Tag: Visit Knoxville Open

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.

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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.

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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.