Donald Ross courses lead to challenges and triumph on the Korn Ferry Tour

Written by Brad King

McConnell Golf, The Magazine: Fall/Winter 2024

A first-time champion and a back-to-back winner regaining his PGA TOUR card highlighted McConnell Golf’s consecutive Korn Ferry Tour events in 2024.

It took Harry five years between earning his first Korn Ferry Tour victory and his second one. Harry won the Price Cutter Charity Championship in 2019. He won the AdventHealth Championship and Visit Knoxville Open in back-to-back weeks in 2024.

At Raleigh Country Club, Kaito Onishi overcame a four-shot deficit with 10 holes to play to claim his first Korn Ferry Tour title.

“All the players out here are all great,” Onishi said. “They all can win each week, so it was a battle, for sure. To be the last man standing feels awesome.”

Visit Knoxville Open

Harry Higgs celebrates after sinking a dramatic eagle putt, securing his win in Knoxville.

For Higgs, flashback to mid-May 2024 at the AdventHealth Championship in Kansas City, where he chipped in for eagle on the 18th hole to get into a playoff, and won with a birdie on the first extra hole.

A week later, at the Visit Knoxville Open at Holston Hills CC, the New Jersey native, who says he has a “flair for the dramatic,” fired a 5-under 65 on Sunday to finish at 19 under. Soon thereafter, Frankie Capan III birdied the 18th to shoot a 66, getting to 19 under and forcing a playoff.

The duo each birdied Holston’s par-5 18th to open the playoff, before Higgs rolled in a 36-footer for eagle to clinch his victory in the weather-challenged event, becoming the first golfer to win back-to-back Korn Ferry tournaments in a playoff.

“It does eons for confidence, but there’s a reason why I won. Taking care of my body, my mind,” Higgs said. “Obviously, I stuck to the exact same routine as last week, and it worked again this week, so that’s probably not going to change much. I didn’t really feel like doing anything Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, but I just made sure that I did the same things. I prepared in the same way.”

The Holston Hills CC agronomy team was the unsung hero of the Visit Knoxville Open, arriving before the crack of dawn and tirelessly working long hours to help overcome the challenging weather conditions. Tee times were moved up both days over the weekend to avoid what the tour called “dangerous weather.”

Capan shot 62 on Saturday and held the solo 54-hole lead. Quade Cummins went low Sunday with a 9-under 61, thanks in part to an ace on the fourth hole, but missed out on the playoff by a shot.

Neither could match the unwavering consistency of the 32-year-old fan favorite, known as “Big Rig,” who also embraces having a flair for the dramatic.

Four years ago, Higgs was on track to stardom, buoyed by a tie for fourth place at the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah. But a gradual slip in form over the next couple of years led to a Korn Ferry Tour return.

He arrived at Holston Hills CC with conditional status on the PGA TOUR in 2024 and ranked No. 7 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list. But he catapulted up to No. 2 after his second straight win, all but assuring himself a full-time PGA TOUR return in 2025.

UNC Health Championship

At Raleigh CC, Onishi managed to earn his first Korn Ferry Tour title at the UNC Health Championship despite a 72nd-hole bogey. Onishi fired a final round 4-under 66 to earn victory in his 30th start on the Korn Ferry Tour.

The 25-year-old from Tokyo, Japan, overcame a four-shot deficit to 54-hole leader Nelson Ledesma, who made a triple bogey at the par-4 11th hole to squander his lead and ended up closing in a 3-over 38 to finish third.

Onishi successfully navigated an extremely challenging Raleigh CC—the field combined for 54-over par in the third round—shooting 68-69-69-66 to emerge, along with Max McGreevy (68-69-68-68), the only two players to post a sub-70 score in each round.

McGreevy, who finished top-3 at the Visit Knoxville Open, finished one shot behind Onishi to claim his best finish of the season and move to fifth in the Korn Ferry Tour points list. Raleigh native Carter Jenkins finished tied for fourth.

With the win, Onishi climbed from No. 79 to No. 12 on the Korn Ferry Tour points list.

FROM LEFT: Tournament director Brain Krusoe, UNC Health CEO Dr. Wesley Burks, Korn Ferry Tour president Alex Baldwin and honorary tournament chairman, Roy Williams.

Prior to his victory, he had logged just two top-25 finishes in seven starts this season. His previous best finish this season was a top-8 at the Astara Golf Championship. He began the season with conditional status after finishing the 2023 season ranked 100th on the points list.

In 22 starts on the Korn Ferry Tour last year, Onishi recorded four top-25 finishes, including one top-10 (top-7/2023 Astara Chile Classic. Originally, he joined the Tour by placing top-12 at the final stage of the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament.

Onishi turned professional in 2021 and played primarily on the Japan Golf Tour for two seasons. In his 2022 season on the Japan Golf Tour, he totaled nine top-10 finishes in 21 starts, highlighted by his first professional victory at the Fujisankei Classic.

Prior to that, Onishi played four seasons at the University of Southern California, where he was a two-time All-Pac-12 Conference First Team selection (2019, 2021), named the 2017-18 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, and helped the Trojans win the 2018 Pac-12 Championships. He prepped at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and earned an AJGA Rolex Junior All-America Second Team selection in 2015.

Higgs and Onishi both took home the winner’s share—$180,000—of the Korn Ferry tournament purses.

The Holston Hills CC and Raleigh CC tournaments had more than 1,000 volunteers combined, and thousands of fans came out to watch the action and enjoy the family-friendly atmospheres.

The UNC Health Championship began with a Pro-Am on Wednesday that included former UNC basketball coach Roy Williams. The Hall of Farmer also served as this year’s honorary tournament chairman.

Remembering One of Our Own

Sadly, both of the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour events were played under a pall following the death of PGA TOUR standout and former McConnell Golf Scholar Grayson Murray on May 25.

Following his win at Holston Hills CC, Higgs took a moment to reflect on mental health in the wake of Murray’s death. “I challenge everybody here, and I am going to do this myself as well. Each day, say something nice to someone you love, and also make it a point to say something nice to somebody you do not even know,” he said.

On Sunday at the UNC Health Championship, an “honorary tee time” was held to recognize and remember Murray. Players, staff, and volunteers also wore green ribbons all week for Mental Health Awareness Month in Murray’s honor.

“Grayson’s passing was a big loss for the golf and Raleigh communities,” said UNC Health Championship tournament director Brian Krusoe. “Our goal was to hold a successful tournament while remembering him.”

Watch a recap of the 2024 Visit Knoxville Open and UNC Health Championship events below:

Championship Tests