Tag: Korn Ferry Tour

How the top-five PGA Tour University graduates fared in their PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour debuts

Three of the five players made the cut in their professional debuts, with one top-10 finish.

PGA Tour University was designed to streamline the process for college players to advance to the professional level, and two weeks ago the inaugural class was announced.

This week the five players who earned Korn Ferry Tour membership through the end of the regular season made their professional debuts, with three players competing in the Korn Ferry Tour’s BMW Charity Pro-Am and two at the PGA Tour’s Palmetto Championship. Next week the 10 players who earned Forme Tour membership will begin their pro careers at the L&J Golf Championship.

Here’s how each of the five players fared in their professional debuts.

John Pak

The 2021 Haskins Award winner from Florida State missed the cut at the Palmetto Championship, firing rounds of 79-71 to finish at 8 over.

Davis Thompson

Thompson had the performance of the week in South Carolina. The SEC Player of the Year from Georgia finished T-35 at the Palmetto after a strong week of 71-69-71-70.

Austin Eckroat 

Eckroat disagrees with the above statement. The Oklahoma State product earned a top-10 finish at the BMW Charity Pro-Am at 18 under thanks to just seven bogeys over the four sub-70 rounds.

Chun An Yu 

Yu, a three-time winner at Arizona State, also made the cut at the BMW, finishing T-20 after a consistent week of 66-66-69-69 to finish at 15 under.

Garett Reband 

Reband wasn’t as successful, missing the BMW cut by six strokes. That said, the Oklahoma Sooner improved on his first-round 73 with a Friday 70 to get back to even par.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=none image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

PGA Tour University’s inaugural class sends 15 college players to Korn Ferry Tour, Forme Tour

Fifteen college golfers earned membership to the Korn Ferry and Forme tours as part of the inaugural PGA Tour University class.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Ladies and gentlemen, meet the inaugural PGA Tour University class.

On Monday evening after the completion of stroke play at the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club, 15 men’s collegiate golfers punched their tickets to professional golf.

The top-five players in the PGA Tour University standings – John Pak (Florida State), Davis Thompson (Georgia), Austin Eckroat (Oklahoma State), Chun An Yu (Arizona State) and Garett Reband (Oklahoma) – receive Korn Ferry Tour membership and will be exempt into all open, full-field events beginning with the BMW Charity Pro-Am, June 10-13, through the conclusion of the regular season.

The following players who finished 6-15 in the standings receive Forme Tour membership beginning with the L&J Golf Championship, June 23-26 through the end of the regular season: Quade Cummins (Oklahoma), McClure Meissner (SMU), Michael Feagles (Illinois), Trevor Werbylo (Arizona), Jonathan Brightwell (Oklahoma), Puwit Anupansuebsai (San Diego State), Angus Flanagan (Minnesota), Alex Schaake (Iowa), Benjamin Shipp (NC State), Jovan Rebula (Auburn).

Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings: Men’s team | Men’s individual

The program is designed to streamline the process for college players to advance to the professional level while also rewarding those who honor their college commitments. Players must play on the NCAA Division I level and complete a minimum of four years in college to be eligible for the PGA Tour University Ranking List.

[vertical-gallery id=778107230]

Greyson Sigg earns first win at Visit Knoxville Open on Korn Ferry Tour

Greyson Sigg, who opened with a 61 on Thursday, fired a final-round 66 to earn his first professional win.

Stephan Jaeger will have to wait at least another week to try to earn that PGA Tour promotion as Greyson Sigg had other plans.

On Sunday, at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Visit Knoxville Open, Jaeger opened the final round with a three-shot lead over Sigg and then birdied his first hole. A win would’ve been Jaeger’s third on the circuit, and that would’ve earned him his Tour card. The last player to earn his PGA Tour card via the three-win promotion was Wesley Bryan in 2016. In all, 11 players have done so.

If Jaeger is to be the 12th, it will come at a later date.

Sigg, who opened the week with a 61, fired a final-round 66 and snagged the victory at Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tennessee, the first professional win for the 26-year-old University of Georgia product. His previous best finish was a solo second in the Korn Ferry Tour Championship last August.

Visit Knoxville Open: Leaderboard

Sigg is one of 12 players featured in the CBS show called “One Shot Away,” which is produced by PGA Tour Entertainment. It tracks players chasing after a PGA Tour card during the 2021 portion of the combined Korn Ferry Tour season. KFT players who finish in the top 25 at the end of the season also earn a promotion to the PGA Tour.

Greyson Sigg
Greyson Sigg plays his shot from the 10th tee during the Final Round of the Visit Knoxville Open at Holston Hills Country Club on May 16, 2021 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

Jaeger was also looking to tie Jason Gore’s record for most wins—with seven—on the circuit but managed an even-par round of 70 as he closed with a bogey on the 17th hole and a par on the par-5 finishing hole.

Seth Reeves shot a 61, matching Sigg’s first-round fireworks. Reeves had 10 birdies and a bogey in his final round round to finish solo third at 17 under. Max Greyserman and Harrison Endycott finished tied for fourth a 16 under.

The Korn Ferry Tour next travels to Blue Hills Country Club in Kansas City for the AdventHealth Championship.

Visit Knoxville Open leader Stephan Jaeger 18 holes away from PGA Tour promotion

Jaeger is 18 holes from a third win this season and automatic promotion to the PGA Tour.

For Stephan Jaeger, promotion to the PGA Tour is just 18 holes away. 

Looking for his third win of the season, which would earn him automatic promotion to the big leagues, Jaeger kept his foot on the gas and extended his lead at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Visit Knoxville Open on Saturday. 

The 31-year-old fired a 5-under 65 at the Donald Ross-designed Holston Hills Country Club. The German has made just one bogey all week and sits at 19 under, three shots clear of Greyson Sigg, who earlier in the week tied the course record with a 61.  

In the combined season, Jaeger has wins at August’s Albertsons Boise Open and last month’s Emerald Coast Classic at Sandestin. With a win this week, Jaeger would join a list of 12 players who have earned three-win PGA Tour promotion and would tie Jason Gore’s record for most Korn Ferry Tour wins at seven. 

Visit Knoxville Open: Leaderboard

“I’m still nervous. I hope that never goes away because it’s fun, but I’m comfortable with my game and I’m hitting my driver good and I’m putting well, and that’s a good combo on a golf course like this,” said Jaeger. “I’m really excited to play with Greyson (Sigg) tomorrow, we’re good buddies so we’re going to have a good time.” 

Looking for his second career win – his first came in 2006 – Kyle Reifers is T-3 at 14 under alongside Harrison Endycott. If Reifers, 37, is able to overcome the five-shot deficit, he’ll set the record for longest span between wins at 14 years, 10 months and 21 days. The current record? Eric Axley at 12 years, 11 months and 14 days. 

Stephan Jaeger rides birdie streaks to top of the leaderboard at Visit Knoxville Open

Stephan Jaeger got hot down the stretch and finds himself in the lead at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Visit Knoxville Open.

Stephan Jaeger improved on his Thursday 6-under 64 with a Friday 8-under 62 to take a one-shot lead into the weekend at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Visit Knoxville Open.

Jaeger, a six-time winner on tour, is looking for his second victory of the season after claiming last month’s Emerald Coast Classic in a playoff against David Lipsky.

Hot on Jaeger’s heels at Holston Hills Country Club, a Donald Ross design, is Kyle Reifers, who shot a 6-under 64 to take the early clubhouse lead, but now sits in second place at 13 under. Reifers, 37, last won on tour in 2006 — when it was the Nationwide Tour — at the Chattanooga Classic, where he defeated Brandt Snedeker in a playoff.

After tying the course record on Thursday with a 9-under 61, Greyson Sigg is third at 11 under after a second-round 68. Harrison Endycott shot a second straight 65 to climb into solo fourth. Carl Yuan and Trey Mullinax are T-5 at 9 under.

Jaeger started steady and got hot late to find himself flirting with 59 after a blistering back nine. The German made the turn at 3 under before birdieing six of his final nine holes. If not for his lone bogey of the day on the par-4 7th, Jaeger could have also tied the course record.

Scott Stevens, a Monday qualifier for the event, rose into the top-10 with a second-round 65.

[lawrence-related id=778104347,778104226,778104227]

Greyson Sigg opens with a 61 at Visit Knoxville Open on Korn Ferry Tour

Greyson Sigg opened with a 9-under 61 on the par-70 Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Greyson Sigg, who moonlights on a reality TV show, opened with a bogey-free, 9-under 61 on Thursday in the Visit Knoxville Open at Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Sigg leads by two over Kyle Reifers and by three over Troy Mullinax and Stephan Jaeger. Sigg had nine birdies on the par-70 course. He had three in a row on Nos. 4, 5 and 6 and then closed with three birdies on his last four holes.

The 26-year-old University of Georgia graduate is seeking his first professional win. His best finish was a solo second in the Korn Ferry Tour Championship last August.

Sigg is one of 12 players featured in the CBS show called “One Shot Away,” which is produced by PGA Tour Entertainment. The six-episode Season 2 tracks players chasing after a PGA Tour card during the 2021 portion of the combined Korn Ferry Tour season.

Sigg contracted COVID-19 in 2020 but the virus had its largest impact on him it when it delayed his claim to a Tour card. When the tours had to take a hiatus for three months last year, the PGA Tour announced in April that the Korn Ferry Tour wouldn’t have its annual graduation of the top 25 players on its money list.

Sigg was in the top-10 of the developmental tour’s list and well on his way to Tour membership, but the Augusta, Georgia, native is still seeking to fulfill his lifelong dream.

Ryne Dennis of the Athens Banner-Herald contributed to this article.

Visit Knoxville Open returns with plenty of past champs and new venue

The Visit Knoxville Open is a staple on the Korn Ferry Tour schedule, but it will have a new look this year.

The Visit Knoxville Open is a staple on the Korn Ferry Tour schedule. It was one of the original four tournaments from 1990 that remains on the developmental tour schedule, and it’s back this year after being one of 10 tournaments postponed because of COVID-19 pandemic – only this time, it also features a new venue.

After 21 years at Fox Den Country Club, the Visit Knoxville Open moves to Holston Hills Country Club, a Donald Ross-design that opened in 1927. Holston Hills is ranked No. 2 on Golfweek’s Best 2021 list of top private courses in Tennessee. It also ranks No. 98 on Golfweek’s Best Classic Courses list for all layouts built before 1960 in the United States.

A strong field this week includes six of the top 10 players in the Korn Ferry Tour points standings, including No. 1 Stephan Jaeger. Additionally, Jaeger is a past champion of the Visit Knoxville Open, having won by three shots in 2018.

Related: Five things to know about Visit Knoxville Open

Other notable past champions include three-time PGA Tour winners Jeff Maggert (1990) and J.J. Henry (2000) as well as Chris Kirk, who was born in Knoxville and who has charted an inspirational rise back from a personal struggle with alcoholism. Kirk was runner-up at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January and won the King & Bear Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour last summer.

The field includes 59 past Korn Ferry Tour winners with 88 total wins, led by Jaeger and Martin Piller, who each have six.

Jaeger, a four-time winner during his college career at Chattanooga, has much at stake at Holston Hills. A third win in this Korn Ferry Tour super season, after prevailing at the Albertsons Boise Open in August and the Emerald Coast Classic in April, would give Jaeger immediate promotion to the PGA Tour. Jared Wolfe, No. 12 in the points standings, is in the same boat.

The Tennessee ties don’t end with Jaeger. Among the 156 players in the field, 10 played college golf in the state. One of those men is Monday qualifier Bogle Larue, a Knoxville local who is currently a senior at Belmont University.

[lawrence-related id=778103789,778102466,778102250]

Five things to know about this week’s Visit Knoxville Open on Korn Ferry Tour

Things look different this year for one of the longest-running Korn Ferry Tour events, with a new course and a combined-season points race.

The Korn Ferry Tour returns  to Knoxville, Tennessee, this week.

The Visit Knoxville Open takes place Thursday through Sunday at Holston Hills Country Club. Here are five things to know about the golf tournament. (Pictured above: Robby Shelton celebrates after winning the Knoxville Open in May 2019 at Fox Den Country Club in Farragut, Tennessee. Shelton was 15 under par.)

The return

The 2021 Korn Ferry Tour looks slightly different than in years past.

Its schedule is composed of elements from the current season and events from 2020. The latter includes the Knoxville Open, which was one of 10 events that were postponed or canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead of the typical one-year slate, this particular tour comprises both the 2020 and 2021 tournament schedules.

About development

The Korn Ferry Tour serves as the PGA Tour’s developmental tour.

It features golfers who have yet to make it to that level, or those who have but failed to maintain enough points to retain their PGA Tour card. It previously was known as the Web.com Tour and several other names.

Those who are in the top 25 on the money list by the end of the season are given memberships to the PGA Tour.

New venue

This will be the first year that the Knoxville Open will take place at Holston Hills.

It was meant to be the venue in 2020 before the event was postponed. Prior to Holston Hills, the Knoxville Open was held at Fox Den for 21 years.

Founded in 1927, Holston is a 180-acre course that sits on a set of hills adjacent to the Holston River. Although it hasn’t hosted the Knoxville Open yet, it has welcomed some important events, including the Knoxville Invitational during the 1945 PGA Tour.

Designed by legendary designer Donald Ross, Holston Hills is ranked No. 2 on Golfweek’s Best 2021 list of top private courses in Tennessee. It also ranks No. 98 on Golfweek’s Best Classic Courses list for all layouts built before 1960 in the United States.

[listicle id=778098430]

Rich history

The Knoxville Open has been a part of the Korn Ferry Tour since its inaugural season in 1990.

In that time, six future PGA Tour title winners have won the event. Patton Kizzire, who holds two PGA titles (2017, 2018), is the most recent of the bunch, capturing the Knoxville Open in 2015.

Kizzire’s performance in 2015 garnered him Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year honors.

The Knoxville Open is one of only four remaining events that were a part of the original tour.

Spectator info

Single-day tickets are available on the Knoxville Open website for $10, while a ticket to the whole tournament is $25.

Parking will be available near Holston Hills for $5. There is a clear-bag policy in effect for any large bags.

Fans are prohibited from bringing cameras or folding chairs.

Korn Ferry Tour to significantly increase purses, with a $1 million minimum by 2023

The Korn Ferry Tour will significantly increase its purses over the next two years, with a $1 million minimum for all events by 2023.

On Tuesday the Korn Ferry Tour announced it would significantly increase its purses over the next two seasons.

How significant, you ask? Each event will feature a purse of at least $1 million by 2023.

The minimum figure for Korn Ferry Tour regular-season purses will increase by $150,000 to $750,000 in 2022. In 2023, the minimum will rise another $250,000 to $1 million, a 66.7 percent increase over two years.

The 2021 Pinnacle Bank Championship, the tour’s regular season finale at The Club at Indian Creek in Omaha, Nebraska, will see its purse increase by $100,000 to $850,000 in 2022 and another $400,000 to $1.25 million in 2023, another 66.7 percent increase.

Each of the three events in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals currently features a $1 million purse this season. In 2023, the purse for all three will increase to $1.5 million.

“The Korn Ferry Tour continues to play a massive role in delivering a pipeline of future stars to the PGA Tour on a consistent basis. Today’s announcement is another step in ensuring the Tour will continue to attract the best young talent while providing higher-quality playing opportunities for the entire membership,” said Korn Ferry Tour President Alex Baldwin.

The purse increases were originally planned for 2021 after being approved by the Policy Board at the March 2020 meeting, but were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[listicle id=778049864]

Paul Barjon prevails in playoff to win Korth Ferry Tour’s Huntsville Championship

Paul Barjon is finally a Korn Ferry Tour winner after prevailing on the third hole of a playoff at the Huntsville Championship.

After two extra holes at the end of the Huntsville Championship, it was time for Paul Barjon to pull out the fireworks. The native of New Caledonia (a French territory in the South Pacific) was in a three-way tie at the end of regulation with Billy Kennerly and Mito Pereira, and on the third playoff hole – The Ledge’s par-5 10th – Barjon sealed the title with a well-timed eagle.

Barjon poured in a 20-footer for the win, his first on the Korn Ferry Tour.

The 28-year-old has now played 25 events in this 2020-21 super season. This is his sixth top-10 finish. He has finished with at least a share of second three times this season.

At the Ledges, Barjon, who played college golf at TCU, posted rounds of 65-67-64-69 to reach 15 under and a share of the lead.

Kennerly, who shot a final-round 63 to get into the playoff, dropped out after a bogey on the second playoff hole. Barjon needed every bit of the eagle, considering that Pereira made birdie on that final extra hole.

In his only other Korn Ferry Tour playoff, at the 2020 El Bosque Mexico Championship, Barjon lost to Chad Ramey. This evens the score.

[lawrence-related id=778100618,778100553,778100175]