NORMAN, Okla. — Rose Zhang started the trend three weeks ago. Adrien Dumont de Chassart followed her up the next week. Then, Ricky Castillo joined the party.
Three straight weeks. Three straight professional events won by a player making their debut straight out of college, and all in different situations.
Amateurs having immediate success straight out of college is nothing new, though there are more opportunities now for the top college players right after turning professional compared to the past, especially on the men’s side with PGA Tour University.
“I wish we would’ve had that back when I was in college,” former Oklahoma State golfer Kristoffer Ventura said Thursday after an opening 5-under 67 at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Compliance Solutions Championship at Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club. “Those guys are really, really good, and they’ve just proven that. They took advantage of that opportunity. It’s only going to get better.”
Only 13 days after winning a record second NCAA individual title, Zhang won in her pro debut on the LPGA at the Mizuho Americas Open. The following week and 12 days after bowing out during the quarterfinals of NCAA match play, Dumont de Chassart won the Korn Ferry Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am in a playoff.
Then last week, Castillo, who was making his pro debut on the heels of winning the national championship with Florida, won the Wichita Open in a playoff, where he beat Dumont de Chassart and Kyle Jones.
Dumont de Chassart finished third in the 2023 PGA Tour U standings, which guaranteed him fully exempt Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2023, as well as an exemption to the final stage of 2023 PGA Tour Q-School. For Castillo, who was ninth in PGA Tour U, he had conditional Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2023, fully exempt membership on PGA Tour Canada for 2023, as well as an exemption to the second stage of 2023 PGA Tour Q-School presented by Korn Ferry.
A fun battle last week at @WichitaOpen! Looking forward to getting back out next week and competing at the @MHChampionship. Hope to see some @IlliniMGolf and @IlliniAthletics fans in Springfield! pic.twitter.com/WUa80sY2HV
— Adrien Dumont de Chassart (@adrienddc) June 20, 2023
However, Castillo’s win changed that. He sits inside the top 30 in the Korn Ferry Tour standings. At the end of the year, the top 30 get PGA Tour cards. For Dumont de Chassart, he’s sixth and almost guaranteed to earn a card.
“All these wins from PGA Tour U guys kind of speaks to…
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