Watch: Nick Hardy wraps 9-iron around a tree, still makes birdie to shoot 65

Nick Hardy made a theatrical birdie on his final hole Thursday at the 3M Open, wrapping his iron around a tree on his approach shot at the par-4 ninth.

After his tee shot settled behind a tree in the right rough, Hardy said, “I had an angle to hit the shot, I just had to hook a 9-iron with no follow-through, so that was a tough shot, that was the tough part about the shot.”

Hardy made great contact with the ball and so did his iron with the tree.

“When I hit it I knew it was going to be pretty good because I caught it perfect and I knew it felt like it was going to hook a little bit,” he said. “I almost feel like I didn’t even have to look after that because I was just worried about carrying the water. Once I hit it, I was like, OK, it’s going to be pretty good.”

Hardy, who teamed with Davis Riley to win this year’s Zurich Classic, rolled in the 11-footer to shoot 6-under 65. He’s two back of leader Lee Hodges.

As for the 9-iron, Hardy said his coach was able to straighten the shaft and he would keep it in his bag, if Titleist is unable to replace it.