EVANSVILLE, Ind. − Professional golf returns to the Tri-State this week with the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance.
This will be the 11th year Victoria National Golf Club has hosted a professional golf event. Following a change in 2019, it is also the final stop on the KFT with PGA cards on the line. As part of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, it will also be the final year of the current format with a change coming in 2023.
It is always an exciting four days of golf played by some of the best in the country. Here is what you need to know for this year’s event.
What is at stake?
The Korn Ferry Tour Championship is the third and final event of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, with the second set of 25 PGA TOUR cards being awarded at the conclusion of the tournament.
Eight players have already crossed the threshold the Korn Ferry Tour uses as its fail-safe number for players to finish inside The Finals 25, leaving 17 available PGA TOUR cards this week. The player who finishes No. 1 in the season-long points race earns fully exempt status for the 2022-23 PGA TOUR season, a berth for the 2023 PLAYERS Championship and an exemption into the 2023 US Open.
The schedule
The tournament will take place Thursday through Sunday with first-round tee times scheduled from 7 am to 2 pm According to weather.com, the forecast calls for temperatures in the high 80s or low 90s with clear to partly cloudy skies all week.
GOLF Channel will have live coverage of every round from 3-6 pm CT or you can also stream it via Peacock. Tickets are available for purchase through tourchampulf.com/tickets/. An all-week general admission ticket is $40 and the daily admission ticket is $20.
The Field
There are numerous players to keep an eye on with PGA Tour cards at stake.
Defending champion Joseph Bramlett returns with a chance to become the first in the 32 years of the Korn Ferry Tour to successfully defend the Tour Championship. He won at Victoria National last year with a final-round 65 to win by four shots at 20-under. Bramlett earned his PGA Tour card last week via the Finals point list.
He isn’t the only past champion of the event with Jonathan Byrd (2017) also scheduled to compete. Other former notable PGA Tour players include Aaron Baddeley, Bill Haas, Sean O’Hair, Bo Van Pelt and Camilo Villegas. The KFT Finals is a mix of players who finished 26-75th on the Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season points list, 126-200th on the FedExCup Playoffs points list, as well as non-members and medical extensions.
While 25 Korn Ferry Tour players already earned their PGA TOUR cards through the regular season, a separate points list determines the The Finals 25. The player who earns the most points during the three Finals events (excluding those from the regular season) will earn status on the PGA TOUR for the 2022-23 season.
Here is the top 10 going into the Tour Championship: Will Gordon, David Lingmerth, Philip Knowles, Michael Gligic, Bramlett, Austin Cook, Dean Burmester, Henrik Norlander, Justin Lower, Thomas Detry and Scott Harrington.
Are there any players with local ties this year?
One in the field will be of major interest. Jeff Overton, a North High School graduate, is scheduled to tee off at Victoria National. Following a successful prep career, Overton became one of the most successful golfers from Evansville.
He has 32 top-10s in nearly 300 career starts on the PGA Tour, including four runner-up finishes and earned a spot on the 2010 Ryder Cup team. However, Overton had not played professional golf in over five years due to an epidural abscess after an injection for a herniated disc in his back in 2017 followed by a lengthy recovery.
He made his professional return at the 3M Open in Minneapolis in July but missed the cut. Overton has made one cut in three Korn Ferry Tour events this month.
Victoria National Golf Club
The Tom Fazio design is listed as the best private course in Indiana, according to Golfweek. It has also been considered one of the toughest stops on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Victoria National was ranked among the top-three six consecutive seasons from 2013-18, and it was the No. 1-ranked toughest course in 2015, 2016, and 2018. A par 72, scores have been lower in recent years after the course previously hosted a Tour event in late April or early July.
The course still remains brutal for those not playing well. The final stretch on the back nine is considered among the toughest closing holes on Tour. Victoria National is the 47th best modern course in the country per Golfweek.
Follow Courier & Press sports reporter Kyle Sokeland on Twitter @kylesokeland.