Northbrook's Hardy moves up to 19th on Korn Ferry money list
The Masters rules golf this week. No other pro tours are playing, and the Chicago influence at Augusta National is minimal. Kevin Streelman, Doug Ghim and Luke Donald - the PGA Tour members with Chicago connections - didn't qualify.
Sunday's Drive, Chip & Putt national finals staged at Augusta National did have two Chicago qualifiers - Reese Wallace of South Barrington and Logan Keeter of Northbrook. Reese finished sixth and Logan eighth in the 10-11 age division.
There is one recent round to celebrate. Northbrook's Nick Hardy shot a sizzling 60 in Sunday's final round of the Korn Ferry Tour's Emerald Coast Classic in Sandestin, Fla. With nines of 30-30, Hardy was 10-under at the par-70 Raven Golf Club.
Hardy, 25, is a rookie on the Korn Ferry circuit, a direct feeder to the PGA Tour. The Top 25 on the points list at the end of the season get PGA Tour privileges for 2021-22 and Hardy is 19th.
Sunday's round was the career best for the University of Illinois graduate. His previous low on the Korn Ferry Tour was a 63. The hot round enabled Hardy to climb 47 places on the leaderboard in the final 18 on Sunday, as he finished tied for 17th place.
Germany's Stephan Jaeger won the Emerald Classic at 14-under. He needed an extra hole to get the win. He got it when Northwestern alum David Lipsky made bogey on the first playoff hole. It was Jaeger's sixth win on the Korn Ferry Tour. In 2017 he captured the Rust-Oleum Championship at Ivanhoe.
Hardy got a big boost from his hot round. Since the season resumed in February he had struggled a bit, making the cut in two of three tournaments prior to the Emerald. He finished down the leaderboard in both and dropped two places on the point list.
Prior to the resumption of Korn Ferry play, Hardy survived two of three Monday qualifiers for PGA Tour events and made his chances on the more lucrative premier circuit count. He won the final spot in a three-man playoff at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January and then tied for 14th in the main event, which meant a $113,850 payday. He also Monday qualified at Phoenix and tied for 42nd after a 68-67 start. The money earned in those events helped his bank account, but not his Korn Ferry standing. He'll have to keep playing well to keep his spot in the Top 25.
Lipsky at No. 8, and Dylan Wu, another Northwestern alum who is No. 20, are in good position to move up to the next level. Lake Forest's Brad Hopfinger, at No. 30, is also close to advancing to the PGA Tour with 19 Korn Ferry events remaining. The next is the MGM Resorts Championship April 15 in Las Vegas.
The Korn Ferry's annual local stop, the Evans Scholars Invitational, begins its four-day run May 27 at The Glen Club in Glenview.