Anders Albertson wins Visit Knoxville Open for second Korn Ferry Tour title

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee – Anders Albertson returned to the Korn Ferry Tour winner’s circle for the first time since 2018, as he outlasted 2022 Regular Season Points List leader Carl Yuan down the stretch of the Visit Knoxville Open. Albertson two-putted for birdie at the 72nd hole, the par-5 18th at Holston Hills Country Club, and finished one stroke ahead of Yuan, who held the outright lead through 13 holes of Sunday’s final round.

Albertson created two-shot swings with birdies at the par-3 14th and par-4 15th, then stuck an approach pin high and inside of 20 feet at No. 18 as he polished off a 4-under 66 and his third bogey-free scorecard of the week. Albertson’s birdie at the 18th took him to 20-under par for the tournament.

Albertson’s only previous Korn Ferry Tour victory came at the 2018 Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS, where he birdied two of the final three holes for a two-stroke win.

“I haven't won in four years and to be leading every day, to be looking face to face with all that pressure or all those extra thoughts that come with that for four straight days was a challenge that I was embracing,” said Albertson, who became the first Korn Ferry Tour winner since Cameron Young (consecutive wins at 2021 AdventHealth Championship and NV5 Invitational presented by Old National Bank) to lead or co-lead after every round. “I've had an incredible amount of people help me, and I'm just so grateful for the team that I have.”

Albertson began the day with a one-stroke lead, but Yuan, playing alongside him in the final group, pulled even with a birdie at the par-4 first. The two traded birdies at the par-5 fifth, and Yuan built a two-stroke lead of his own with birdies at the par-4 seventh and ninth. Albertson continued to make pars.

“The biggest thing for me is bringing all my focus and strength to play the course and not who I'm playing with,” Albertson said of his walk to No. 14 tee as he trailed by two strokes. “It doesn't matter, I'm not afraid of making a mistake, I'm not afraid of losing anything, I'm not afraid of hitting a bad shot, I'm not afraid of anything, I'm going to accept whatever happens and continue to attack the course.

“That's an aggression I haven't had before, but it's only over the ball,” Albertson continued. “Then to just relax and be relational, look around and enjoy the time, playing the course as opposed to Carl, it was really what allowed me to hit some really good shots. Mentally, I think I got in my own way in years past in that situation. I was thinking too much about the board and what was at stake.”

Albertson had little more than a tap-in for birdie at No. 14 as Yuan scrambled for a bogey. Yuan made a second consecutive bogey from just off the green, and Albertson moved two strokes ahead with his fourth birdie of the week at No. 15.

Yuan bounced back with a birdie at the par-4 16th, and an errant tee shot at the par-4 17th left Albertson out of position as he clung to a one-stroke lead.

“I really tried all week to not think about score,” Albertson said. “I hit one really poor tee shot all week and it was that hole. I didn't want to go into No. 18 tied with Carl because he hits it farther than I do. He's probably going to have a chance to have a shorter club in there, so I felt like I needed a little cushion. It was one of the first putts of length I made all day. It was nice to make one in a big moment like that.”

Following the par save at No. 17, Albertson watched as Yuan sailed an iron over the 18th green. The 28-year-old Georgia Tech alum had his own decision to make. Albertson had 201 yards to the front, an extra 5 yards to the flag, and a stock 7-iron carry of 184 yards. Had Albertson come up short, he faced a difficult up and down. Albertson and his caddie guessed right, with a kick of adrenaline producing the proper yardage.

Although Yuan made an up-and-down birdie, Albertson left his eagle putt less than 3 feet from the cup for a tournament-winning birdie.

While Yuan led the field with 24 birdies (two more total birdies than anyone in the field), Albertson only made one bogey, the fewest in the field, to Yuan’s five. Albertson’s only bogey of the week came at the par-3 11th in the second round.

With the win, Albertson rose from No. 52 to No. 9 on the Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season Points List, putting him within 186 points (roughly a solo third finish) of the current #TOURBound fail-safe threshold of 900 points. Should Albertson reach the 900-point mark in the coming months, it would secure his second trip to the PGA TOUR, as he previously graduated following the 2018 Korn Ferry Tour season.

“Thankfully I have an off week to kind of reflect, but I think right now I feel more in balance like I felt like all week… so I think I'm able to receive it more like a normal event and not something that's like hugely disruptive,” said Albertson, who plays from Atlanta, Georgia. “It's obviously a different points list position than I have been in in a while, so that will be nice to digest and look at. I just need some time to figure out what I feel and what's the next move.

“I know I'll be (at the NV5 Invitational presented by Old National Bank) and look forward to getting back to it then, but also really excited to get home and be with my wife and my dog and have a little bit of rest.”

The 2022 Korn Ferry Tour season continues Thursday with the first round of the AdventHealth Championship, hosted by Blue Hills Country Club in Kansas City, Missouri.