“It was pretty good,” said Tom Vaillant at the 2023 Nelson Mandela Bay Championship. His goal, though, Vaillant admitted, was “just trying to do my job the best I can every day and hopefully that takes me to the right place. I just try to keep going and do the same things every day.” Two years down the line, Vaillant is keeping true to that sentiment.

But who’s the guy building a storm at the 2025 BMW PGA Championship? The “Golfeur professionnel,” as reads Vaillant’s Instagram bio, was born on December 14, 2001, in France. His stint at Arkansas State, where he made his mark with 2 impressive performances, included a pair of 67s at the 2020 Bubba Barnett Intercollegiate and a program-history-defining 65 at the Little Rock Invitational.

By 18, he’d already racked up six appearances for France in national competitions. Then, in 2019, his major victories included back-to-back titles at the French Boys U19 Championship and the Valescure Grand Prix. In the previous year, he’d notched nine top-10 finishes across 16 events. So, Vaillant has shown his star-like performance enough times.

Need another proof? In February at the 2023 Nelson Mandela Bay Championship, Vaillant dealt with winds along with his fellow pros. Following the Saturday round 73, Vaillant said, “The final round will just be me against the golf course and the conditions. It’s my first year on tour and I know I can win. I’ll try and do my best.” He eventually finished T3. Pretty solid?

However, his next big break came just a month before his 22nd birthday. In November 2023, he secured his DP World Tour card, graduating from the Challenge Tour. This capped off an impressive journey that saw him finish third on the Alps Tour Order of Merit in 2022, earning promotion to the Challenge Tour.

Vaillant wasted no time making an impact there as well, finishing 12th in the Road to Mallorca Rankings in his debut season, which paved the way for his DP World Tour promotion in the following year. He registered his first best DP World Tour at the 2024 ISPS Handa Championship (T7). So, in essence, Tom Vaillant is a pretty promising player. Most importantly, however, it wouldn’t have been possible without his family backing him. And Vaillant doesn’t shy away from accepting that.

Tom Vaillant credits his family for his golfing success

For Tom Vaillant, achieving his DP World Tour card was a dream come true. But not only for himself, but his family as well. He accepted that much, admitting that some time after earning his Tour card, “It’s the accomplishment of a kids dream but also my family’s dream.” His goals were (and still are) straightforward: put in the hard work and progress steadily.

“My goals and aims are pretty simple. To grind and do what I need to do to progress and reach the level that I want to.” Vaillant’s journey to the top has been marked by patience and a long-term vision. “It was a really long season in which I played the most tournaments ever for me. I had some good weeks at the beginning and especially at the end, and I learned a lot on the pro golfer life. You need patience and having that long term vision is very important.”

Vaillant’s rapid rise continued in 2023 with a second promotion in two years. A strong second-place finish at the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final catapulted him to 12th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, securing his DP World Tour card. This followed a standout season where he made 16 of 22 cuts, including notable finishes at the Nelson Mandela Bay Championships and the British Challenge. Vaillant’s consistency paid off, and he sealed his promotion with a share of eighth at the 2023 Hainan Open.

Reflecting on his success, Vaillant told DPWT in 2023, “It was an amazing week. It was my first time at a Rolex tournament, so even on the Monday when I arrived on the course, I was fascinated about everything and just enjoyed being there.” 

And his fascination stays strong to this day. After his T17 finish at the 2025 Omega European Masters, Vaillant said, “Le meilleur passage de l’année commence avec ces deux premières semaines au British Masters et à Crans Montana !! Toujours un immense plaisir d’évoluer dans ces endroits incroyables, merci aux organisations 🙏🏼.” It literally translates to, “Best time of the year starts with these first two weeks at the British Masters and Crans Montana!! Always a great pleasure to evolve in these incredible places, thanks to the organizations 🙏🏼.” 

There’s more to come for this rising star, and we are pretty sure he will know how to weather it all anyway!