Bill Haisten
Tulsa World Sports Columnist
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OWASSO — In any historically brilliant round of golf, there has to be a magic moment.
For Davis Chatfield, there were two such moments during Thursday’s opening round of the Korn Ferry Tour’s Compliance Solutions Championship at The Patriot Golf Club.
From the fairway of the par-5 15th hole, the 26-year-old Chatfield slammed his 268-yard second shot into the cup for a double eagle.
“After that,” Chatfield confessed after his round, “I figured I had a chance at a 59.”
In a stunning moment that was televised live on Golf Channel and watched by a big gallery on the 18th green, the former Notre Dame golfer coolly converted on a 30-foot birdie putt and did, in fact, finish with a 12-under-par, course-record 59.
While 59 is an incredibly rare score, the 5-foot-6, 150-pound Chatfield takes a lead of only two shots into the second round.
Bunched at 10-under are Zecheng Dou, Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Travis Trace (whose round of 61 ended only minutes before sundown).
It was expected that these Korn Ferry players would score well this week. No one expected this barrage of birdies. Through one round, 23 players have a score of no worse than 7-under par.
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When the second round begins, only five players have a score worse than even par.
Former Oklahoma State star Zach Bauchou played with Chatfield on Thursday. Bauchou’s round began with three birdies but he finished with a 5-under 66. It’s not typical for a player to be disappointed with a 5-under score, but this was not a typical day of scoring. Bauchou was disappointed.
“I’ve just got to try to play better tomorrow,’ Bauchou said. “I’ve got a lot of ground to make up. There are still three more days.”
Bauchou marveled at what he had seen from Chatfield, a Massachusetts native.
“I don’t think you can ever try to shoot 59. Davis obviously had an incredible round,” Bauchou said. “He had a double eagle on the 15th hole, which was insane. It rolled off the slope and he made it, which was really cool.”
At the end of Friday’s second round, 75 of the 111 players will advance to play during the weekend and continue their pursuit of Korn Ferry points and Compliance Solutions Championship money. The overall tournament purse is $1.5 million. The winner gets $270,000.
The top 75 players on the Korn Ferry Tour’s points list compete in next week’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship in Indiana. By the end of that event, the top 20 players on the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2025 points list will have secured PGA Tour membership for next year.
Chatfield’s 59 broke Jared Strathe’s Patriot course record of 60. Strathe is a former Oral Roberts University player.
“It’s a crazy golf course,” Chatfield said. “It’s a lot of fun to play. I love it. I think it’s a cool layout.
“It’s different than what we usually play. It’s a good change-up.”
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Bill Haisten
Tulsa World Sports Columnist
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