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KNOXVILLE, Tennessee – The Korn Ferry Tour announced today additional modifications and details regarding the restart of the 2020 schedule and a fall calendar of events that will be part of a one-time, combined 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour season.

Included in the modifications, the 2020 Visit Knoxville Open has been postponed and will take place in 2021. Originally scheduled for the week of May 11-17, the Visit Knoxville Open was originally postponed on March 17 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Korn Ferry Tour is scheduled to return to Knoxville in the spring of 2021.

“We have made the decision to postpone the 2020 Visit Knoxville Open until the Spring of 2021,” said Tournament Director Patrick Nichol. “This was a very difficult to decision for all of us but considering the unknown of what the climate might be like in our market for sporting events in the fall, we felt this was the most prudent decision at this time.”

“We have a great new title sponsor in Visit Knoxville, Founding Partner in Pilot/Flying J and a great new golf course in Holston Hills,” continued Nichol. “And although we had expectations of a fantastic event in 2020, the uncertainty of what the environment will be in the next few months has led us to decide that it is in the best interests of all parties to wait until the spring for our new debut.”

“It is extremely important to ensure the safety of our players, spectators, volunteers and sponsors at our event. By waiting until the spring of 2021, our hopes are that we can host a first-class event for all of our key constituents without the need to have the limitations that may be necessary for spectator events in 2020.”

The announcement of a fall schedule comes after the PGA TOUR announced last week that, due to circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancelation or postponement of 13 events from the 2019-20 TOUR Season, eligibility has been extended for exempt 2019-20 PGA TOUR members for the 2020-21 season. These adjustments will result in the Korn Ferry Tour not having a graduating class in 2020; however, the TOUR has established a performance benefit for the top 10 from the Korn Ferry Tour points list following the conclusion of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance. Those players will be granted access into all PGA TOUR additional events for the 2020-21 season. 

The newly created 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour schedule that will bridge two seasons will conclude with 25 PGA TOUR cards awarded at the 2021 WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by KraftHeinz, with an additional 25 cards awarded at the conclusion of the 2021 Korn Ferry Tour Finals.

With six events completed through the El Bosque Mexico Championship by INNOVA, the remaining 2020 schedule – subject to change – now consists of 23 events. Korn Ferry Tour events to be contested in 2021 as part of the combined 2020-21 schedule will be announced later this year.

The restart to the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour season will begin as previously announced with the Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The event will now be one of four new events in the first six weeks back to play that have been created by the Tour to make up for the cancelation or postponement of events affected by COVID-19.

For more information about the Visit Knoxville Open, please visit VisitKnoxvilleOpen.com.

To view the revised Korn Ferry Tour schedule, please visit PGATOUR.com.