The Five: Coody twins' entrance headlines most intriguing rookies debuting at Sony Open

The PGA TOUR rookies in the field at the Sony Open in Hawaii don’t have to look far for inspiration.

Russell Henley, one of the betting favorites this week, was once where they are now. In 2013, Henley made his season debut as a rookie at Waialae Country Club. What served as his introduction to the PGA TOUR also happened to be his coronation as an up-and-coming star. Then 23 years old, Henley closed with a back-nine 29 and a final-round 63 to finish at a tournament-record 24-under 256 and win the tournament.

Henley is still on the PGA TOUR 11 years later and among the top-five favorites to claim another title on the Honolulu shores. Those are aspirations that the current crop of rookies would love to achieve. And it starts this week.

There are 16 rookies in the field at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Most aren’t making their PGA TOUR debut, like Henley did in 2013. Some have played TOUR events on sponsor exemptions or made it through a Monday qualifier or two. Others have even played in majors. None have reached the threshold to be a PGA TOUR rookie, though.

Ahead of their 2024 season debut as PGA TOUR members, here’s a look at the five most intriguing names to follow this week and all season.

1. Adrien Dumont de Chassart

The gem of this year’s rookie class is undoubtedly Dumont de Chassart, the decorated University of Illinois graduate who burst onto the Korn Ferry Tour scene last summer.

Dumont de Chassart won his first Korn Ferry Tour start, shooting a final-round 65 to claim the 2023 BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX. He lost in a playoff the following week, which started a streak of six consecutive top 10s to begin his professional career, eradicating any worries that joining the Korn Ferry Tour mid-season would hinder him from earning a PGA TOUR card.

The 23-year-old Belgian clinched it with room to spare, finishing 11th in the Korn Ferry Tour Points List (the top 30 earn PGA TOUR cards). He was announced Wednesday as the 2022-23 Korn Ferry Tour Rookie of the Year despite playing only 11 events. He led the circuit in scoring average (68.35).

If not for the immense hype surrounding Ludvig Åberg, Dumont de Chassart would be widely considered the most exciting prospect from the 2023 PGA TOUR University graduating class. Dumont de Chassart finished third in the final rankings, behind only Åberg and Fred Biondi. But, unlike Biondi, Dumont de Chassart quickly acclimated to the Korn Ferry Tour. He’s the first player to earn Korn Ferry Tour status through PGA TOUR U and then translate it into a PGA TOUR card for the following season.

A meteoric rise of that nature is worthy of following. He’s known best for his short game. “He has some of the best hands of anybody I’ve ever seen,” said Justin Bardgett, Illinois’ assistant coach during Dumont de Chassart’s time there.

In an era that has seen recent college grads – Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, Åberg – acclimate immediately to PGA TOUR life, Dumont de Chassart appears next in line.

2. Pierceson Coody and Parker Coody

Only Pierceson Coody was in the Sony Open in Hawaii field at the start of the week. That didn’t feel right. Luckily, Parker fixed it, advancing through the Monday qualifier that was pushed into Tuesday because of weather conditions.

The talented duo have walked hand-in-hand through much of their golfing career. That sets up a fitting milestone that the Coody twins will accomplish together: their first starts as PGA TOUR members.

Both played for the University of Texas, leading the Longhorns to the 2022 NCAA title. Pierceson was the No. 1 player in PGA TOUR University last year, while Parker ranked 13th. Before turning pro, Pierceson attained the top spot in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and won the prestigious Western Amateur. Parker was runner-up in last year’s NCAA Championship, falling to Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent in a four-man playoff. The 24-year-old twins parlayed the status they earned to win shortly after turning pro. Pierceson won on the Korn Ferry Tour in his third start, while Parker needed just six starts to win on PGA TOUR Canada. Pierceson added another Korn Ferry Tour victory last year. Pierceson finished sixth in the Korn Ferry Tour Points List; Parker finished 26th.

They’ll be forever compared, but each will forge their own unique paths on the PGA TOUR. That begins this week in Hawaii.

3. Alejandro Tosti

Tosti had the best Korn Ferry Tour season of any soon-to-be PGA TOUR rookie. He finished third in the season-long points race, trailing only Ben Kohles and Chan Kim, who have played too many TOUR events in previous seasons to be deemed rookies for 2024.

Tosti co-led the Korn Ferry Tour in top-10 finishes (10). He was third in scoring average (68.77) and third in rounds under 60 (49). He was equally impressive off-the-tee and on the greens, finishing third in driving distance (324.3) and putting average (1.170).

His arrival on the PGA TOUR is a long time coming for the 27-year-old Argentinian. Tosti won the 2011 Argentine National Junior Championship, 2013 South Argentine Amateur Championship, 2013 Coastal Open and 2014 Argentine National Junior Championship and he ascended to No. 1 in the Argentine National Ranking in 2014, earning him a spot in the 2015 U.S. Amateur.

Tosti claimed four individual wins as a member of the University of Florida golf team, with the crown jewel being medalist honors at the 2017 Southeastern Conference Championship in Sea Island, Georgia. In addition to joining Billy Horschel among Gators to win the individual conference title, Tosti earned All-America First Team and All-SEC First Team selections that same season. Tosti would leave the program ranked third in school history in career scoring average (71,48), just ahead of Horschel (71.73), and only behind John Axelsen (71.28) and Camilo Villegas (71.21).

Tosti turned pro and headed to PGA TOUR Latinoamerica, where his train to the PGA TOUR left the station with speed. Tosti cut his professional teeth on that circuit from 2019 to 2022, winning the Termas de Rio Hondo Invitational in his first year. After two more solid seasons on the circuit, Tosti added another title in 2022, en route to a No. 5 finish in the Totalplay Cup standings that secured 2023 Korn Ferry Tour membership. And he dominated in his one year on the Korn Ferry Tour.

He’s had the winning formula at every level. Why stop now?

4. Ryo Hisatsune

From DP World Tour Rookie of the Year to PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year? That’s the leap Hisatsune is hoping to make. The Japanese native was the 10th, and final, DP World Tour member to earn a PGA TOUR card through their finish in the Race to Dubai standings.

Hisatsune, 21, was the youngest of any of the top 10. His rise is rather remarkable. As a 19-year-old, he finished atop the Japan Challenge Tour's money list, earning a record total of almost 11 million yen after winning three times. He became the first Japanese golfer to win in continental Europe in 40 years with his maiden DP World Tour victory during his rookie season at the 2023 Cazoo Open de France. He was named DP World Tour’s Rookie of the Year. Within two years he jumped from outside the top 300 in the world to a current career-best 74th.

Hisatsune and Hideki Matsuyama are the only two players of Japanese descent to have full PGA TOUR status in 2024. How the fellow countrymen stack up against each other will be compelling to follow all season.

Based on his limited history on PGA TOUR events, expectations should be high. Hisatsune played four TOUR events in 2024, finishing inside the top-12 on three occasions. He finished T6 at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP in October.

5. Norman Xiong

Xiong, 25, is the test case that the road to the PGA TOUR isn’t easy.

The talented Oregon alum was expected to make waves quickly when he turned pro as a 19-year-old back in 2018. If there were sure-fire prospects in golf, Xiong seemed to fit the mold.

He was named the 2016-17 NCAA Division I National Freshman of the Year despite playing just one semester, then won national player of the year as a sophomore in 2018, turned pro and co-led the Sanderson Farms Championship after 36 holes that fall. Then he breezed through Q-School, ultimately finishing runner-up at Final Stage to earn guaranteed Korn Ferry Tour starts.

He was on the precipice of the PGA TOUR. Until he wasn’t.

The last four years have been an up-and-down ride. He lost his status on the Korn Ferry Tour, making just five of 21 cuts in 2019. Then he regained it after Monday qualifying into the circuit’s Wichita event and winning it by five shots in 2022.

That earned him status for 2023. It looked like he would play another year on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2024, too. Heading into the Nationwide Children's Hospital Championship, the Korn Ferry Tour’s penultimate event, he ranked 59th in the Points List. Then he fired a final-round 67 to win the event by four shots and clinch a PGA TOUR card.

That sets up quite the story for Xiong, who wasn’t even in the Sony Open in Hawaii until Tuesday when he advanced out of a 7-for-2 playoff on the seventh hole.

Heck of a way to make your PGA TOUR debut as a member. Seems fitting given his path.