2012 LPGA Qualifying School

Hi everyone!  I know it has been a REALLY long time since I posted anything--my apologies.  I hope to get a website up and going in the next few weeks that will be easier to update & will have my entire 2013 schedule.  So look out for www.jordanhardygolf.com coming soon...

But I'm getting WAY ahead of myself...

As you could tell by my previous post, I hit a low point this summer.  I was discouraged, & was desperately praying that the Lord would help me to see what direction He would have me go.  I was in my third season as a professional golfer, and I had reached that "make or break" point. 

Bottom line, I knew that the Lord had a plan for my life...but I just wasn't so sure that golf was supposed to be a part of it anymore.  I had been working really hard, but things weren't seeming to come together. So my prayer became that if golf was the plan, that the Lord would open some doors for me.

Six months later, I am humbled and amazed at answered prayers.  Not only did I gain some distance, I made it through Stage I of Qualifying School, Stage II of Qualifying School with a 68 (including a hole in one) on the last day, and ended my season finishing just inside the top 40 of Stage III Qualifying School--enough to earn my rookie card on the LPGA!

Not only were doors cracked open, they were blown off the hinges.  Qualifying School was a pressure cooker couple of months.  And to play so well, was literally an answered prayer.  Not only did I shoot pretty consistent scores, but I had a hole in one during the final round of Stage II & shot a personal low (67) during the fourth round of Stage III to advance to the final round. 

If you look back at my posts, you'll find one that was written just after Q School in 2011.  I remember being devastated by such a poor performance--everything just seemed to fall apart.  This year, Hosea 6:1 kind of sums it up:

 "Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up." 

I know that seems a little heavy, but I just want to share how grateful I am for answered prayers.  Also, how thankful I am for all of your encouragement & support -- THANK YOU for following my journey. 

I am so excited about the 2013 season because this year I will have the opportunity to play in a full season of tournaments!  I will update you on my schedules as soon as the finalized versions are released by the LPGA and Symetra (formerly Futures) Tour.  Based on my status, I may not get into but a couple of LPGA events without having to Monday qualify.  However, I am fully exempt on the Symetra tour & should be able to play in just about every tournament.  Again, I'll post the events as soon as possible. 

Thank you again for your support, encouragement, and prayers.  I'll continue to work hard, and I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for 2013! 



Soli Deo Gloria

Recent Updates

Hi everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! As the Symetra Tour (aka, Futures Tour) & the LPGA get into a full summer swing, I wanted to update all of you on a recent decision of mine. I played in the U.S. Women's Open qualifier last week in Atlanta, Georgia. The course was tough, with a lot of elevation changes, fast greens, & dog legs. The thing that hurt me the most, however, was the length. I didn't score well at all, carding an 81 that morning followed by a 76 that afternoon. While short game is imperative to a good round, it makes things all the more difficult if you have hybrids/woods in your hand into a majority of the greens. My stats for hitting the greens with hose clubs were slim & the chances of you making every up & down decrease as you miss more greens. Basically, I came to this conclusion: I will not be able to contend on the LPGA (which of course is the ultimate goal) in the way that I would like unless I gain some yardage off the tee. With that being concluded, I pulled out of the upcoming Symetra Tour events, instead, choosing to work on the issue of gaining yardage. I will still play in tournaments but not until I have addressed this problem & see some progress. Thank you all for your support, & I wanted to let you know why my blog might be quiet for a while. I have already identified some swing flaws, and look forward to working hard on making the changes necessary to my swing. I'm hopeful that this will help me to be blogging again soon! Thanks again for your support! Soli Deo Gloria

Grande Pines - Round Three

Today was not much better than yesterday. I shot 76 again. Hit 12 greens, had 32 putts (two 3-putts), and three birdies. I had one double bogey on #6 & was unable to convert some putts to save par. It was a struggle again. It all comes down to the putting! Sure, I didn't hit as many greens as I would have liked, but (with the exception of the double) I didn't miss the greens in bad places. I even hit great chips to well within 10', but I wasn't able to make the putts! Overall, I ended up 16th. The bright side is that my bad days are still getting better. I'm going home this week, determined to correct my putting! I am more determined than ever to work on short game skills because the past two tournaments have revealed how much of a difference it can make! Thanks again for following me this week! I appreciate all of your support so very much!!! Have a great weekend! Soli Deo Gloria

Grande Pines - Round Two

Overall, today was much better. I hit the ball better, hitting 14 greens total. I also gave myself lots of good looks at birdie...unfortunately, I only made ONE out of nine legitimate chances. The upside is that I hit it to at least 15' nine out of the fourteen times I hit the green! That's improvement! The weather did hit us briefly today, pulling us off the course for about 30 minutes. After the break, we finished the front nine & I made the turn at one over. I hit a great approach into #10 green & made the putt for birdie. I stayed at even par for the next five holes & had three other really good looks at birdie. Number 16 is a par four with a sharp dogleg right. The wind was coming pretty hard from behind so I took a little more than usual off the corner. It looked like a perfect drive from the tee. When I got to my ball, however, it had gone through the fairway, into the rough & behind a tree. I couldn't go for the pin, but had a pretty straight forward punch from under the tree to at worst the front of the green. My punch shot was a little harder than I planned, but I NEVER imagined it would hit in front of the green, roll over the green, through the greenside bunker & into the woods...but that's exactly what happened. It went so far into the woods that I was forced to take an unplayable & return to my original spot in the rough! I tried the same punch shot, but landed it about 30 yards shorter. Again, it kept rolling. It rolled through the fairway, over the green & came to rest in the greenside bunker. Now I was hitting shot #5 from the bunker! I hit a fantastic shot to within a few feet & made the putt to save DOUBLE. I was in shock. I regained my composure to par #17, & hit what I thought was a good drive on #18. Turns out, the fairway was a little wet & I didn't get much roll at all. I had 185 to a very intimidating pin. I hit a good shot, but it caught the false front & rolled down into the rough. I hit the worst chip of the day, that also caught the false front & rolled back down to me. I hit the next chip to inside 10', missed the putt & tapped in for DOUBLE. Again, I was shocked. I picked up all of my four strokes over par (76) on two of the last three holes. Ugh! I was really disappointed with today's finish, but I can't be totally frustrated because I played the other 16 holes even par & continually gave myself chances for birdie. I did hit 14 greens today, made some great chips & putts to save strokes, & despite my 32 putt total, I didn't have a three putt! The thing that's frustrating is that two bad holes can really put a damper on your score, especially if they're at the end of the round. Tomorrow's another day! I tee off at 10:15 EST. Thanks again for your encouragement & a special THANK YOU to the Browns & the Andrews for coming out to the course today! It was so nice to see y'all & I appreciate you taking time out of your vacation to visit me! It was a great way to start the day! Have a great night! Soli Deo Gloria

Grande Pines - Round One

Im back in Orlando this week for a Suncoast event at Grande Pines Golf Course! Today was the first round, and unfortunately, it wasn't my best. I started off pretty good with a birdie on the first hole. I made pars the next two holes, but a terrible swing left me in the right greenside bunker on the par three, #4. I hit a great shot out to five feet! Unfortunately, I missed the putt. At this point I was a little shaken about my shot, and now I was a little shaken about my putting! I hit a great approach on the next hole to 6' for birdie. It was a slider, and I misjudged the speed. I made a few more pars, but my putting "jitters" were amplified by my three putt from 15' on #8! I went on to bogey the ninth as well, making the turn at three over. Another wayward approach on #10 left me with a 60' putt up and over a huge ridge in the green. I three putted...again.i missed the green on #12 & had a tough lie in the bunker. It came out thin & sailed over the green. On the other side, I needed to hit a high flop to the pin, avoiding a severe slope coming right back at me. I hit a good shot to about 10' but missed the putt. I made double bogey. This was one of those moments that sneak up on you in tournament golf. You start to feel like you can't do anything right, and it's a quick, slippery slope to a high score. I recognized my anxiety & made a conscious decision to focus on the basics: it the fairway, hit the green, see the shot you want to hit, and commit. Of course, saying a little prayer helped, too! I birdied the next hole! I hit greens & gave myself good looks at birdie coming in. When I missed the green I didn't panic or get down on myself. I played the last six holes one under! I carded a five over, 77 for the day. Not a good day, but I was glad that I didn't succumb to the discouragement that reared its ugly head during the round. Statistically, my ball striking wasn't very good today. I only hit 10 greens. Plus, when I missed, I didn't miss in the best area, leaving myself tough up & downs. My putting wasn't so hot either. I had 32 putts total, making only two birdies, missing a couple of 5 footers, and had two three putts. This course reminds me a lot of a Robert Trent Jones course. It has intimidating approach shots, undulating & multi level greens, and can get pretty tight in some places. I think I let my nerves get the better of me today on my approach shots, and had trouble committing to the shot I wanted to hit. I worked for a while on the range afterward, and will do a better job of commenting to the shot I want to hit rather than all the other possible outcomes! I was able to get my putting instructor to take a quick look at my stroke & he noticed that my shoulders were closed at set up. This could explain the inconsistencies in my putting despite all my practice! We worked on making sure my shoulders were parallel & I feel much better about tomorrow! I tee off tomorrow at 11:48 EST! I'll keep you updated, and thank you again for checking in! I truly appreciate all of your support & encouragement! Have a good night! Soli Deo Gloria

Eagle Creek - Round One

Today was a good day!

My warm up wasn't the best. I didn't feel confident in my ball striking & was still a little nervous about using the new putting setup. I got off to a good start, though, making pars my first few holes with a GREAT save on the second. In fact, I managed to make the turn at even par!

The back nine is tough, & I made a conscious effort at the turn to refocus on fairways & greens. I hit the green on #10 & #11 and even had about 15' birdie chances! I gave them a good roll, but neither putt fell. I told myself to stay patient & keep giving myself opportunities by hitting greens. On the next hole, my approach came up short of the green. I had a pretty lengthy chip that probably would have rolled a few feet by the hole if it hadn't hit the flagstick & gone in...for birdie!!! The next hole was a par 5. I hit my approach shot to about 5' & made the putt! My one (and only...another positive on today's round) bogey resulted from a misclub on the next par 4. I was putting from the fringe above the hole. It was a very slippery pin location, and unfortunately I didn't make the slider for par coming back. I had two good approach shots on #16 & #17, making both putts for birdie! My birdie putt on the last hole came up just short & I tapped in for par!

I ended up carding a 3 under, 70 for the day! I was very pleased with my score today! I was thankful that I hit a lot of greens (14) & when I missed the green I was able to "miss" in the better places...if that makes sense. My chipping was good, too. My speed control over my putts was much better today, and I gained some confidence with the new set up.

After the round, I went to the range & tried to work out the shakiness in my swing. I didn't hit it all that bad today, but I had hit it so well over the weekend that I was a bit disappointed. I think I just didn't get into a good tempo this morning. I seemed to have a better tempo afterwards. Either way, I was very pleased with a swing that could still make it around the golf course even when I wasn't swinging my best! I was still able to hit greens and give myself opportunities! I also worked some more on chipping & sand shots this afternoon. I finished my practice by reinforcing speed control & stroke on the putting green.

I tee off tomorrow at 10:24 EST! Thanks so much for all of your thoughts, prayers, & encouraging comments! I am so very thankful for the support! Have a great night!



Soli Deo Gloria

Eagle Creek

Hey everyone! It's tournament time again! We're playing at Eagle Creek this weekend. I played my practice round yesterday morning, and got a nice, LONG look at the course! It was a Sunday morning so the course was packed. Unfortunately, it was a slow moving day, but at least I had time to hit various approach shots, chips, and putts.

This course is definitely playing longer than last week's tournament at Falcon's Fire, especially if the wind is strong like it was yesterday. There's an extra par 5, so par will be a 73 this week. This course also has an interesting array of pot bunkers. There's a good bit of sand in general, but it's a little unusual to see so many pot bunkers....needless to say, I'm going to try & hit the greens, hahaha!

Today, I had a good practice session at Eagle Creek. I spent the majority of my time on the putting green. We made a pretty big adjustment to my putting setup at my lesson Friday, so it's taking some time to get comfortable. Also, I wanted to do as much as possible to get comfortable with the speed of the greens here since that was such a struggle last week. After a lot of putting, I spent a long time practicing out of the bunkers and a variety of chip shots around the green. They didn't have any pot bunkers in the practice area, but I worked on high lofted sand shots. Obviously, my goal is the green in regulation...but I'd like to be prepared, too! I hit balls at the range, and then finished up where I began this morning: putting.

I was really pleased with both my practice round yesterday & my practice session today. I'm feeling pretty comfortable with my new putting setup as well as the green speed. My ball striking seems to be getting better, too. Hopefully it will all come together in tomorrow's round! I tee off at 11:18 EST! I'd appreciate any thoughts & prayers you could send my way! Thanks so much for checking in & have a great night!



Soli Deo Gloria