UNC Health Championship: Pre-tournament notes, storylines, more

The 2026 Korn Ferry Tour Season heads to Raleigh, North Carolina, for the 32nd playing of the UNC Health Championship, the 12th tournament of the 25-event schedule. The field will compete at Raleigh Country Club, a par-70 layout stretching 7,133 yards.

The tournament features a strong field that includes 17 PGA TOUR winners with 39 total victories, led by five-time TOUR winner Carl Pettersson. Additionally, 61 Korn Ferry Tour winners with career victories are in the field, led by four-time winners Chesson Hadley, Ben Kohles, Robby Shelton and D.A. Points.

Seven players in the field stand in the top 200 of the Official World Golf Ranking: Blades Brown (No. 104), Doc Redman (No. 113), Ian Holt (No. 126), Davis Lamb (No. 158), Jeremy Gandon (No. 167), Carson Young (No. 178) and Alistair Docherty (No. 193). Notable among the field is 17-year-old Miles Russell, who is competing on a sponsor exemption this week and will make his third Korn Ferry Tour start of the 2026 season and the seventh of his career. Russell finished T15 at the 2026 Club Car Championship at the Landings Golf & Athletic Club, earning a second start on the season at the 2026 LECOM Suncoast Classic in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, where he finished T62.

Notables in the field

• Nineteen-year-old Blades Brown finished T14 at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson last week on the PGA TOUR, earning 55 non-member FedExCup Points to surpass the threshold to become eligible for Special Temporary Membership of the PGA TOUR. Brown currently stands No. 13 on the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour Points List off the strength of two top-10 finishes and three additional top-25s over eight starts.
• First-year member Hunter Eichhorn carded a bogey-free, 10-under 61 in the final round of last week's Visit Knoxville open, forcing a playoff with eventual winner Doc Redman. Eichhorn's runner-up finish – his best career result on Tour – marked his sixth top-10 finish of the season, matching Ian Gilligan for the most on Tour.
• Dylan Menante, winner of the 2026 Tulum Championship at PGA Riviera Maya, will make his second start at the UNC Health Championship (T16/2025). Menante, who finished No. 15 in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2025, played two seasons at the University of North Carolina (2022-24) to conclude his amateur career. Menante is coming off a T12 finish at last week's Visit Knoxville Open.
• Doc Redman, who plays from Raleigh, North Carolina, captured his second Korn Ferry Tour victory at last week's Visit Knoxville Open, defeating Hunter Eichhorn with an eagle on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff. Redman, who stands No. 2 on the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, earned his first career victory early this season at the Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank.
• Michael Johnson, who stands No. 7 on the 2026 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, recorded his third consecutive top-25 finish (T12) at last week's Visit Knoxville Open, and his ninth overall on the season. Johnson secured full status for the 2026 season with a No. 48 finish on the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour Points List. Johnson finished solo fifth at the 2025 UNC Health Championship.

Tournament facts

• Course: Raleigh Country Club; par 70, 7,133 yards
• Field: 156 players
• Defending champion: Trace Crowe
• Purse: $1 million ($180,000/winner)

Note: Using player performance data from ShotLink powered by CDW, the PGA TOUR has created this story using AWS Gen AI technology. While we strive for accuracy and quality, please note that the information provided may not be entirely error-free.