Franklin Set to Host Korn Ferry Tour in Important Step for Aspiring PGA Tour Players on Sept. 12-15
Playoff Event at Vanderbilt Legends Club Will Help Determine Top 30 Players to Advance to PGA Tour for 2024-25 Season
FRANKLIN, TN (8/29/24) – Many of the top professional golfers in the world will descend on Vanderbilt Legends Club on September 12-15, 2024, to help determine who will earn the 30 coveted spots on the PGA Tour for the 2024-25 season.
The Korn Ferry Tour (KFT) – the developmental tour for the PGA Tour – and the Tennessee Golf Foundation will host the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation on Vanderbilt Legends Club’s North Course. The 144-player field is the second of four playoff events on the KFT; after the final playoff event, the top 30 players (based on season-long points standings) will qualify for the 2024-25 PGA Tour.
Tickets are available through the Simmons Bank Open website.
“We are very fortunate to have an event of this stature in Franklin, and there is a real sense of pride in our community about it,” said Mike Hammontree, Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation tournament director. “This is the culmination of a long, intense and highly competitive season for some of the most promising golfers on the planet, players who are the future of professional golf.
“What a great way for Franklin to show off Vanderbilt Legends Club, our hospitable nature and to raise a lot of money for several local organizations. It’s a week of fun for everyone, from the diehard golf fan to families to those just looking for a unique, affordable experience.”
In May, the PGA Tour announced that the Simmons Bank Open (SBO) for the Snedeker Foundation will be played for the next five years at Vanderbilt Legends Club, and all four rounds of the event will be televised on The Golf Channel. Inaugurally played in 2016, the event has been contested on multiple Williamson County courses over that time, but this five-year commitment ensures that the eyes of the golfing world will be on Vanderbilt Legends Club and Franklin for the foreseeable future.
Ticket packages are available for one day ($20), two days ($35) or four days ($50). Any active military, veteran or person under 17 years old can attend the event for free. Additionally, ticket holders have access to the “Sand Trap,” a fan engagement area that includes food trucks, play areas for children, a golf skills competition paddock and numerous other game and interactive stations. Of course, being in the music capital of the world, live music will play every day in the Sand Trap.
For those seeking an all-inclusive or upscale hospitality experience, the “Piggy Bank” area will provide food and drinks from multiple local chefs, restaurants and spirits makers and establishments. Over the four days, Piggy Bank patrons can enjoy food from Chauhan Ale & Masala House, The Mockingbird, eet by Maneet Chauhan (her new concept), Tio Fun, Lockeland Table, Mojo’s Tacos, Black Rabbit, 1799 at The Harpeth, Hero Doughnuts, Peg Leg Porker, Waldo’s Chicken & Beer, East Side Banh Mi, Sweeza, and Murder Point Oysters, and cocktails and drinks from Stable Reserve Distillery, 1799 at The Harpeth, Amendment XVII Cocktail Club, Chauhan Ale & Masala House and The Mockingbird. Access to the Piggy Bank is $250.
“We really wanted to create a fun experience for everyone, no matter your knowledge about or exposure to the game,” said Hammontree. “I tell people that it’s really a food, music and culture festival that happens to have a golf tournament going on.”
Charitable giving is a true hallmark of the SBO. Since its inception in 2016, the event has raised more than $850,000 for local charities, $450,000 of which has gone to the Snedeker Foundation, which in turn supports a variety of efforts on both the social and athletic fronts. That includes Our Kids, which provides expert medical evaluations and crisis counseling services in response to concerns of child sexual abuse while also working to increase community awareness, education and training about child maltreatment.
The SBO will also host “Foundation Friday” on Sept. 13, which provides nine local nonprofits a village-like area to educate patrons about their respective missions and fundraise on site in fun and creative ways.
With that fun and immersive experience as the backdrop, the golfing world will be focused on the intense, playoff atmosphere of the KFT. In the season-long points race to determine the top 30 players who will move onto the PGA Tour, spots 30 (Noah Goodwin) to 40 (Austin Hitt) on the KFT points list are separated by only 160 points, and spots 30 to 144 are separated by less than 600 points. The winner of the SBO receives 600 points in the standings, so dramatic shifts in the standings can and will happen at Vanderbilt Legends Club.
“This tournament will help determine the livelihoods of some of the best players in the world on a course that always provides exciting and dramatic action,” said Hammontree. “We’re proud that it’s happening here in Franklin and that our community gets to experience it together.”
About Simmons Bank Open
The Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation is owned and operated by the Tennessee Golf Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Franklin, Tenn. The Simmons Bank Open was the Korn Ferry Tour Tournament of the Year in 2022. In 2023, the Simmons Bank Open became one of four tournaments making up the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, which determines which players receive PGA TOUR membership the following season. The Simmons Bank Open is played at Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin. It was formerly held at Nashville Golf and Athletic Club from 2016-19 and The Grove from 2021-2023. The Snedeker Foundation, the family foundation for 9-time PGA TOUR winner and 2012 FedExCup Champion Brandt Snedeker and wife Mandy, became the primary beneficiary of the tournament in 2017. Simmons Bank was introduced as the title sponsor of the tournament in February of 2020. For more information, visit www.simmonsbankopen.com.
About Simmons Bank
Simmons Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ: SFNC), a Mid-South based financial holding company that has paid cash dividends for 115 consecutive years. Simmons Bank operates 234 branches in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Founded in 1903, Simmons Bank offers comprehensive financial solutions delivered with a client- centric approach. In 2023, Simmons Bank was recognized by Forbes as one of “America’s Best Midsize Employer” and among the “World’s Best Banks” for the fourth consecutive year. The Simmons Bank Championship, a Charles Schwab Cup finals event, will debut in October, 2024 in Little Rock, Ark. Additional information about Simmons Bank can be found on our website at simmonsbank.com, by following @Simmons_Bank on X (formerly Twitter) or by visiting our newsroom.
About Snedeker Foundation
The Snedeker Foundation has been the official charitable beneficiary of the Simmons Bank Open since 2017. Founded in 2012 by FedExCup Champion and nine-time PGA TOUR winner Brandt Snedeker and his wife Mandy, the Snedeker Foundation supports a variety of social and athletic endeavors in middle Tennessee, including: Our Kids, which provides expert medical evaluations and crisis counseling services in response to concerns of child sexual abuse, and The Sneds Tour, a statewide junior golf tour in Tennessee that allows kids to learn, play and enjoy the game while also making the sport affordable and accessible.
About Tennessee Golf Foundation
The Tennessee Golf Foundation was founded in 1990 with the vision to impact Tennesseans, particularly youth, veterans and the disadvantaged, through the game of golf. TGF initiatives include the Sneds Tour, The First Tee of Tennessee, the Scott Stallings Kids Play Free Program, PGA HOPE, the Tennessee PGA Junior Golf Academy, the Tennessee Middle School Golf Association, Special Olympics Golf and much more. The Tennessee Golf Foundation operates out of Golf House Tennessee, which is located in Franklin and is home to the state’s governing bodies of golf – the Tennessee Golf Foundation, the Tennessee Golf Association, and the Tennessee Section PGA. Golf House Tennessee features The Little Course at Conner Lane, a state-of-the-art learning center owned and operated by the TGF, which features a nine-hole, par-three course, driving range and practice area and has year- round programming for all ages and skill levels. The Tennessee Golf Foundation is a 501c(3) organization. For more information, visit www.tngolffoundation.org.
About Korn Ferry Tour
Founded (1990), owned and operated by the PGA TOUR, the Korn Ferry Tour identifies and develops golf’s next stars, preparing them to compete and win on the game’s biggest stage. The Korn Ferry Tour, which has served as a path to the PGA TOUR since its inception, will award 30 PGA TOUR cards based off its points list in 2024, with the No. 1 player earning exemptions into the following year’s PLAYERS Championship and U.S. Open. With more than 600 PGA TOUR titles, 30 major championships and seven FedExCup champions, Korn Ferry Tour alumni make up 83 percent of the PGA TOUR’s current membership. To learn more about the PGA TOUR, the Korn Ferry Tour and to follow the season-long quest for PGA TOUR cards, visit PGATOUR.COM or follow the Korn Ferry Tour on social media. At least seven Korn Ferry Tour events are televised annually on Golf Channel in the United States, with tournament coverage available internationally in more than 170 countries and territories via 23 media partners.
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