An astonishing story of resilience and perseverance is playing out in world golf. And India is right in the thick of things.
After being out of top-level golf for nearly seven years, Las Vegas native Jhared Hack was trying to resuscitate his career. But when he failed to make it past the second stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying School last year, all doors seemed to be closing again.
One chilly December evening in ‘Sin City’, Hack planned his redemption. What he told his wife must have sounded like the script of ‘Eat, Pray and Love’ to Tara Hack.
“I told her that I’d go to India and try to qualify for the PGTI. If I did well in the first half of the season, I had a chance to get on to the HotelPlanner Tour, and there was also a pathway to the DP World Tour. That was the plan. That was the dream,” said Hack, a former Korn Ferry Tour player.
If there was ever proof needed for the power of manifestation, Hack’s 2026 story can be the clinching evidence.
The 36-year-old landed in New Delhi on January 6 as the world No3435 (which would mean he’d have earned virtually no points in the two-year cycle of the Official World Golf Ranking). He then won the second stage of the PGTI Q School at Kensville in Ahmedabad, before finishing second in the final stage the week after to secure his full membership.
Hack wasn’t done yet. From Ahmedabad, he travelled to New Raipur, shot a 59 in the final round of the SECL Chhattisgarh Open for his first professional win in an OWGR-approved event.
He finished inside the top-10 in the five events he played on the PGTI, including a tied second in the DP World-PGTI Open, an event co-sanctioned with the HotelPlanner Tour. The top-10 finish gave him a spot in the Italian Challenge Open, where he was tied ninth, and that got him into the following week’s event in Catalunya, where he had another top-10 and made it to the Danish Golf Challenge.
As it stands, Hack is second in the DP World-PGTI Order of Merit, and more importantly, he is 10th in the HotelPlanner Tour’s Road to Mallorca. He has already made enough points to get his HotelPlanner Tour card in 2027, and he has a real chance to graduate to the DP World Tour if he stays inside the top-15 of the Road to Mallorca.
He has already improved to No585 on the OWGR – a jump of 2,850 places in less than six months!
All this would not have happened without the ‘India idea’, planted in his head by Dominic Piccirillo, a fellow American who secured a card on the PGTI in 2024. Dom had become a close friend while playing mini-tour events in non-descript American cities.
Hack was making decent money caddying at the famous Shadow Creek course – one of the most exclusive golf courses in the world with green fees ranging north of $1,000 (INR95,725). Among those who benefited from his golfing acumen were members of Backstreet Boys, and several other sports and entertainment superstars.
And everyone, including Dom, thought that Hack was wasting his talent there.
After all, as a 17-year-old, he had beaten the then World No1 amateur Rickie Fowler in the quarter-finals, followed by Dustin Joshnon in the semi-finals, en route to winning the 2007 Western Amateur, one of the most prestigious amateur events in the world. Next to Hack’s name on that trophy are names like Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
Also, he is not averse to shooing low numbers. In August 2021, he set the course record at Las Vegas Golf Club – a stunning 15-under par 57, which also included a bogey on the 17th hole!
“When I missed out on the Q School, Dom was like ‘Come to India. It’s not as bad as people say. You know how to travel… we can make sure that you won’t get sick. All the players are so nice, the courses are good, and you have an avenue for the DP World Tour’.
“Obviously, I thought of guys like Brooks (Koepka) and Peter (Uihlein), who achieved so much coming through the HotelPlanner Tour.
“And it’s funny, because I remember that specific conversation with my wife, about the goals and the dream. But that doesn’t often pan out how you’d like it. So, this is very cool that we talked about it, we planned, and you get those opportunities and you try to grab it.”
Hack is looking forward to playing the $4 million DP World India Championship in New Delhi in October and is also hoping to play a couple more PGTI events depending on his schedule.
What has India, and golf in India meant to him?
“I was definitely anxious getting on the flight, having thoughts like, ‘hey, we’re traveling this far over. What if I don’t get through the Q school? But once I got over there, it was the golf course that helped me settle. Everything is very fast paced in India. I would never be able to drive a car there. But once I got to the course, I could feel a sense of calm. This was my comfort zone. I knew this place and I could relax and do my things,” said Hack.
“The one thing I felt in India is that everybody is so selfless and kind – from the players to pro-am partners. People will go out of their way to help. A couple of times we could not get Uber, and people would just call their chauffeur and give their cars to us. I have definitely made friends for life.
“The PGTI is run really well. The staff is great, the courses are good. And I also see a lot of enthusiasm to do new things. We played this new team format ‘72 The League’, and I must admit it was the most nervous I have been on a golf course, because there are so many people depending on how you perform. I really enjoyed that 15 odd days so much.
“It’s an opportunity, and unfortunately, a lot of players from the United States are scared to go and give it a try. If they do, it will open their eyes. It will get them a bit out of their comfort zone, which is good.”
On Indian golfers: What amazes me is that there are a lot of unique golf swings and mechanics, a lot of them are homegrown. But everybody that I play with, somehow figures out a way to get it in the hole. That’s the name of the game. I think that’s one thing some of my friends from the States could learn – it doesn’t have to look pretty. It just has to be useful. There’s a lot of ‘feel’ in Indian golf.
On how he rediscovered his love for golf: I think I ended up hating golf after I played 21 consecutive weeks on the Korn Ferry and Canadian Tour in a row in 2018. I lost the passion. It was more like I needed to play well to survive versus playing because I enjoyed golf.
Just before COVID, I entered a Canadian Tour Monday Qualifying and missed by a shot. That started the itch again. I met coach Chris Trunzer that week in Vancouver. He suggested I work with sports psychologist Dr Nick Molinaro. That summer of 2021 changed my life. A lot of it was life skill stuff. It has to do with golf, but you can take all that stuff into your daily life and make it a lot easier. I finished second in the Wyoming Open and then won the Arizona Open, all with just working on my brain and mechanics. It was like planting a tree; it just kept growing slowly.
His advice to Indian golfers: I’ll say to anybody listening, who is playing the PGTI or anywhere else, is that the golf ball or your clubs don’t know where you are. Everything is as comfortable or uncomfortable as you make it yourself. So, just enjoy your golf and enjoy getting to travel the world. Just stay committed to the sport.
