Tournament of The Year Award: Simmons Bank Open Korn Ferry Tournament

College Grove, TN – The PGA TOUR held its annual Tournament Meetings on December 7, 2022. The event culminated with a season-ending award ceremony during which the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation earned the 2022 Korn Ferry Tournament of the Year Award. The illustrious event, now in its sixth season, is held at the prestigious private golf club community The Grove, located in College Grove, TN, 

The Grove, located just outside the greater Nashville area and minutes from Franklin, TN, is a 1,100-acre gated community offering a distinctive private club lifestyle and the region’s most comprehensive amenity and recreational offerings. In May 2022, The Grove Club hosted the 2022 Simmons Bank Open, the only professional-level golf event in Williamson County.

“This award is a true testament to the hard work of everyone involved in the tournament, who put in countless time and resources to run a first-class event. A golf tournament is only as successful as the golf course and the people involved with it, and we couldn’t ask for better partners than The Grove and its members. It takes the support of everyone involved, so this award belongs to everyone in The Grove community. Mark Enderle, Mike Green, Doug Oubre, Sean O’Connell, and the entire staff at The Grove are so intricately involved in the entire process of the Simmons Bank Open, and we couldn’t do it without them. So, from my chair, congratulations and thank you,” said Tennessee Golf Foundation President Whit Turnbow.

“I have no doubt that this tournament will continue to improve because of the Tennessee Golf Foundation’s hard work and passion and incredible staff. Players raved all week about the outstanding course conditions at The Grove, which were only rivaled by the great food and southern hospitality of the staff. The passionate fans came out in force and created an incredible atmosphere all week… it’s truly inspiring to see the positive impact the tournament has made – and will continue to make – in the Nashville community for years to come. When people ask about the best event on the Korn Ferry Tour, the Simmons Bank Open is certainly top-of-mind and one that will battle for that title annually.” Alex Baldwin, Korn Ferry Tour President

The Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation will be a Korn Ferry Tour Finals tournament in 2023. The dates for the tournament are September 14-17, 2023, at The Grove in College Grove, Tennessee.

 

About The Grove

The Grove, a private, gated golf community located in College Grove, Tennessee, offers an unparalleled golf experience.  The community’s course and club have quickly gained a reputation as one of the state’s premier private golf facilities. The course features Zoysia fairways and Bermuda greens, kept in championship playing condition year-round. It plays to a length of 7,300 yards from the championship tees.

For more information on The Grove, please visit GroveLiving.com

The Simmons Bank Open 

The Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation– formerly the Nashville Golf Open – was first held at Nashville Golf and Athletic Club in 2016. Boston native James Driscoll was the inaugural champion that year. Winners since then have included Lanto Griffin (2017), Cameron Davis (2018) and Robby Shelton (2019). Simmons Bank was introduced as the tournament’s title sponsor for the next eight years on Feb. 11, 2020. It was announced on Oct. 29, 2020, that the tournament would move to The Grove in College Grove, Tenn., beginning with the 2021 tournament. Also beginning in 2021, the Tennessee Golf Foundation – a nonprofit organization promoting golf and its life-enhancing values statewide – took over the Simmons Bank Open operations. The 2022 Simmons Bank Open was won by Brent Grant, who is now a rookie on the PGA Tour.

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 113 consecutive years. Simmons Bank operates more than 230 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 2022, Simmons Bank was named to Forbes list of “America’s Best Banks” for the second consecutive year and to Forbes list of “World’s Best Banks” for the third consecutive year.

The 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

The Tennessee Golf Foundation  

The TGF operates out of Golf House Tennessee, located in Franklin, and is home to the state’s governing bodies of golf – the Tennessee Golf Association, the Tennessee Section PGA and TGF Junior Golf. Golf House Tennessee also features The Little Course at Conner Lane, a state-of-the-art learning center with a nine-hole, par-three course and driving range, with programming for all ages and skill levels. The TGF focuses on initiatives for juniors, veterans and the disadvantaged, with such offerings as the Sneds Tour – a statewide junior tour – Special Olympics, PGA HOPE, The First Tee, Tennessee Middle School Golf and the Scott Stallings Kids Play Free Program.