Alabama Golf News, the go-to source for news about all things golf in Alabama, is covering the return of professional golf to Huntsville with today’s start of the Korn Ferry Tour’s Huntsville Championship.
The 156-player field tees off today at The Ledges in Huntsville for the 72-hole event.
Two Alabamians – Conner Godsey and Lee Hodges – will be the local favorites at the inaugural event, which was canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Godsey, of Rogersville, Alabama, qualified for the Huntsville Championship on Monday by surviving a seven-man playoff. He won the final spot in the field on the fourth playoff hole at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s Hampton Cove course.
Godsey played on the Korn Ferry Tour full-time in 2018 and even held a 54-hole lead at one event before finishing tied for 13th. He also played on the PGA Tour LatinoAmerica.
Hodges, of Ardmore, Alabama, won last August at the Korn Ferry Tour’s WinCo Foods Portland Open, and he’s sixth on the tour’s current points list.
Hodges likely would already be playing on the PGA Tour but for the pandemic. When it hit last spring, PGA Tour officials froze the big tour’s membership for the remainder of the year and did not promote any of the top Korn Ferry players.
Alabama Golf News Editor Gregg Dewalt, a veteran sports journalist, will cover the action at the Huntsville Championship.
“This event is a big deal for Huntsville and north Alabama and will mean a lot for an area that hasn’t seen a PGA Tour-affiliated golf event since 1998,” Dewalt said. “With two players from nearby communities competing, interest in the Huntsville Championship is certainly at a high level.”
Follow Dewalt’s coverage by visiting Alabama Golf News, where users can sign up for periodic e-newsletters. Or follow him on Facebook @AlabamaGolfNews or via Twitter @alabama_golf.
Alabama Golf News, which launched in March 2020, serves Alabama golfers and out-of-state golfers planning golf trips to Alabama. To reach Dewalt, email bamagolfnews@gmail.com.
