Just a week after Rose Zhang won on her professional debut, Belgium’s Adrien Dumont de Chassart followed suit by winning the BMW Charity Pro-Am on the Korn Ferry Tour to prompt a record rankings jump.
The 23-year-old was a college star at Illinois and made his pro debut look like a walk in the park as he won at his very first attempt thanks to a playoff victory over Josh Teater.
Dumont de Chassart shot a final-round 65, with a bogey on his final hole dropping him into a playoff with Teater instead of claiming the title outright.
However, showing remarkable character for a youngster on his debut, the Belgian got a par in the playoff to beat Teater’s bogey and win his maiden pro title at his very first attempt.
“I’m not going to lie, I was very nervous out there," Dumont de Chassart said. "I was like four behind after 12. I just remember looking at the leaderboard on 13 and kind of got on a roll. I’m glad it’s over now, and that was a great chip on 18."
A first-team All-American, Dumont de Chassart finished third in the PGA Tour University standings to earn a Korn Ferry Tour card for the rest of the season – and his win instantly fired him into 22nd in the standings, with the top 30 earning PGA Tour cards at the end of the season.
Straight out of college, Dumont de Chassart pocketed the $180,000 first prize – not a bad first payday as a professional golfer.
“I’m not doing it for the money. But that was pretty exciting stuff,” Dumont de Chassart said.
Nerves of steel 💪@adrienddc went 4-under on his last six holes to force a playoff before coming away with his first professional win @BMWCharityProAm. pic.twitter.com/zFxghCBS8CJune 11, 2023
“I came here with no expectation. . "I had a good college career and I just wanted to play my game and see where I was compared to all these players.
“I hit the ball very well this week. I had a great short game, too. I was cool to see I can compete at this level.”
Along with the professional victory and pay check, Dumont de Chassart also had a huge, record boost in the Official World Golf Ranking, rocketing up from 3681 to 479 in the latest standings.
The rise of 3202 places is a new record, according to rankings guru Nosferatu (@VC606) on Twitter – and is even more than the 3003 place Michael Block jumped up after his epic PGA Championship run.
It was a huge event for Illinois golf, with second-year pro Michael Feagles shooting 59 in the event to cap a superb tournament for the college.
