That everything between Nick Hardy and his first cut in months is 17 feet.
He waits until Saturday morning to take the move.
Making cutbacks has not been easy for Hardy, the 29-year-old from Illinois, because he has not played a weekend since the World Wide Technology Championship last November. He has missed five straight cuts and six of his last seven. The only reason why he did not lose his PGA Tour card after ending the 147th in points last season is because he still has the exemption from a winner of the Zurich Classic 2023. So forgive Hardy if he wants to sleep on things.
In his mind he will have more light and fresh vegetables when he returns in the morning.
“Look, the sun was at the bottom,” said Hardy, who is 1 under 35 holes of this WM Phoenix open, a shot under the cut line. “I want to give myself the best chance to make that putt, and the competitor in me wants to touch it now, but I know that the best chance for me to make that putt back tomorrow.”
The putt, says Hardy, is downhill and breaks a bit from right to left. He knows that the chances are not to his advantage, regardless of when he does the average of the PGA Tour of 15-20 feet is 18.48%, while Hardy is 2 for 7 this year. If he had hit Frankie Capan III for him, he would have a chance of 46.15% to convert, but Hardy says he can only do a good role.
“That’s all I can control,” he adds.
Hardy is not the only player fighting near the cutting line who chose not to end. Lanto Griffin, who at 2 o’clock, plays from the left Fairway bunker on the par-4 eighth when he returns on Saturday morning.
Both players try to avoid an early exit, along with notables such as Matt Fitzpatrick (1 under), Amateur Luke Clanton (1 below), Joel Dahmen (1 over) and Max Homa (3 over). Lucas Glover also missed the cut, even par, although he made sure he ended and ran between shots along the piece while he two of his last three holes birds.
Hardy sniffed on a 6-footer for par at the Par-4 eighth to place himself in this situation, but luckily for Hardy he has some experience to support. In Colonial last year he was confronted with a 15-foot putt when it delayed the tournament again; Hardy returned about an hour and a half later and fell the putt. He was also planning to simulate this 17-foot a few times on the Green exercise on Friday evening before he did the same before his restart on Saturday.
Different than that?
“Stay away from my phone and rest easily,” said Hardy, “and dream of making that putt.”