Home is where the Hart is

A year ago today, Dudley Hart thought his wife Suzanne had another one of those bad colds.

A year ago today, Dudley Hart was in the middle of a practice round at TPC Sawgrass when he got the call.

A year ago today, Dudley Hart's life changed drastically.

“It seems like a long time ago,” the former Gator All-American said. “Your head gets spinning.”

So much has happened since a year ago today. And today, Hart teed it up for an early practice round with a different way of looking at everything.

“It put things in perspective for sure,” he said.

The golfer who had the nickname Mini-Volcano because of his tendency to explode over every mis-hit has mellowed. Golf is still important but he understands what is really important.

It's not that he isn't competitive and three top 10 finishes this year on Tour are proof of that.

“I'm not going to say I'm OK with bad shots,” he said. “I still have the fire in me. But it doesn't eat away at me like it used to. It shouldn't take something like this to make you realize it.”

Last year Hart left for The Players thinking Suzanne's latest coughing fit was nothing more than that. But as he started his Wednesday practice round, a friend was whisking her away to the hospital. There, she was diagnosed with pneumonia. A few hours later, Hart received a phone call and was told Suzanne had a tumor (which was not cancerous but did have cancer cells in it) the size of a softball on one of her lungs.

He rushed home to Buffalo, where he had moved his family to get away from what he called the “rat race” of South Florida. As far as golf was concerned, his year was finished.

As far as life was concerned, it was just starting.

Hart remained at home to care for his wife, who had two-thirds of her lung removed on her 36th birthday, and the couple's triplets, who were then five.

Mr. Mom hated why he was home for six months but loved what he was doing. While the woman he met on a blind date in Fort Lauderdale was recovering, Hart was “having a blast.”

“I just jumped into Suzanne's world,” he said. “I was the sole provider for the triplets. Getting them fed, getting them dressed, putting them to bed. Spending time with them I got a greater understanding for what Suzanne has to deal with. I used to come home and wonder why she was grumpy. Now I can understand.

“But, you know, I do miss it a little bit. It was hard for me to give it up.”

Hart considered rejoining the Tour late in the season, but a change in policy allowed him to stay home. David Duval, whose wife was bedridden during her pregnancy, was pushing for a special exemption. It was denied at first but later in the year was passed by the Tour's board.

Hart didn't ask for the exemption, but it was the right thing to give it to him. As both Duval and Hart noted, even if it wasn't passed last year, it had to be passed eventually because even in the pampered world of professional golfers, life happens.

So the “family crisis exemption” was passed and the 39-year old Hart, an 18-year veteran of the Tour, was able to play this year without having to go through qualifying school.

But there was a caveat.

Hart had 15 tournaments to make almost $500,000.

Because he has made close to $300,000 on Tour in 2007, he had those 15 tournaments to reach $785,180, the money won by Sweden's Mathias Gronberg last year. Gronberg finished 125th on the money list last year and the top 125 are given exempt status for the following year.

“I didn't think about it a lot because I want to do so much more,” Hart said. “If I played the way I'm capable of playing, I felt like it wouldn't be an issue.”

It wasn't. Hart passed the magic number in New Orleans in March with a tie for 12th. His top 10 finishes the last two weeks have pushed his earnings this season to $951,449, the 34th best total on Tour so far this season heading into The Players.

In a sense, Dudley Hart has been reborn or at least rejuvenated. Those six months away from the Tour gave him a new appreciation for his job.

“My first tournament back in Hawaii, I was the most excited guy in the field to be in the pro-am on Monday where most players are wishing they didn't have to play,” he said. “I do think having that break, although not under the best circumstances, was good for me. I've been grinding at this game pretty much since I was 13 years old.

“It's funny because people will say, 'You needed a break from playing golf? What did you need a break for?' But it's the traveling, not the playing and competing.”

Today, his plan is to play an early practice round to get ready for golf's toughest field.

The practice round he never got to finish a year ago.

“Being here has brought back a lot of memories,” he said. “I really think a lot about how fortunate we were.”