Luke Donald took a gamble (or not, given the outcome) with his handpicked choice of Ludvig Aberg for the Ryder Cup, but his bet would have been even bigger if another of the young talents he was tracking under the radar had shone in the two tournaments he played in Europe between late August and early September: the D+D Real Czech Masters and the Omega European Masters. Adrien Dumont de Chassart (ADC), the protagonist of this story, hit a snag in Prague, where he didn’t make the cut, and finished 52nd in Crans Montana; the Swede, however, convinced the Englishman with a fourth place and a victory, respectively. In any case, Donald would not have hesitated to call the promising 23-year-old Belgian to the ranks for Rome.
Moreover, this boy who has amazed during his time in Illinois (where his compatriots Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry also studied) and, although his quality did not entail a significant number of victories in the NCAA (four, but with 29 top ten in 52 events), he showed from the outset, as soon as he made the leap to professionalism, that he was more than prepared for great achievements. He arrived and kissed the saint at the BMW Charity with a victory in his debut on the Korn Ferry Tour, lost in the playoff with another lad fresh out of college, Ricky Castillo, in his second appearance as a pro and then strung together four more top tens (a record of six in a row once held by Scottie Scheffler, Stewart Cink and Will Zalatoris on the Korn Ferry Tour) that earned him a PGA Tour card for the next season.
“I want to be there,” he said during an interview with the American Circuit website while watching the draw for the foursomes on the opening day of the Ryder Cup. He only had two months to persuade Donald while he now has two years ahead for the Englishman to recruit him for Bethpage. He is hungry and, like Aberg, determined.
Adrien, as a child, was very sporty but his projection was headed towards another specialty: tennis. In Villers-la-Ville, a town 40 minutes from Brussels where he grew up, he has trophies linked to the racket. He was one of the top 15 juniors in Belgium before he stopped competing at the age of 13, when the swing with the racket began to take its toll on his golf swing. “I was probably better at tennis,” ADC points out. But he was more hooked on golf and possibly his tennis education has helped him to show a skilful touch around the greens. “He has some of the best hands I’ve ever seen,” says Justin Bardgett, assistant coach at Illinois during the time ADC was there.
It also has to do with the fact that Arnaud, his father, did not allow him to use the driver until he dropped below a 30 handicap (he achieved it at 11 years old) and, therefore, perfected his short game from a young age. However, the downside was that he arrived at university with a rather poor drive shot. Even so, he won the Big Ten in his first year despite “not hitting the ball well” with that club, in the words of Mike Small, his coach at Illinois. Adrien has been correcting this disadvantage, and he has moved to Jacksonville (Florida) this winter with his girlfriend, Katie, daughter of the men’s basketball coach at his University, Brad Underwood, in recent seasons.
Dumont de Chassart is one of the 13 rookies competing this week in the Sony Open, his debut as a member of the PGA Tour; in principle, his idea is to play around 25 tournaments this year and they trust in his tremendous learning ability. “He’s the most mature 23-year-old I’ve ever met,” says Bardgett, whose statement seems to echo those made about Aberg at Texas Tech.
Donald plays from tomorrow to Sunday in the Dubai Invitational but he is sure to keep an eye on the Sony Open to observe the performance of Adrien Dumont de Chassart, who dreams of being in the New York Ryder in 2025.
