Visit Knoxville Open Brings Heat to Korn Ferry Tour

The 2026 Visit Knoxville Open arrives at Holston Hills Country Club this week with the Korn Ferry Tour points race starting to get serious. It’s the 11th event on the 25-tournament schedule, and Knoxville gets a field loaded with proven winners, rising prospects and plenty of local flavor.

This is the 36th playing of the Visit Knoxville Open and the sixth time Holston Hills has hosted the event. The Donald Ross-style test will play as a par 71 at 7,267 yards, with a 156-player field chasing a $1 million purse and an $180,000 winner’s check. Pontus Nyholm is the defending champion.

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There’s real star power in this field, too. Six PGA Tour winners are entered, combining for 13 victories, with three-time winners Chez Reavie and Jim Herman leading that group. The tournament also features 54 Korn Ferry Tour winners with 76 career wins, including four-time winner Robby Shelton.

The current form conversation starts with Ian Holt, who sits No. 1 on the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour Points List and is ranked No. 121 in the Official World Golf Ranking. Holt is coming off his major championship debut at the PGA Championship and now returns to Knoxville for his fourth start in this event.

Cole Sherwood is another player to watch after winning last week’s Colonial Life Charity Classic, his first Korn Ferry Tour victory. The former Vanderbilt standout jumped to No. 3 in the points standings with that win.

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Ian Gilligan keeps knocking on the door, too. The former Florida Gator has a Tour-best six top-10 finishes this season and sits No. 8 in points.

Tennessee fans also have hometown angles everywhere, with former Vols Jake Hall, Rick Lamb, Bryce Lewis and Hunter Wolcott in the field. Lewis and Wolcott are Holston Hills members, giving this week a sharp local edge.

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