Power Rankings: Visit Knoxville Open
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COLLEGE GROVE, TENNESSEE - MAY 08: Robby Shelton of the United States hits his tee shot on the first hole during the final round of the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation at The Grove on May 08, 2022 in College Grove, Tennessee. (Photo by Mike Mulholland/Getty Images)
Written by Mike Glasscott
The foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains provide the backdrop for the second consecutive week of Korn Ferry Tour action in the state of Tennessee.
Similar to last week, Holston Hills Country Club will be serving as host for just the second time in the history of the event. The Donald Ross design (1927) and Tom Doak redesign (1998) replaced Fox Den CC after the 2019 edition.
Greyson Sigg opened the proceedings last year by posting 61 but needed a final-round 66 to chase down 54-hole leader Stephan Jaeger to win by a shot. Both players have since progressed to the PGA TOUR.
The 2022 season has had 10 first-time winners lift the trophy through 11 events. Only Tyson Alexander was a previous Korn Ferry Tour winner.
The field of 156 is chasing a prize pool of $750,000, with the winner enjoying $135,000.
HOLSTON HILLS CC
| Yards (per official scorecard): | 7,028 |
| Par: | 70 (35-35). |
| Greens: | Crenshaw Bentgrass; 5,600 square feet on average. |
| Stimpmeter: | Tournament speed. |
| Rough: | 419 Bermuda at 2 inches. |
| Bunkers/Water Penalty Areas | 104/2 (in play on 2 holes). |
| Defending Champion: | Greyson Sigg (not entered). |
| 72 Hole Tournament Record (course): | 260, (-20); Greyson Sigg (2021). |
| Course Record: | 61; Greyson Sigg (Round 1); Seth Reeves (Round 4). |
POWER RANKINGS
| RANK | PLAYER | COMMENT | ||
One of the four original Ben Hogan Tour events still in existence, Rocky Top and Donald Ross teamed up last season to introduce Holston Hills as the new track in longtime host city Knoxville.
The Visit Knoxville Open became a quick study as Sigg posted 20-under on the par-70, with 21 players posting 10-under or better. Only one player in the top 16 posted a round above 70, and that was just 71 exactly one time.
Holston Hills sets up right in front of the players, and the track will play a touch shorter as Knoxville sits at almost 1,000 feet above sea level. With 33 acres of fairway, there's plenty of room to swing it off the tee.
As is the case with classic Donald Ross venues, the main defense of the golf course is its greens, which mainly slope back-to-front. Perched and vigorously protected by complex bunkering, getting the ball on the dance floor -- preferably below the hole -- is the first order of business. Crenshaw Bentgrass will run true, and putts will be falling left and right.
As results from Donald Ross' Sedgefield CC on the PGA TOUR have taught us over the years, hitting the most greens will give players the most chance at holing birdies and getting low.
With only two par-5 holes, racking up birdies on the par-4 holes is also a must this week. Sigg played the four-shotters in 16-under and led the field with 25 birdies. There's no time for bogeys this week either, so make pars and move on. Only the Country Club at Wakefield Plantation accrued more pars than Holston Hills last season.
Mother Nature is always on the move, but four days of 80 degrees-plus are scheduled, with slight chances of rain Saturday and Sunday.
Last Week - Simmons Bank Open
No. 10 - Spencer Ralston- MC
No. 9 - Brent Grant - WINNER WINNER
No. 8 - Taylor Montgomery - T14
No. 7 - Marty Dou - T5
No. 6 - Nicolas Echavarria - T32
No. 5 - Kevin Dougherty - T22
No. 4 - Paul Haley II - T22
No. 3 - Justin Suh - T27
No. 2 - Seonghyeon Kim - T55
No. 1 - Erik Barnes - T22
Others: Carl Yuan - T40, Robby Shelton - T8, Eric Cole - MC, Ben Griffin - T17, Nick Voke - MC, Quade Cummins - T27
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out through Twitter or email me at mikeglasscott@gmail.com.
