Nelson Ledesma and Alejandro Tosti are the co-leaders after one round at the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2023 Visit Knoxville Open.
Fellow Argentinian Augusto Nunez is tied for sixth. and tied for 20th is another golfer from the South American country, Jorge Fernandez Valdes. They are four of the nine golfers from Argentina in the field this week at Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Ledesma in particular said he feels comfortable on the course with its familiar feel.
“I like the course, a typical course that we play in Argentina with some
trees. I really like the greens, the greens are nice. We are okay,” he said after a bogey-free round where he nabbed three birdies on the front and four more on the back for a 63.
Tosti, a rookie this season, also shot a 7-under 63 but his scorecard was a bit more interesting, as he had a double bogey, two bogeys but countered that and more with 11 birdies, including three straight to close his round.
“Eleven in one day was like ‘wow’, one after the other after the other,” he said. “Then I had a couple bad breaks where I made a double, but I again fought back and yeah, it’s like just everything was hitting the ball great. I mean, the best in many years, putting the best in many years, so everything is kind of coming together.”
A shot back at 6 under is Rico Hoey and David Kocher.
Last week’s winner Grayson Murray shot a first-round 73.
It’s the 11th tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2023 schedule. The Visit Knoxville event is one of the legacy events: it’s one of four on the circuit’s schedule every year since the tour started in 1990. It’s the third year the event is at Holston Hills.
