Adrien Dumont de Chassart wins in Korn Ferry Tour debut

Scott Richey, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
·3 min read

Jun. 13—GREER, S.C. — Adrien Dumont de Chassart earned full status on the Korn Ferry Tour after finishing in the top three of the PGA Tour University rankings at the end of his final season at Illinois. Full exemption into any Korn Ferry Tour event the rest of the season.

One professional tournament into his career, and Dumont de Chassart has already made real progress toward earning his PGA Tour card.

Less than two weeks after trying to help Illinois win a national title, the 23-year-old former Illini beat 44-year-old Josh Teater in a one-hole playoff Sunday to win the BMW Charity Pro-Am at Carolina Country Club. The celebratory beer shower on the 18th green was delivered in part by former Illinois teammate Michael Feagles, who shot a 12-under 59 in the opening round and finished tied for 15th.

"I came here with no expectations," Dumont de Chassart told reporters after the win. "I had a good college career, and I just came here and told myself to stick to who I was and play my game. That's what I did all week, and I'm glad it paid off."

Sunday's win came with a payout of $180,000, plus 500 Korn Ferry Tour points. The former is nice. A six-figure paycheck for four days' work isn't too bad. The latter is arguably more important in the big picture.

A single victory has Dumont de Chassart ranked No. 22 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list after only one event. The top 30 finishers come the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship earn their PGA Tour card for the 2024 season. Dumont de Chassart, with one win under his belt, could also win twice more this season and earn an immediate promotion to the PGA Tour and status in 2024.

Dumont de Chassart is scheduled to play in the next nine Korn Ferry Tour events through the rest of June, July and into August as a benefit of his PGA Tour University ranking and exempt status.

He'll be in action this week starting Thursday at the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open at Crestview Country Club in Wichita, Kan.

"I think without PGA Tour U. I'd probably ask for exemptions to play on the Korn Ferry or PGA tours and kind of start from the bottom," Dumont de Chassart said last week. "I'm glad that we got a little shortcut. It shows that college golf has improved a lot over the years. When I was a freshman, Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland were juniors and seniors. Just seeing them getting out that quickly and winning on the PGA Tour was pretty impressive. To be able to do it here on the Korn Ferry is pretty cool."

Dumont de Chassart got his first professional win thanks to a come-from-behind effort Sunday. He trailed Teater by four shots through 12 holes after a bogey at No. 11. A par on No. 12 was followed by a birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle stretch the next four holes. A bogey from Dumont de Chassart on No. 18 opened the door for Teater to win with a birdie on the final hole, but he parred it to lead to the playoff.

Dumont de Chassart parred the playoff hole, Teater bogeyed and the three-time Big Ten Golfer of the Year had his first professional victory.

"I mean, I'm not going to lie," Dumont de Chassart said. "I was very nervous out there. I was like four behind after 12. I just remember looking at the leaderboard on 13, and I kind of got on a roll.

"Made a great par on 17 and three-putted from probably 80 feet on 18. A little disappointing. I'm glad it's over now. That was a great chip on 18 (in the playoff). I'm glad I only had a foot for par instead of a 4-footer downhill."