Chambana Sun

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting Illini men's golf program will be well represented when the PGA TOUR tees off this week at its annual stop at the John Deere Classic held at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois.

Two former Fighting Illini standouts, Nick Hardy and Adrien Dumont de Chassart, are slated to tee off this week in the Quad Cities alongside current Illini Jackson Buchanan at the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run.

Hardy is coming off his third straight made cut at last weekend's Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit where he finished T52. He will play in the John Deere Classic for the fifth time in his career, having posted improved results with each playing since his first in 2017 (T55). He posted a T43 finish in 2018 and a T30 in 2022 before finishing just outside of the top 20 (T21) at last year's event.

For tour rookie Dumont de Chassart, the 2024 John Deere Classic will mark his first time in the field at TPC Deere Run. His former Illini teammate of two seasons, Jackson Buchanan, will also play in the event for the first time after earning a sponsor's exemption into the field. Buchanan, who also played in the U.S. Open last month, is coming off a strong showing last week in his first-career Korn Ferry Tour event with a T39 finish at the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS contested at Panther Creek Country Club in Springfield, Illinois.

Dumont de Chassart is also set to make his Olympic debut next month representing Belgium alongside fellow Illini Thomas Detry at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

While a trio of former Illini are playing close to home at the JDC this week, another alum Matthis Besard continues his season on the DP World Tour this week in Munich, Germany for the BMW International Open. Besard will make his 16th start of the season and is searching for his sixth made cut.