Nick Hardy

Hardy had a decent rookie season, but he didn’t quite meet the lofty expectations that many had for the former Big Ten Player of the Year and First-Team All-American. Nonetheless, he played enough events (21) and made enough cuts (12) to become exempt again for the 2022-2023 season. Hardy is known as one of the better young ball strikers on Tour, but his GIR percentages have been nothing spectacular of late. Hopefully Hardy can work this offseason on translating pure contact into lower scores. If he can, 2023 could be an opportunity for Hardy to establish himself as a PGA mainstay.

Hardy, who was named Big Ten Player of the Year on the way to First-Team All American honors in 2018 at the University of Illinois, posted 19 top-25s on the Korn Ferry Tour throughout the 2020-21 super season. He also made the cut in both of his PGA Tour starts, finishing T14-T42 at the Sony Open and Waste Management Phoenix Open. It should also be noted that he ranked second on the KFT in ball striking and 10th in the all-around ranking, so Hardy definitely has potential to be one of the better rookies at the PGA level.