CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The professional debut of recent Fighting Illini men's golf alumnus Adrien Dumont on the Korn Ferry Tour, and head coach Mike Small competing on PGA Tour Champions both add to the excitement of a busy week in the professional ranks for the Orange and Blue.
PGA TOUR
PGA Tour pro Nick Hardy secured his spot in next week's U.S. Open (June 15-18 at The Los Angeles Country Club), advancing through local qualifying Monday at Springfield Country Club in Springfield, Ohio.
Hardy shot a 1-over 71 in his opening round before vaulting up the leaderboard with an incredible 61 (-10) in Round 2 to finish third in a race for five qualifying spots in the 75-player field. He will move on to make his fifth start at the U.S. Open, and his second consecutive after tying for 14th last year at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.
Thomas Pieters, like Hardy, will also be making his fifth U.S. Open start, earning a spot in the field by virtue of his top-60 points status in the Official World Golf Rankings. Pieters missed the cut in his first two starts at the major in 2017 (Erin Hlls) and 2019 (Pebble Beach), but broke through for a tie for 23rd in 2020 at Winged Foot and then tied for 27th at The Country Club.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Head coach Mike Small will tee off alongside former Illini teammate and longtime friend Steve Stricker at this weekend's American Family Insurance Championship in Madison, Wis.
Stricker, who followed up his win at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship with a runner-up finish at the Principal Charity Classic, tees off riding a record streak of 52 consecutive rounds at par or better to match Tiger Woods' all-time mark.
Small is playing in his first PGA Tour Champions event of the season, and will be in action again at the end of the month after qualifying for the U.S. Senior Open Championship two weeks ago.
KORN FERRY TOUR
Michael Feagles and Brian Campbell, who will each be making their 11th Korn Ferry starts of the season, will have some company moving forward as 2023 Illini alum Adrien Dumont de Chassart is set to make his professional debut this week at the BMW Charity Pro-Am at Thornblade Club in Greer, S.C.
Dumont de Chassart finished third in the 2023 PGA Tour University rankings, earning first-team honors. By finishing No. 2-5, he gained fully exempt Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2023, as well as an exemption to Final Stage of 2023 PGA TOUR Q-School – where the top five finishers and ties earn PGA TOUR cards – and the ability to accept unlimited PGA TOUR sponsor exemptions for the remainder of 2023 and 2024.
