next steps

Hardy has five top-10s this season in 19 events on the Korn Ferry Tour. His highest finishes were a third at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic in January and a fifth at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship in August. He was just 2 strokes from the leader in that second event, with a second-round 74 likely costing him the trophy.

At Chicago Highlands, he displayed impressive accuracy off the tee and gave himself plenty of solid birdie opportunities during all four rounds.

If a few more putts fell on Friday - when he burned the edges of a half-dozen cups - who knows? He could have driven home a winner.

Hardy's already teed it up with the world's best three times at the U.S. Open, making the cut as a 19-year-old at Chambers Bay in 2015. He was actually responsible for moving the cut line when he bogeyed the 18th hole on Day 2, allowing 15 more players to see the weekend.

More than one appreciative caddie approached Hardy in the clubhouse and on the range, offering him beers and even a little pocket change.

"Paul Tsori - Webb Simpson's caddie - was really funny about it," said Hardy, who was about to be a sophomore at Illinois and had to decline all gifts. "I couldn't take it. Thank you, though.

"Making the cut was a huge deal for my experience. I was still pretty young. I only had one year under my belt at college, so that was a huge experience for my growth."

The Korn Ferry Tour is in Wichita after a week off, something Hardy desperately needed.

"We have been playing a ton of golf the last 3.5 months," said Hardy, who is tied for fourth at 12-under par heading into the final round of the Air Capital Classic at Crestview Country Club on Sunday. "I definitely am starting to feel it."

The season ends with two events in October then picks up again with a full slate in 2021. If Hardy can stay in the Top 25, he will have his PGA Tour card this time next year.

And the year after that - if all goes according to plan - the 24-year-old might just be mentioned in the same sentence as the Garcias, Stensons, Westwoods, Days and Phil Mickelsons of the world.

"It's not a shot in the dark or moonshot goal," Small said when told Hardy wants to be a Top 50 player by 2022. "He can do that.

"We've always talked about setting your goals where you want to be. You don't set them low. ... And that's an appropriate goal for him.

"He's going to have a long professional career. All my players have the chance to be great. But life gets in the way - things ebb and flow, families start, children come and everybody handles it differently.

"But I will tell you - and this is not a pipe dream for Nick - he's got the mind, the determination, the skill to be a winner on the PGA Tour.

"That's what I visualize for him."