The Tennessee Sport Management program and Partners in Sports have been involved with this golf tournament since 1997. The golf tournament was intertwined with the program’s event management class for more than a decade as students earned class credit for working the tournament. Students were involved in all aspects of the tournament from scoring operations, course ecology, driving range operations to working with hospitality and tournament management. Each student in the class regularly logged more than 45 volunteers during the week of the tournament. The move from the tournament from June each year to August and now May necessitated a shift the amount of hours working at the tournament but Partners in Sports has stayed committed to it.
Students regularly complete internships with the tournament and volunteer to assist with specific aspects of the event during tournament week. Students have worked countless hours at the event. This event allows students to gain experience in the operation and management of a professional golf event and a chance to network with community leaders and members of the PGA TOUR staff.
The Visit Knoxville Open is one of the original tournaments remaining from the Hogan Tour which began 1990. The tournament is now a member of the Korn Ferry Tour. The Korn Ferry Tour is the developmental tour for the PGA TOUR and the is the pathway to earning playing privileges on the PGA TOUR.
The tournament has been contested at Willow Creek Golf Course (1990-1994), Three Ridges Golf Course (1995-1998), and Fox Den Country Club (1999-2019). The tournament was not held in 2020, and Holston Hills Country Club became the tournament course beginning in 2021.