Greyson Sigg takes first-round lead at Visit Knoxville Open

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – University of Georgia alum Greyson Sigg fired a 9-under 61 on Thursday to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Visit Knoxville Open. Sigg leads North Carolinian Kyle Reifers by two at Holston Hills Country Club.

“First hole I hit it over the green, not my best shot, and then I chipped it in,” laughed Sigg. “That was some way to get my day started. And then I had one of the best putting days I’ve had in a while. It was nice to see some putts go in.”

Sigg birdied half of his 18 holes on Thursday, including an up-and-down from the bunker at the par-5 18th to finish his round. With the 61, Sigg matches the course record at Holston Hills originally set by Walt Chapman (1993) and Andrew Pratt (2004).

The round also sets a new career-low round on the Korn Ferry Tour, besting a 63 in the final round of the 2020 TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes, while his nine birdies is also a career-best.

“Anytime you see your name at the top of the leaderboard you’re doing something right,” said Sigg. “I grew up on a pretty similar course like this [Augusta Country Club] with Bentgrass greens, so I’m very familiar with them."

Sigg competed in the same group as Reifers all day as the duo went back and forth. Each player was 6-under through 12 before Sigg birdied three of his last four to reach 9-under.

“We were kind of going back and forth, we were tied there the majority of the day,” said Sigg. “It was good to have someone to push you and it almost felt like match play.”

The 26-year-old has been one of the most consistent players on the Korn Ferry Tour this season with seven top-10s and 15 top-25s in 25 starts. And as a former Georgia Bulldog, Sigg denied having played the course prior to this week, joking that he had never made it behind enemy lines to Holston Hills nearby the University of Tennessee’s campus.

Meanwhile at solo-second with a first-round 63, Reifers earned his highest position through the first round since the 2014 Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by MISTRAS (co-leader). Trey Mullinax, Max Greyserman and Korn Ferry Tour points leader Stephan Jaeger sit three strokes back at 6-under 64.

Second-round tee times will run from 7:15 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. on Friday off of the first and 10th tees.