June 21--Nick Hardy was a popular man after he left a par putt 18 inches short to end his Friday round at the U.S. Open.
By falling to 5-over, he dropped the cut line and expanded the weekend field by 15, giving a second life to the likes of Sergio Garcia, Colin Montgomerie and Webb Simpson.
Simpson and caddie Paul Tesori offered to buy him dinner as a thank you but Hardy, a rising sophomore at Illinois, took a pass.
"I'm like, no, that's against NCAA rules," he said.
Hardy finished at 9:15 p.m. local time Friday and had to be back on the first tee at 8:03 a.m. Saturday.
"I've never been on the course that late," he said. "It gets dark at 8 where I live in the summer (Northbrook). I basically had no rest last night, so it was hard getting up this morning. But it's fine. I'm 19, so I can handle it."
Hardy, one of six remaining amateurs in the field, shot a 7-over 77 on Saturday and stands at 12-over par. Brian Campbell, who just completed his career at Illinois, teed off at 1:44 p.m. local time.
Also at 12-over after shooting a third-round 77 is Andy Pope, a Glenbard West product who was the Illinois Junior Player of the Year in 2002.
tgreenstein@tribpub.com
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