Rico Hoey claims first Korn Ferry Tour victory at Visit Knoxville Open

Rico Hoey made a birdie on the 72nd hole at Holston Hills CC for a one-stroke win over Chase Seiffert and Norman Xiong at 14-under total.

With his first Korn Ferry Tour title, Hoey moves to the verge of his first PGA TOUR card.

Things to Know

Rico Hoey drains a 15-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole to earn his first Korn Ferry Tour victory at the Visit Knoxville Open in his 83rd career start on Tour

Hoey earns 500 points and moves to No. 2 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points list with 1,257 points, only trailing Ben Kohles (1,278 points)

Outright 54-hole leader and Korn Ferry Tour winner Norman Xiong cards one birdie and 17 pars for 1-under 69, finishes T2 with Chase Seiffert, with both finishing one stroke behind Hoey

18-hole co-leader and outright 36-hole leader Alejandro Tosti closes in 1-under 69 to finish T4, matching his career-high finish from last week’s AdventHealth Championship (solo fourth)

Korn Ferry Tour winner Rafael Campos rises to a season-high T4 finish with a 7-under 63, tying Jimmy Stanger for the low round of the day

Quotables

Rico Hoey on how it feels to be a Korn Ferry Tour winner… “I'm just ecstatic. There was a lot of hard work. Everyone works hard. And I have battled through things for myself, and I'm just really happy to get it done. And I never thought the day would come, but a lot of people told me it would.”

Rico Hoey on what he felt while playing No. 18… “I was nervous. I hit my drive in the rough over there, had a 4-iron in and hit it to the bunker. (Caddie) Logan and I were just saying, like, maybe I'll just come off the slope here, and it didn't. But it was a great bunker shot. I was just happy I didn't blade it over or something. I had a 15-footer down the hill and I just told myself, it's time, let's do it. And I hit the putt and it went in, and just went nuts. I don't remember after that.”

Rico Hoey on how it felt to see the putt drop for birdie on No. 18… “It's amazing. I hopefully can describe it as well as I can. But it was just like your heart's racing, you can't think straight, your head's all over the place. I couldn't control my hands. I just told myself, just hit it down the line and see what happens. And it was in the fairway, so I had to make a birdie, hopefully force the playoff or something.”

Rico Hoey on becoming one step closer to the PGA TOUR… “It's a dream come true. This is what we all work for. And I'm really enjoying it. I'm really happy to be out here and to have a chance to get on the PGA TOUR. I'm just really excited.”

Rico Hoey on what the key was to secure the win this week… “Just staying patient. Last week, I played really well and I just felt like things were starting to line up a little bit, but it's hard to keep looking into the future when you're like, oh, I should be winning, or, I think I could do really well this week. And I just told myself all I want to do is just shoot in the 60s and things will take care of itself.”

Rico Hoey (Winner / -14)

Earns his first Korn Ferry Tour win in his 83rd career start, joins Chandler Phillips (The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay) and Spencer Levin (Veritex Bank Championship as first-time Korn Ferry Tour winners this season

Earns second PGA TOUR-sanctioned victory, having previously won the 2017 Freedom 55 Financial Championship on PGA TOUR Canada

Records his Korn Ferry Tour-leading sixth top-10 of the season; he entered 2023 with four top-10s in 72 previous starts on the Korn Ferry Tour

Hoey’s last six starts produced results of: T3-T3-MC-MC-T2-1st

Makes six (Nos. 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 18) after a bogey at the par-4 second en route to a final-round 5-under 65

Began the final round three strokes behind outright 54-hole leader Norman Xiong, making him the fourth Korn Ferry Tour winner this season to overcome a 54-hole deficit of three-plus strokes, joining Chandler Phillips (four strokes/The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay), Pierceson Coody (five strokes/The Panama Championship), and Spencer Levin (six strokes/Veritex Bank Championship)

27-year-old hails from Manila, Philippines and resides in Rancho Cucamonga, California

Turned professional in 2017 after four seasons at University of Southern California, where he earned three All-America honors, including first-team recognition in 2017, four All-Pac-12 Conference First Team laurels, and won three collegiate events; he also represented the United States at the 2014 and 2016 Arnold Palmer Cups

Played the 2017 season on PGA TOUR Canada, earning his first PGA TOUR-sanctioned victory and finishing No. 5 on the Fortinet Cup Points List to earn Korn Ferry Tour membership and an exemption to Final Stage of the 2017 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament

Finished No. 71 on the 2018 Korn Ferry Tour Points List with three top-10s as a rookie, earning fully exempt status for 2019

Went without a top-10 across 24 starts in 2019, ultimately finishing No. 97 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List and leaving himself with conditional status for the 2020-21 season

Made 29 starts in the 46-event 2020-21 season but only managed two top-25s, highlighted by a T9 at the 2020 Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Aetna; he finished No. 128 on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List

Regained membership with a T17 at Final Stage of the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament

Notes

Norman Xiong (T2 / -13) closes with bogey-free 1-under 69 and finishes the week with two bogeys in 72 holes, two fewer than anyone in the field, earns his first top-10 since winning the 2022 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics as an open qualifier last June

Chase Seiffert (T2 / -13) cards 5-under 65 to log his second top-10 of the season (T3/LECOM Suncoast Classic), highest finish on Tour since T2 at 2019 Dormie Network Classic at Briggs Ranch

Rafael Campos (T4 / -12) cards bogey-free 7-under 63 in the final round of the Visit Knoxville Open, tying Jimmy Stanger (T10 / -7) for the low round of the day and recording his second top-10 of the season, as well as his highest finish in PGA TOUR-sanctioned play since a T2 at the 2021 Corales Puntacana Championship

Campos posted one of the five bogey-free rounds carded Sunday: Jeremy Paul (T7 / -11 / 5-under 65), Paul Barjon (T23 / -8 / 5-under 65), Thomas Walsh (T23 / -8 / 2-under 68) and Norman Xiong (T2 / -13 / 1-under 69)

Five players not already qualified for next week’s UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH earn spot in its field with top-25s Sunday: University of Tennessee alum and sponsor exemption Spencer Cross (T10 / -10), Knoxville, Tennessee native and open qualifier Ryan Hall (T16 / -9), and conditional members Wilson Furr (T23/ -8), RJ Manke (T16 / -9), who played this week via a sponsor exemption, and Trent Phillips (T23 / 8)

Rookie Colin Featherstone (T4 / -12) records first top-10 in his 12th career start on the Korn Ferry Tour (previous career-high finish: T14/2023 The Panama Championship)

Rookie Alejandro Tosti (T4 / -12) carded 1-under 69 with four birdies (Nos. 6, 10, 15, 17) against three bogeys (Nos. 2, 4, 16); he led the field with 23 total birdies, but also had two double bogeys this week