Richard Hartmann (December 23, 1958August 5, 2025) was an American professional golfer. Hartmann turned pro in the early 1980s and tried out for the PGA Tour several times during this era. However, he was unsuccessful and decided to play in Europe. Hartmann played on the European Tour for 10 years and recorded a number of high finishes. However, the general consensus was that he had "mixed success" as his performance was erratic and he failed to win. In 1994, he quit life as a touring professional and started working as a club pro on Long Island. Hartmann also played on the local club pro circuit, the Met PGA, with incredible success, winning every significant tournament, and was generally regarded as one of the "finest club pros" in the country during the era.
Early life Hartmann was born in Bridgehampton, New York and grew up in Huntington, New York on Long Island. His parents were Larry and Dorothy and he has two brothers. In the late 1960s, when Hartmann was still a kid, his family moved from New York to Florida.
At the age of 14, Hartmann started playing golf. He immediately caught "golf fever" and played nearly every day for the next two years. Hartmann attended Hudson High School in Hudson, Florida. However, he eventually stopped attending school during the day, practicing golf exclusively during the mornings and afternoons while taking night classes in an effort to earn his diploma. Hartmann played out of Beacon Woods Golf Club in Bayonet Point, Florida. Early in his career, he broke the Beacon Woods course record with a 65. In 1976, he also won Beacon Woods' club championship.
Amateur career In 1976, while still an amateur, Hartmann won his first professional tournaments, the Jimmy Mann County Golf Tournament and the Continental Invitational.
During this period, Hartmann started attending Brevard Community College. He attended the school for one year, for the 1977–78 academic year, and "played sparingly" on the golf team. During this era, he was considered one of the "North Suncoast's top amateurs." In June, he played the three-round Pasco Times Men's Amateur Golf Tournament. The event was at his home course and he was considered "the local favorite." In the final round, Hartmann shot a three-under-par 69, the "tournament's low round," to finish solo second, three behind champion Rick Powers. "I think I played about as well as I could today," he said after the round.
Professional career As of 1980, Hartmann had turned professional. In May, he tried out for the U.S. Open at Bent Tree at Gator Creek. Hartmann shot round of 71 and 75 and qualified by three shots. He was scheduled to compete in sectional qualifying at the Atlanta Athletic Club in June. Hartmann, however, failed to make it through sectional qualifying. During this era, he was thinking about playing on the European Tour. "I enjoy playing, whether it's on the tour here or in Europe," he told the Tampa Bay Times. "In fact, I would enjoy going to Europe to play. The travel would be great, and the competition there might not be as tough."
In the early 1980s, he played a number of state opens across the country in an effort to prepare himself for PGA Tour tryouts. In 1982, Hartmann recorded a top ten at the Florida Open. The following year, he again recorded a top ten at the event. In July 1983, he played the New Hampshire Open. Hartmann shot rounds of 69 and 71 to finish joint second, one back of champion Frank Fuhrer. A few months later, in September, Hartmann played the North Dakota Open. Hartmann finished in tie for third, five back of champion Barney Thompson.
In 1983, Hartmann began attempts to qualify for the PGA Tour. In October, he played the Indiana Regional qualifier at the Golf Club of Indiana in Lebanon, Indiana. In his words, he "missed by a bunch." In November, Hartmann decided to play another regional qualifier, the PGA North Florida qualifier, in attempts to make it onto the PGA Tour. In the third round he shot a 66 (−6), the "best round of the day," to move within one of leader Steve Hart. He finished with a 67 to finish at 271 (−17) and earned medalist honors by six shots. He earned the rights to the play the final qualifying school at TPC at Sawgrass later in the month. However, Hartmann was unsuccessful at final qualifying; it was the second time he was unsuccessful at qualifying.
European Tour In 1984, Hartmann started playing overseas. Early in the year, he played the six-event South African Tour. During the first five weeks of the season, Hartmann won roughly $10,000. At his final event, he played the Swazi Sun Pro-Am. Hartmann opened with three rounds in the 60s to put him near the lead. In the final round, due to an "excellent final nine" he defeated Teddy Webber by a shot. Shortly thereafter, Hartmann began playing on the European Tour. His first event was at the Timex Open at Biarritz Golf Club in Spain. Hartmann played well, shooting in the 60s every day to finish in a tie for sixth. Later in the season he played the 1984 Open Championship at the St Andrews. Hartmann opened with a 70 to put him in the top ten, tied with Lee Trevino and Lanny Wadkins. He followed with a 73 to make the cut. However, he "had problems the last two days," shooting rounds of 76 and 77, and finished well back. Overall, in his first tour of Europe, Hartmann made the cut in five of seven events with one top ten. Later in the year, Hartmann returned to the United States to play on the Tournament Players' Series, an offshoot tour of the PGA Tour. In August, he played the three-round Provident Classic. In the final round, Hartmann shot a 66 to finish in a tie for sixth place. Later in the month he began play at the Everett Open in Everett, Washington. Hartmann opened with a 65 (−6) to take a one shot lead. However, he failed to break par for the remainder of the tournament and finished outside the top 25. Hartmann played in a few more TPS tournaments for the remainder of the year. He ultimately finished in 31st place on the TPS' money list. According to the Miami Herald, though content with his play Hartmann wanted to improve and, in his words, move on to the "big time." During this era, he began working with David Leadbetter, the famed swing instructor.
In 1985, Hartmann played his first full season in Europe. He made the cut in five of his first seven events but did not record any high finishes, failing to record any top-25s. He was at 92nd place on the Order of Merit at this point. In July, Hartmann played the Lawrence Batley International at The Belfry Golf Club. He had much more success at this event. In the third round he shot a three-under-par 69 to move into solo second place, two back of Graham Marsh. He was the only player in the field without a bogey. It was reported by The Guardian he "played the best golf of his career" during the round. In the final round, Hartmann continued to play well, birdieing three holes in the middle of the front nine to take a three shot lead over Marsh. In the middle of the round, however, he became "anxious around the greens," failing to get up and down several times. He fell into a tie for the lead. Hartmann then bogeyed the par-5 17th hole and par-4 18th hole to lose to Marsh by two. Despite the loss, he earned automatic entry into next week's British Open. In August, Hartmann played the Scandinavian Enterprise Open. He shot under-par every day to finish joint third with, among others, Johnny Miller, three back. In September, shortly after the tour's season ended, Hartmann played the Stiab Grand Prix, a match play tournament on the Swedish Golf Tour. Though a wild-card entry, Hartmann reached the finals of the tournament. In the finals, playing Mats Lanner, he scored six consecutive birdies in the middle of the match for an "easy" 5 & 4 win. Hartmann won $12,000. During this era, he still lived permanently in United States, residing in Venice, Florida.
In the mid-1980s, Hartmann continued to have success in Europe. In June 1986, he played the British Masters at Woburn Golf Club. In the first round he "upstaged his more illustrious rivals," recording seven birdies, on his way to a course record-tying 66 (−6) and a one shot lead over Seve Ballesteros. In the middle of the tournament, he shot rounds of 72 and 70 "to remain in contention," three back of Ballesteros, now the leader, in a tie for third with Bernhard Langer. Hartmann remained near the lead during most of the final round and was still "in contention after he birdied the 14th" hole. However, he shot four-over-par over the course of the next three holes to end his hopes. With a final round 73 (+1), Hartmann finished in a tie for fifth, six back. Two weeks later, Hartmann played the French Open. He closed with rounds of 68 and 67, including birdies on four of his last eight holes, to record a joint fifth place finish. In 1987, he continued to have success. In May, he played the British PGA Championship. Hartmann opened with a 68 to put him two back of Langer, in a tie for second. In the second round, he followed with a 69 to remain in second, still two behind leader Langer, in a tie with José María Cañizares and Ballesteros. Hartmann failed to break 70 in the final two rounds but finished in the top five. Later in the season, he told The Guardian, "I am playing better now than at any time since I first came here in 1984." In both 1986 and 1987, Hartmann finished in the top 50 of the Order of Merit and recorded two top tens each season.
However, Hartmann did not play well for the remainder of the decade. At the end of 1987, like he had in previous years, Hartmann returned to the United States in an attempt to earn his PGA Tour card. However, he was unsuccessful at PGA Tour Qualifying School. He ultimately never made it onto the PGA Tour. In 1988, Hartmann returned to Europe. He played poorly, earning rights to play the weekend in only 5 of 23 tournaments, failing to make the cut in his final 14 events. In 1989, Hartmann continued to struggled; he missed the majority of his cuts again and never threatened to win. Late in the year, Hartmann played the South African Tour where he had a little more success. At the Twee Jonge Gezellen Masters, he finished joint second with Ernie Els and Tertius Claassens, one back of champion Hugh Baiocchi.
In 1990, Hartmann had much more success in Europe, recording a number of top tens throughout the year. In June, he played the Wang Four Stars. Hartmann opened with rounds of 66 (−6) to tie for the lead at the end of each round. He failed to break 70 on the weekend though still finished in the top ten. The following week, Hartmann played the Irish Open at Portmarnock Golf Club. He failed to break par the first two days but closed well, with rounds of 71 and 69, to finish in solo fourth place. At the end of the month, Hartmann began play at the French Open. He fired a second round 65 (−5) to take a two-shot lead. In the final two rounds, however, he shot over-par each day to finish two back, two out of a playoff. Much later in the year, in October, he recorded a couple more top tens. At the Austrian Open, Hartmann fired a third round 66 to put himself in solo third place, only behind leaders Bernhard Langer and Lanny Wadkins. He shot over-par the final day though still tied for 8th place. Two weeks later, at the Portuguese Open, he opened with rounds of 68 (−4) to position himself in fourth place. Hartmann shot over-par in the third round to fall well back but recorded another 68 in the final round to finish in the top ten. Overall, for the year he made the cut in 16 of 25 events with five top tens, his most ever for a single season, and finished 39th on the Order of Merit.