Tiger Woods has chosen this veteran caddie to work for him at the Genesis Invitational

Golfweek has learned this veteran caddie has been chosen by Woods for the plum assignment at Riviera.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. – Tiger Woods is back in action this week as the playing host of the PGA Tour’s Genesis Invitational. That has been anticipated for some time. But who will be on the bag for Woods now that Joe LaCava has taken up permanent residence with Patrick Cantlay?

Golfweek has learned that veteran caddie Lance Bennett has been chosen by Woods for the plum assignment at Riviera. Woods knows Bennett well from his days caddying for Matt Kuchar, including a win alongside him at the 2012 Players, during his prime.

In recent years, Bennett has been on the bag for Sungjae Im and Davis Riley and he also spent time on the LPGA with Juli Inkster, Paula Creamer and Lorena Ochoa. This season, he’s working full-time for Tour rookie Adrien Dumont de Chassart, a Belgian golfer who competed at Illinois and won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour, earning KFT Player of the Year honors last season.

Dumont de Chassart (nicknamed ADDC for short) and Woods are managed by the same agency, and Dumont de Chassart isn’t in the field this week, which makes it easy for Bennett to jump to Tiger’s bag. It’s possible that Bennett could be on the bag for Tiger at the Players Championship and the Masters too, but sources say that Tiger may bounce around between some different caddies.

Photos: Tiger Woods through the years

Rob McNamara, Tiger’s longtime business partner and vice president of TGR Ventures, caddied for Tiger at the Hero World Challenge in December and could fill the role again and Woods didn’t shut down the possibility of son Charlie serving as his sidekick in the future when asked if he might tote his bag.

Woods is making his first official Tour start since withdrawing from the Masters after making the cut in April. How much Woods plays this season will depend on his health, but he’s made it very clear he expects to play a limited schedule focused around the majors.

Woods originally had Mike “Fluff” Cowan on the bag when he won the 1997 Masters, then won 13 majors and 72 Tour titles with Steve Williams, and joined up with LaCava in 2012.

Efforts to confirm Tiger’s caddie with his management team were not returned.

In other caddie news, Paul Tesori has moved to the bag of Tom Kim. Tesori spent 12 years on the bag of Webb Simpson before moving to Cameron Young last March. Tesori started the year with Brendon Todd but wasn’t on Todd’s bag in Phoenix. Kim had Joe Skovron last season until he was hired away by Ludvig Aberg. Kim began the year with Daniel Parratt. When asked about joining Kim, Tesori said, “I’m looking forward to what will hopefully be another long term relationship on the bag. Tom is obviously extremely talented but having faith as a common denominator is something that I believe will help when golf gets difficult, which it seems to always be!”

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PGA Tour rookies Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Chan Kim took different paths to Sony Open in Hawaii

Two rookies separated by a decade in age and several thousand miles from each other grew up with the same dream.

HONOLULU — Reigning British Open champion Brian Harman made his PGA Tour debut at the 2012 Sony Open in Hawaii. Now 36 and entering his 13th year as a Tour member, he was asked Tuesday how he realized when he reached veteran status.

“I think when you start showing up to this tournament and you don’t recognize anyone that’s here,” he said during a pre-tournament press conference. “That’s when you know you’ve been out here a while. You’re looking and you’re like, ‘Man, someone letting their kid out there putting?’ No, that guy is a rookie. ‘OK, here we go.’”

This week, that fresh face for Harman could be that of Belgian Adrien Dumont de Chassart, who Wednesday was voted 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Rookie of the Year by his peers. The 23-year-old Dumont de Chassart enjoyed a fifth year at University of Illinois, where he was a three-time Big Ten Player of the Year, and graduated with a degree in business management. Belgium isn’t exactly a golfing hotbed and yet his path into golf had as much to do with geography as anything.

“I lived a mile away from a golf course, so my dad and my brother always brought me with them when I was very young, and that’s how I get started,” he said.

After finishing third in the 2023 PGA Tour University ranking, Dumont de Chassart won in his pro debut on the Korn Ferry Tour. He finished second the following week and hardly slowed down, recording six consecutive top-10s and assured a rapid rise to the PGA Tour this season.

Sony Open: Photos

“I think that’s a dream that every kid back home wants to accomplish one day,” said Dumont de Chassart, who joins fellow Belgian and Illini grad Thomas Detry in the big leagues.

That’s something the young Belgian and Chan Kim, who took a more circuitous route to the Tour, share in common. Kim is a 33-year-old rookie who said his body’s aches and pains make him feel more like a 43-year-old.

“Well, would’ve loved to be a rookie at 23. Sometimes that doesn’t work out,” he said. “Just to be here, to have this experience, know that this is – it’s been a lifelong goal.”

Kim grew up not far from Waialae Country Club, host of the tournament since 1965, from age 3 to 16 and attended the Sony Open as a kid every year. He would wake up at 4:30 a.m. and wait for a tee time at Ala Wai Golf Course, one of the nation’s busiest municipal courses, and use his junior pass, which gave him 20 nine-hole rounds for $20.

“So, a dollar per nine holes,” he said. “Just can’t get that anywhere else.”

After turning pro, he spent eight years playing on the Japan Golf Tour, winning eight times. He still remembers trying to figure out how much his first check amounted to in U.S. dollars.

“I was running around telling people I’m a millionaire in Japanese yen,” he said.

With the top 30 on last season’s Korn Ferry Tour points list graduating to the PGA Tour for this season – up from 25 – Kim called it “a no-brainer” to try his luck on the developmental circuit, and he won twice and finished second in the season-long points list.

Two rookies separated by a decade in age and several thousand miles from each other grew up with the same dream. That’s not all they share in common. Asked to write three words on a sheet of paper to describe himself, Dumont de Chassart chose “Never Give Up,” his motto ever since he rallied to win a match from five down with five holes to go in the quarterfinals of the French Boys’ under 18, and went on to win the title. It’s a motto that could just as easily describe Kim’s long and winding road to his rookie debut just 10 minutes from his where his dream to be a pro golfer was born.

“To be a PGA Tour member and come back here, to kick everything off pretty much in my hometown,” he said, “yeah, it’s a treat.”

Former college golf stars are winning in their professional debuts, and it’s not a surprise to their fellow pros

“It’s only going to get better.”

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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.

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 the level of talent in college golf,” said Logan McAllister, who finished third in the 2022 PGA Tour U standings. “College is obviously not the same as professional golf, but the guys who are at the top can come out here and compete, and they’ve proved that.”

There have been plenty of changes to PGA Tour U, especially in the past year to combat the LIV Golf League trying to lure players for guaranteed money. Former Oklahoma State golfer Eugenio Chacarra is one who left college, and he even won a LIV event last year.

This year, the top finisher, Ludvig Aberg, earned a PGA Tour card and has membership for the rest of the 2023 and the 2024 season, though he will be subject to reshuffles in 2024. There were more incentives to stay in college and pursue PGA Tour opportunities after turning pro.

Last year’s No. 1 finisher, Pierceson Coody, has won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour and is eighth in points this year. He’s well on his way to eventually earning his Tour card, but he would’ve had it under the current rules.

“At first you’re frustrated because I missed it by a year,” Coody said. “But I am on a good path and doing the right things, and next year I plan to be on the PGA Tour. I turned down LIV, and then the next year, the No. 1 player gets a Tour card. It is weird to think about, but it is what it is and I’m in a good spot.

“As long as I keep my head there, I’m going to end up with a chance to do great things out there.”

Most of the recent PGA Tour U graduates agree that if the program had been around in the past, there likely would’ve been more stories of players turning professional and winning right away.

Michael Thorbjornsen, who is set to begin his senior year at Stanford in the fall, is playing in this week’s Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour on a sponsor exemption. He’ll be a part of PGA Tour U this season, and he knows how important it is for the college game.

“I think the younger guys are getting better and better, and I think it’s because we all see what opportunities are out there for us,” Thorbjornsen said. “PGA Tour U has created an unbelievable platform for us to perform our best and to have some sort of a pathway on Tour.”

There are more opportunities now than ever for college players turning professional, and they’re taking advantage.

“These young guys are hungry and ready,” said Rico Hoey, the 27-year-old who shot 7-under 65 on Thursday and played collegiately at USC. “I think it’s a great incentive to stay in school, but it’s really cool to see these young guys coming out and having success.”

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Haskins Award: Final watch list for 2022-23 men’s college golf season

Check out who’s in the running for player of the year in men’s college golf in 2023.

The postseason is underway in men’s college golf, and after the NCAA Regionals, the NCAA Div. I Men’s Golf Championship field is set for May 26-31 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.

With that, the race for the 2023 Haskins Award presented by Stifel is starting to heat up.

A handful of players have made their case throughout the season as front-runners for the Haskins Award, which honors the player of the year in men’s college golf, as selected by college golfers, coaches and members of the college golf media.

If you fit one of the listed criteria, use this link to cast your vote.

Players on the Haskins Award Watch List were selected by a panel of Golfweek and Golf Channel writers. The players are listed alphabetically.

Golfweek/Sagarin rankingsMen’s teamMen’s individual

Illinois men’s golf takes control; Brian Roberts, Jonathan Yaun tied for individual lead at 2022 Folds of Honor Collegiate

Illinois has raced out to an 11-shot lead at American Dunes Golf Club.

Illinois has raced out to an 11-shot lead at American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Michigan, in the inaugural Folds of Honor Collegiate.

Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Tommy Kuhl, and Piercen Hunt all shot 3-under 69s for the Fightin’ Illini while Jackson Buchanan shot a 2-under 70. Illinois is 7 under and 36 holes and the only team under par.

“That’s what we look for. That’s Illini golf. We closed effectively. … it was good to see,” said Mike Small, head coach of Illinois.

Senior Tommy Kuhl made just one bogey on his card Tuesday and has just three bogeys this week.

“I hit it really solid today,” said Kuhl. “I put myself in the right spots and played solid golf. I knew the conditions going into today were going to be pretty difficult and I know at this golf course, you’ve got to put it in the right spots to score well, and that’s what I did.”

Fold of Honor CollegiateTeam scores | Individual

Florida State is in second heading into Wednesday’s final round at 4 over. Liberty and Arizona are tied for third at 7 over. Kansas is solo fifth at 9 over.

“We came out, we got on it pretty early. We got off to a good start which helps. We hadn’t done that in the last event (Olympia Fields). It definitely helps to come out strong and we carried the momentum into the back-nine and finished well,” said Kuhl.

Despite the big lead heading into the final round, Coach Small says their mentality stays the same.

“Tomorrow is zero-zero. Let’s go play golf. Have that same look we had today and play Illini’ golf,” said Smalls.

Last week, Illinois hosted the Fightin’ Illini Invitational and finished in second place, behind Stanford.

“At Olympia Fields we didn’t close like we wanted to, but today we did, and that’s progress,” said Smalls.

Florida State’s Brian Roberts and Liberty’s Jonathan Yaun are tied atop the individual leaderboard at 6 under. Yaun, who led after Day 1, has posted back-to-back rounds of 69.

Roberts, after he shot 70 in the first round, kept his rhythm, and shot a 4-under 68 on Tuesday. Through two rounds of golf, the Seminole junior is 7 under on the par 5’s. He eagled the 6th on Tuesday after hitting the green in two shots.

“That was the only one I went for. The rest has been just a lot of wedges and hitting some good shots, close in there,” said Roberts.

Playing a tournament at the Folds of Honor course is significant to Small.

“I think it’s a great educational experience,“ he said. ”I think it’s great for the kids to see this and learn more about the Folds of Honor organization so that they can rally behind it at an early age. You need young people to do that, to foster that. We’d like to win, play well tomorrow, and finish it off, but that’s not the ultimate thing. The ultimate thing is to carry yourself with respect and pride and play in the spirit of this event.”

Wednesday is the final round of the Folds of Honor Collegiate. The leaders will tee off at 8 a.m. ET.

Alex Gelman is the current Ron Balicki Scholarship Award winner.

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Men’s college golf notebook: Washington State makes history at Husky Invitational; three aces in the same tournament

Here’s what you missed in the men’s college golf world.

The Washington State men’s golf team accomplished something Tuesday it never had before: the Cougars won a tournament in the western half of its state.

Washington State captured its rival hosts tournament, the Husky Invitational held in Bremerton, marking the first time the Cougars have won a tournament in the western portion of the state. WSU finished at 4-over 868, three strokes clear of USC and five ahead of the host Huskies.

“We got off to a shaky start, but give our guys credit. They just hung in there and clawed their way back and just seemed very patient and just played until they were no holes left,” Washington State coach Dustin White said. “You couldn’t really draw a better way to start your season.”

The win was the fourth for White during his tenure with the Cougars.

Junior Jaden Cantafio and senior Pono Yanagi both finished in the top five on the individual leaderboard. Cantafio led the Cougars after he shot 4-under 68 in the final round to finish at 3-under 213, which was solo third. He moved up 15 places over his final round, which included five birdies and an eagle on the par-4 18th. Cantafio ended his day one stroke behind Washington’s Taehoon Song and five strokes behind USC’s Jackson Rivera, who won the tournament. Yanagi finished at 2-under 214 for the tournament, tied for fifth.

“The teams that we were paired with and that we were competing with, these are these are high-level teams and you know, a lot of respect goes to those guys,” White said. “I mean, it’s hard to win in college golf, and anytime you get a chance to be in contention, there’s no other feeling that’s like it. So we’re just really appreciative of the fact that we had some teams that pushed us, and I think we all made each other better.”

Oregon finished in fourth, one shot behind Washington, and Long Beach State tallied a fifth-place finish.

Rivera, a sophomore, has finished in the top 10 in four of his past five starts. It’s the first win of his college career.

Craziness at in Fort Collins

In terms of craziness, there was plenty of it at the Ram Masters Classic at Fort Collins Country Club in Colorado. There were three holes-in-one, an albatross and a tournament record tied during the two-day, 54-hole event.

UC San Diego’s Eliot Bunyaviroch aced the par-3 second hole with an 8-iron in the first round. Creighton’s Shaun Campbell hit a pitching wedge on the ninth hole in the second round, and his ball went in the cup. Then Texas A&M Commerce’s Kittiphong Phaithuncharoensuk made an ace on the par-3 14th during the second round. Northern Colorado’s Garrett Willis then had an albatross, an 8-iron from 210 yards on the par-5 first hole in the second round.

Host Colorado State finished at 17 under for the tournament, tying the event record.

Big win for Cardinal, Thorbjornsen

Elsewhere, Stanford got a signature early-season win against a packed field at the Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields, beating second-place Florida and Illinois by 13 shots.

The Cardinal, ranked second in the Golfweek Sagarin rankings, shot even during the final round. Stanford led after every round, and junior Michael Thorbjornsen earned his first collegiate victory. He finished at 7-under 203, beating Florida’s Ricky Castillo and Illinois’ Adrien Dumont de Chassart by one shot. Thorbjornsen became the first Cardinal to win the tournament since Maverick McNealy in 2015.

Arizona State’s Ryggs Johnston finished solo fourth at 5-under 205 while Tommy Kohl of Illinois was solo fifth at 4 under.

More transfer news

The NCAA Division I Board of Directors recently made changes to the transfer portal, including opening and closing dates for specific sports. For men’s golf, the portal will open May 4, 2023, and close June 17 2023. For women’s golf, it will open April 27, 2023 and close June 10, 2023. There will also be a window for golfers to enter between Dec. 1-15, 2022.

In addition, the Division I Council is now permitting athletes who plan to enroll at another program after graduating to enter the transfer portal at any time.

Cameron Jourdan covers college and amateur golf for Golfweek. Got a college or amateur story? Email him at cjourdan@golfweek.com.

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