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Dudley Hart

Dudley Hart
Personal information
Full nameHoward Dudley Hart
Born (1968-08-04) August 4, 1968 (age 56)
Rochester, New York, U.S.
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Sporting nationality United States
ResidenceBuffalo, New York, U.S.
Career
CollegeUniversity of Florida
Turned professional1990
Current tour(s)PGA Tour Champions
Former tour(s)PGA Tour
Professional wins6
Highest ranking21 (April 23, 2000)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour2
Other4
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT28: 2000
PGA ChampionshipT6: 1993
U.S. OpenT12: 2002
The Open ChampionshipT37: 1999, 2001
Achievements and awards
PGA Tour
Comeback Player of the Year
2008

Howard Dudley Hart (born August 4, 1968) is an American professional golfer with two PGA Tour wins in an injury-riddled career.

Early life

Hart was born in Rochester, New York.[2] He attended Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School in Miami, Florida.

Amateur career

He accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he was a member of coach Lynn Blevin and coach Buddy Alexander's Florida Gators men's golf teams from 1987 to 1990.[3] He earned honors as the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Freshman of the Year (1987), a three-time first-team All-SEC selection, and a four-time All-American.[3][4] Hart was also a member of the Gators' 1989 SEC championship team.[3] He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2003.[5][6]

Professional career

Hart turned pro in 1990 and joined the PGA Tour in 1991.[2] His first win came in 1996 at the rain-shortened Bell Canadian Open, his 160th PGA Tour start. His second win was at the 2000 Honda Classic. Hart also finished in a three-way tie for first in the 2004 EDS Byron Nelson Championship, which he and Robert Damron lost in a playoff to Sergio García.

Although Hart has only won two PGA tournaments, he was one of the most consistent players on the Tour. From 1991 to 2009, Hart had 55 top-10 finishes, including four runner-up finishes. His best finish in a major was sixth place tie at the 1993 PGA Championship.[7] He was injured in 2003 and had to limit his play to twenty-two starts due to a herniated disc in his back. In 2007, Hart had to take six months off from the Tour in order to care for his wife and children while his wife, Suzanne, had a softball-sized tumor removed from her lungs. He played on the Tour in 2008 using a major medical exemption. In what turned out to be his best year ever, Hart earned more than $2 million and was awarded the Tour's Comeback of the Year award.[8][9] His career high Official World Golf Ranking is 21st, achieved in April 2000.[10]

In 2009, Hart had spinal fusion surgery, which prevented him from playing on the PGA Tour in 2010 and 2011. He attempted a comeback at the 2011 Australian Open, but was forced to withdraw after three rounds. He attempted one event in 2012, the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, but missed the cut and made no PGA Tour starts in 2013 after additional back surgery. He was granted 12 more starts to earn $504,824 and satisfy a Major Medical Exemption in order to regain his Tour card.

In 2013, Hart played in Canada (missed cut at Wildfire Invitational) and Argentina (T13 at Personal Classic, his first professional cut since May 2009). In 2014, Hart made his first PGA Tour cut in almost five years, at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am with a T35 finish. Overall, Hart made four PGA Tour starts (made two cuts) and tried to use his medical extension to play on the Web.com Tour Finals, but did not make a cut. He entered the 2014–15 season with eight starts and $464,067 to retain his PGA Tour card. He was unable to satisfy his medical exemption and demoted to the Past Champions category.

Hart became eligible for PGA Tour Champions in August 2018.

Personal life

Hart is married to Suzanne. They have four children. A set of triplets: Ryan, Rachel and Abigail who were born on 2001 and Avery, a daughter born 2010. He enjoys fishing and reading, and is a fan of professional hockey.[11] He currently lives in Buffalo, New York.

Professional wins (6)

PGA Tour wins (2)

No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up
1 Sep 7, 1996 Bell Canadian Open −14 (68-64-70=202)* 1 stroke United States David Duval
2 Mar 11, 2000 Honda Classic −19 (65-69-70-65=269) 1 stroke United States J. P. Hayes, United States Kevin Wentworth

*Note: The 1996 Bell Canadian Open was shortened to 54 holes due to weather.

PGA Tour playoff record (0–1)

No. Year Tournament Opponents Result
1 2004 EDS Byron Nelson Championship United States Robert Damron, Spain Sergio García García won with par on first extra hole

Other wins (4)

Results in major championships

Tournament 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament CUT CUT
U.S. Open T23 WD T17
The Open Championship CUT 81 T37
PGA Championship CUT T6 T55 CUT T44 CUT
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament T28 T43 T44
U.S. Open CUT T62 T12 CUT T53
The Open Championship WD T37 CUT CUT
PGA Championship WD T16 CUT WD T10 WD
  Top 10
  Did not play

WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 3
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 3 8 5
The Open Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 3
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 2 3 12 5
Totals 0 0 0 0 2 6 32 16
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 5 (2001 Masters – 2002 U.S. Open)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)

Results in The Players Championship

Tournament 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
The Players Championship CUT WD CUT CUT T25 T38 WD CUT T49 T62 T63 T45 CUT WD
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

Tournament 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Match Play R64 R64 R16
Championship 3 T48 NT1 T61
Invitational
Champions

1Cancelled due to 9/11

  Top 10
  Did not play

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
NT = No tournament
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Results in senior major championships

Tournament 2019 2020 2021
The Tradition WD NT
Senior PGA Championship CUT NT T40
Senior Players Championship T10 WD
U.S. Senior Open NT
Senior British Open Championship T36 NT
  Top 10
  Did not play

"T" indicates a tie for a place
WD = withdrew
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

See also

References

  1. ^ "Week 16 2000 Ending 23 Apr 2000" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Dudley Hart player profile". ESPN. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Florida Men's Golf 2011 Media Supplement Archived April 2, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 29, 34, 39, 41 (2010). Retrieved July 11, 2011.
  4. ^ 2008–09 Florida Gators Men's Golf Media Guide Archived 2012-03-22 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 36 (2008). Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  5. ^ "Gator Greats". F Club, Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  6. ^ "Nine Inducted Into UF Hall of Fame". GatorZone.com. April 11, 2003. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2011.
  7. ^ "Golf Major Championships". Retrieved January 4, 2008.
  8. ^ Dooley, Pat (June 4, 2009). "Perspective mellows 'Mini-Volcano'". The Gainesville Sun.
  9. ^ Khan, Bill (June 26, 2008). "Dudley Hart, his PGA Tour status secure for now, ties for Buick Open". Flint Journal.
  10. ^ "Ranking Graph – Dudley Hart". Official World Golf Ranking. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  11. ^ "Dudley Hart – profile". PGA Tour. Retrieved August 25, 2014.