Andrew's Simmons Bank Open (KFT) Preview

The Korn Ferry Tour returns! Let’s leave aside the fact that they think three weeks off is the best way to prepare for the sharp end of the season. Let’s leave aside the fact that the first event restricted by KFT rankings is called an “Open.” Let’s just enjoy the fact that we have a tournament to enjoy in the USA for the first time in a few weeks.

The Tournament

So, open it may not be, but this is the start of the KFT playoffs. What that means, in practice, is that the top 156 in the KFT rankings can take part, and that they’re fighting for a place in the top 132 to get into next week’s event – with the top 100 in the third playoff event and the top 60 making it to the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. Points are increased – though not very much, with 600 points for the winner, as opposed to 500 in a typical week. That point structure will be in place throughout the four week “Korn Ferry Tour Finals Event” as we appear to be calling it now.

In all other respects, this will feel like a normal KFT event. It ought to get a bit more coverage because the stakes are slightly higher and, more significantly, because it isn’t against a PGA event (although it is against the start of the NFL season and the USA appears to be a single sport nation these days) but we aren’t seeing massive changes in purse, points and certainly not in the quality of the course.

This is the tenth iteration of the Simmons Bank Open, which was the Nashville Golf Open for the first four events, and which has been a playoff event since 2023. Zach Bauchou, Paul Peterson and the late and much-missed Grayson Murray have won this as a playoff event, the last two of which were held at the Vanderbilt Legends Club on the North Course. That move happened when The Grove became a LIV host, and has seen, in my view, a marked reduction in the selectiveness of the leaderboards.

I looked at this event last year and don’t really want to change my assessment of the course. I noted that, “this is not a good golf course. By all accounts it is a friendly, well-run and well-attended event and I'm delighted that money is being raised for the Snedeker Foundation. However, Nashville isn't a hotbed of championship golf courses and with LIV taking the best one, this is ordinary. It is undulating, there are some trees and some water, but there's no meaningful threat, not much history and not much to remember. When Paul Peterson wins by a stroke from Matt Atkins, you can't claim it is the most selective course in the world, either.

Those two players, and the rest of the leaderboard, do give some good clues though - of all the courses we see this year, this might be the one where putting is most important, and it is not a course where length matters hugely. That's partly because it is a less than 7,000 yard par 70 but also because the trees and doglegs limit the ability of the longer players to hit driver. That is the sole similarity between this course and Wentworth, the Colt masterpiece that we'll see in the same week. So I'm looking at course form, obviously, I'm looking at players on the various "bubbles" but mostly I'm looking for accuracy and course management and for putting, putting, putting.”

We won’t see Wentworth in the same week this year – and in truth I see more similarities with the Cosmo Golf Course, host of the Chennai Open, than with Doonbeg – but otherwise that approach to this event holds up fairly well, I think, and my selections did fine without making a big return. Early forecasts suggest we’ll see some rain over the middle of the tournament but it doesn’t look like it’ll be disruptive, nor does it look like wind or heat will get beyond “nuisance” levels. Do keep an eye on those things, though, as they could change at this time of the year.

The Selections

With an eye on SG: putting and putts per round (the latter covering the whole season, including the early events that didn’t have shot tracking, and some assessment of driving accuracy and greens in regulation as helpful proxies for game management on short courses, I have found it fairly easy to eliminate many of the top names in the field.  The likes of Tommy Morrison, for all his exemplary putting, will have their skills blunted by this short and winding course, whilst Ben Kohles isn’t putting well enough to justify his place towards the top of the market. I had expected to be putting up Caleb vanArrogan who is playing very nicely and should have the right game for these conditions, but he’s priced far closer to the leaders than he ought to be, in my opinion, and at best priced 28/1 (as I write this) I was happy to let him go.

Instead, first on my list is one of my new favourites, Mahanth Chirravuri who was 24^th with our money aboard in Boise but who stepped up for a third place, the best result of his nascent career, the following week in the AdventHealth. I noted that as a course that blunted the power from the tee of his competitors and as it became a putting competition (at least to a great extent) it was no surprise to see the Pepperdine phenom towards the top of the leaderboard. He’s currently sixth in both strokes gained putting and putts per round, and eighth in driving accuracy. Moreover, sitting in 72^nd place he’ll need a couple of good results to guarantee himself entry into the Tour Championship – which grants a higher category KFT card than he currently enjoys, as well as a chance at a PGA card if the next four weeks go as well  as they undoubtedly can. This is a very useful week for him to see a course he’ll adore.

I am doubling up on my theory that the PGA Tour U players are the best value in the market late this season, and despite swerving Tommy Morrison, I can’t ignore William Sides. His relevant stats read particularly well in this context (fifth in putting average, fourth in greens in regulation) and that reflects four top-25 finishes in eight starts since he joined the KFT. Like Chirravuri, he is outside the field for the later events and needs to shine – moving up from 85^th to make the final weeks will be his target, and it is a reasonable one given his talent.

Finally, I’m taking the 2024 winner, Paul Peterson, who isn’t technically defending as he was on the PGA Tour last year, but returns for the first time since winning. That is his sole win on the KFT (the veteran has played all over, and won the Czech Masters and Myanmar Open many years back) but he’s played both tours this year and done well in patches, with fifth in Puerto Rico and 11^th in Myrtle Beach among the highlights. That split schedule means that he ranks 89^th on the KFT points list, which is problematic for the playoffs, but he’s done it on just nine starts and can step forward with a hot finish. He’s very short from the tee which will be a problem next week but isn’t an issue here for a man with an otherwise well-rounded game (fifth in driving accuracy, second in SG: approach and 39^th in GiR, and top 50 in every putting metric.) Coming off a 23^rd last time, he’s in solid form and is overpriced for a second win here.

• Mahanth Chirravuri

• William Sides

• Paul Peterson

 All 66/1, 1pt e/w, 1/4 odds 5 places, Skybet.