Davis Chatfield’s golf career goes to the next level on Sunday as he will make his Korn Ferry Tour debut at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay.
Chatfield made it through Korn Ferry Tour Q School to earn an exemption through the first eight tournaments of the season, with the opportunity to play his way into more.
So before any shots are hit, and balls are in the air, here is what you should know about Chatfield and the Korn Ferry Tour.
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Davis Chatfield’s Korn Ferry Tour run begins on Sunday (Jan. 15) in the Bahamas. His opening round tee time is 12:43 p.m. eastern time off the tenth tee. PHOTO: Chatfield Instagram
Last week, Chatfield left home and drove down to Florida where he will be playing out of TPC Sawgrass. PHOTO: Flickr Commons
Davis’ brother Patrick will be his caddy for at least the first two KFT events. Patrick caddied for Davis throughout Q School. PHOTO: Anna Ison-Chatfield
When you turn pro, in anything, it is not just sports anymore. There is a business aspect to everything. The agency that is repping Davis is Fidelity Sports Group. Payne Stewart was one of their first clients when they launched (under a different name) in 1989.
Other than the support of his family, obviously, Chatfield is getting endorsements from Waterfall Resort Alaska, Escalade HQ and his shirts are made by the company Holderness & Bourne. PHOTO: Chatfield instagram
Cool bag! Chatfield will be playing repping TaylorMade out on the course. Wonder if he likes the new Stealth driver?
Davis is exempt through the first eight events (see schedule linked above.) On the KFT, there is a priority reshuffle after every four events. If, for whatever reason, Davis struggles in these opening events, it is not the end of the world – he has eight tournaments. However, toward the end of the run, it will be important to play well to get inside that reshuffle. If not, he won’t have guaranteed starts. PHOTO: PGA Tour/Korn Ferry Tour
The total prize money on the KFT in 2023 is $28 million, a 37% increase from 2022. The purse for Chatfield’s first event this week is $1 million.
Notable players taking part in the Korn Ferry Tour this season include Camilo Villegas, Sam Saunders, Sean O’Hair, former Texas stars Parker and Piercson Coody, former Oklahoma stars Logan McAllister, Chris Gotterup and Quade Cummins, among others.
New in 2023, the Korn Ferry Tour will hand out 30 PGA Tour Cards following the KFT Finals ending in October. It was previously 25. Starting next fall, there will also be a PGA Tour Q School option for players who fall short in KFT. The last PGA Tour Q School took place in 2012. PHOTO: PGA Tour/Getty Images
Also new in 2023, Korn Ferry Tour players who qualify for the U.S. Open will receive Korn Ferry Tour points. That was not always the case. The U.S. Open is set to be held at LA Country Club in 2023. PHOTO: Joe Calabro/GolfNewsRI