Bailey Tardy’s U.S. Women's Open Run Stemmed From a Grueling History of Close Calls

After a long series of “almosts” the LPGA rookie finds herself in prime position at Pebble Beach.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — LPGA rookie Bailey Tardy might be leading the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach, but her recent years as a professional golfer can perhaps be defined by a painful series of “almosts.” 

For the past three seasons on the Epson Tour (the LPGA’s developmental tour), Tardy finished $343, $6,949 and $1,765 away from earning full LPGA status through the Epson Tour’s money list. Each year the top-10 finishers on that earnings list receive LPGA membership, but in 2020, that number shrank to five. Tardy finished No. 6 in 2020, No. 12 in 2021, and No. 11 in 2022. 

The three-year grind was utterly torturous. 

This fall, Tardy finally earned her 2023 Tour card by finishing inside the top 20 at LPGA Q-School—a multi-phase tournament which determines players’s LPGA Tour status for the upcoming season. However, she almost missed out on that opportunity as well because she signed up for the second stage of the qualifying series with 15 minutes to spare. 

Several near-misses later and the University of Georgia standout now finds her name at the top of the leaderboard at Pebble Beach, where she has made the iconic, par-5 6th hole look simple with back-to-back eagles.

“I think 6 is a really difficult drive for me, knowing that there’s bunkers that I can reach and then water. But once you get over that, you hit a good shot. I know the line straight over that hill, so just having that confidence to be able to hit the green in two I guess has helped me do that the last two days,” Tardy said.

But back to those “almosts.” Tardy’s road to her current status as the U.S. Open leader included a few familiar close calls as well. 

In her own words, Tardy almost “forgot” to sign up for her U.S. Women’s Open qualifier, and had to fly to Minnesota to play the one-day, 36-hole marathon. 

“I don’t think anybody likes playing in the U.S. Open qualifiers. I haven’t played in one for a while because I don’t like them. So I think it was just a little bit of procrastination. I knew there was going to be a site that I could sign up. I didn’t know which one to pick,” Tardy said. “My mom would tell me, ‘You need to sign up, you need to sign up,’ and then I just never did. That’s just kind of how it happened. Big ol’ procrastination.” 

Bailey Tardy made the most of Friday at the #USWomensOpen. 👏 pic.twitter.com/QGpMRHsXrb

— U.S. Women's Open (@uswomensopen) July 7, 2023

Getting through the Mendota Heights, Minn. qualifier itself also came down to the wire. 

Tardy shot rounds of 69 and 71 at Somerset Country Club, and nearly left the premises thinking she had missed out on the final qualifying spot.

After an hour and a half of waiting in the clubhouse, showering and changing out of her golf clothes, Tardy found herself in a four-hole playoff for the last ticket to Pebble Beach. 

“I think I might have been second off for my entire qualifier, and so I was waiting. I actually had a flight out that night. I had showered, I had changed, I had packed my golf clubs, and I was out. I’m first alternate. Get me home. I’m done. I’m tired. I also bogeyed the last hole, and so I was kind of kicking myself for that,” Tardy explained.

“But then I think Jennifer Chang three-putted that last hole, so I was like oh, my gosh, I’ve got to go hit golf balls. I’ve been sitting down for an hour and a half. So I threw golf clothes back on, found my golf shoes, hit about 15 balls, and just went and played four more holes, which felt like an eternity.”

Tardy’s journey to the historic 78th U.S. Women’s Open has been stressful, to say the least, but now that she’s here, she’s soaking it all in. The 26-year-old LPGA rookie is familiar with Pebble Beach and the surrounding area, but she still finds herself amazed by the sights and scenes of the revered championship venue. 

“There’s a lot of seals and otters and fun water life out here...the dogs. Oh, my gosh, and the dogs. I love dogs. I have one myself, but obviously she doesn’t travel with me,” Tardy said, smiling at the thought of her pet back home. “But the dogs on — is it 9 and 10? They’re amazing. There’s probably 15 dogs down there and they’re just having the time of their life running in sand and the water. My caddie and I love dogs. We were just talking about how good they are. Good boys, fetching sticks.”

Wildlife aside, Tardy is ready to take on the challenge of putting together four solid rounds at a major championship. She knows how difficult that feat is, because in the last two LPGA majors, the Chevron Championship and the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, she’s missed the cut—badly. 

This week is different, though. Tardy has been fine-tuning her putting with the renowned short game coach Gareth Raflewski as of late, and Pebble Beach’s famous small greens suit her eye: Less 90-foot putts, less three-putts. 

Tardy also ranks 4th on the LPGA in driving distance. She’s averaged 277 yards off the tee this season, and credits her Mizuno driver as her secret weapon. 

“I launch it,” she said. “I hit it so far.” 

With two more rounds before the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open champion is crowned, Tardy knows she has some serious work left to do. But after all the painful “almosts” that lead her to this moment, she can’t help but enjoy the ride.

“Honestly I’m just enjoying the moment here,” Tardy says. “I’m leading the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, and I think that’s just something so special.”