Alejandro Tosti secures solo 36-hole lead at Visit Knoxville Open

Things to Know

Entering the day as the 18-hole co-leader, rookie Alejandro Tosti earns the first career 36-hole lead/co-lead

Tosti has 16 birdies through 36 holes, four more than any other player in the field

Korn Ferry Tour winner Joshua Creel ties the 18-hole tournament scoring record as well as the Holston Hills Country Club course record with a career-low round of 9-under 61 Friday

Sponsor exemption and University of Tennessee alum Spencer Cross makes the cut in his Korn Ferry Tour debut, stands T30 entering the weekend

The 36-hole cut was made Friday at 2-under par with 75 professionals advancing to the weekend

Third round pairings will run from 7 a.m. through 1:10 p.m. off No. 1 tee

Second-Round Lead Notes

7: Second-round leaders/co-leaders to win Visit Knoxville Open

- Anders Albertson (2022), J.J. Spaun (2016), Martin Piller (2014), Hunter Haas (2006), Heath Slocum (2001), Dave Rummells (1997) and Tim Conley (1993)

1: Second-round leaders/co-leaders to win on Tour in 2023

- David Skinns – Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club (T1)

Alejandro Tosti (Leader / -10)

Followed a first-round 7-under 63 with a 3-under 67 Friday, rolling in five birdies against two bogeys.

Earns the first 36-hole lead/co-lead of his young Korn Ferry Tour career (making 12th career start this week)

Previous career-high 36-hole position was T4 at last week’s AdventHealth Championship (finished career-high solo fourth)

Bidding to become the first rookie winner and third first-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour this season

Owns three top-10s in nine Korn Ferry Tour starts this season, including a career-high solo-fourth at last week’s AdventHealth Championship

Also boasts a T10 from the PGA TOUR’s 2023 Mexico Open at Vidanta

26-year-old native of Rosario, Argentina who now resides in Gainesville, Florida, earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for the first time via a No. 5 finish in the 2021-22 PGA TOUR Latinoamérica Totalplay Cup, and earned guaranteed starts for the first eight events of the season with a T29 at Final Stage of the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament

Turned professional in 2018 after four seasons at University of Florida (2014-18), where he won four times individually, with the crown jewel being medalist honors at the 2017 Southeastern Conference Championship

Played primarily on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica from 2018-2022, earning wins at the 2022 90 Abierto del Centro memorial Eduardo Gato Romero ptdo por Telecom and 2019 Termas de Rio Hondo Invitational

Quotables

Alejandro Tosti on his second round… “I played very well today again. Not as good as yesterday, but I feel like my game is pretty solid in every part. I had two bogeys and they are kind of misjudging the wind kind of swirling around. Yeah, I mean, very, very happy to be in contention for the tournament and having a good opportunity the next 36 holes.”

Alejandro Tosti on what he’s most looking forward to this weekend… “Just being in the fight for the tournament. I've been playing really good and I feel like I've been knocking on the door but not having a good result, so whatever is meant to happen will happen. I know there are not many guys playing better than me at this time, so I'm very happy with the opportunity.

Alejandro Tosti on his favorite shot through 36 holes… “I've had many of them. Probably the last shot on hole 9, I don't know if you were filming or not, but it was a great shot. It ended like probably a foot from the hole and ended up like two and a half feet right of it. It was a great shot. Man, I had many good shots. It's just I'm hitting my irons very good and my putting is very good, too. So very happy with every part of my game.

Joshua Creel on tying the course record today… “I mean, when you got it going like that, the hole seems pretty big. I made a bunch of putts today and played from the fairway and had a bunch of good numbers, which typically when you get a round going like I did today is what happens. It was a lot of fun.”

Notes

Joshua Creel (T2 / -9) cards 9-under 61 and ties the Holston Hills Country Club course record previously established by Seth Reeves (2021/Round 4), Greyson Sigg (2021/Round 1), Andrew Pratt (2004), and Walt Chapman (1993); he also ties the 18-hole tournament scoring record previously established by Seth Reeves (2021/Round 4), Greyson Sigg (2021/Round 1), Grayson Murray (2016/Round 2), and Keith Mitchell (2016/Round 1)

Jorge Fernández Valdés (T2 / -9) sits inside the top five after 36 holes for the fifth time in 79 career Korn Ferry Tour starts and holds his best 36-hole position this season (T19/The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club/finished T50)

Rookie Jacob Solomon (T4 / -9), who qualified for the U.S. Open earlier this week, opens his second round with four birdies in his first eight holes en route to tying his career-low round for a second consecutive day with a 4-under 66

Roberto Diaz (T6 / -7) holds his best 36-hole position of the season following a 5-under 65

Cooper Musselman (T6 / -7) cards a bogey-free 6-under 64, a new career-low round, with birdies at Nos. 2, 9, 12, 13, 15 and 16; he also holds a career-high 36-hole position (previous best: T11/2020 The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay/finished T50)

Korn Ferry Tour winner Norman Xiong (T10 / -6) sits inside the top 10 after 36 holes for the second time this season (T9/The Panama Championship/finished T24)

Josh Teater (T10 / -6) plays his last two holes in 3-under par with a birdie at the par-4 17th and eagle at par-5 18th to shoot a season-low 7-under 63

Sponsor exemptions RJ Manke (T17 / -5) and Spencer Cross (T30 / -4) make the cut, while William Nottingham (T41 / -3) and Ryan Hall (T41 / -3) are the only two open qualifiers to make the cut

José de Jesús Rodríguez (T30/-4) records a hole-in-one on the par-3 11th