The Korn Ferry Tour Finals begin in Tennessee as Blades Brown, Cameron Champ, Chez Reavie and other contenders chase PGA Tour cards and a $270,000 prize.
The 2026 Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation opens Thursday in Franklin, Tennessee, with far more on the line than just another tournament trophy.
This week marks the first event of the four-tournament Korn Ferry Tour Finals, where players are fighting for position on the season-long points list and, ultimately, PGA Tour membership for 2027.
The 156-player field will compete Sept. 10-13 at Vanderbilt Legends Club, a par-70 layout measuring 7,197 yards.
The field is loaded with experience.
Twelve PGA Tour winners are entered, accounting for 19 career victories. That group is headlined by three-time PGA Tour winners Cameron Champ and Chez Reavie.
The tournament also includes 66 Korn Ferry Tour winners with 94 combined victories.
Among the biggest storylines is Blades Brown, the 19-year-old Nashville-area standout who enters the week No. 10 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List.
Brown is trying to become the youngest Korn Ferry Tour graduate in history, which would surpass the mark set by Jason Day in 2007.
He has already earned Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour this season and arrives with three straight top-10 finishes on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Another player to watch is Cole Sherwood, who sits No. 5 in the standings and is closing in on his first PGA Tour card after winning the Colonial Life Charity Classic and adding a runner-up finish earlier this season.
Hunter Eichhorn enters No. 7 in points and leads the Tour with nine top-10 finishes, while Davis Shore is No. 13 after finishing inside the top five in each of his last two starts.
Past Simmons Bank Open winners Lanto Griffin, Robby Shelton and Paul Peterson are also in the field, while defending champion Zach Bauchou returns after setting the tournament’s 72-hole scoring record at 257 last year.
The purse is $1.5 million, with $270,000 going to the winner. This Finals event also awards 600 points to the champion, increasing the pressure on players sitting near the PGA Tour-card cutoff.
Golf Channel will televise Thursday’s opening round from 4-7 p.m. ET, with coverage Friday through Sunday from 5-7 p.m. ET.
For players on the bubble, the math is simple.
Four tournaments remain, and every shot now carries PGA Tour consequences.
