The Korn Ferry Tour’s Memorial Health Championship got off to a bang when Canadian Drew Nesbitt tied the Panther Creek Country Club course record out of the first round’s morning tee times on Thursday, June 25.
Nesbitt, 31, is looking for his first Korn Ferry win in 13 starts after opening with an 11-under-par 60 to become the clubhouse leader. He is the fifth golfer in Memorial Health Championship history to fire a 60. Taylor Moore did it in the third round of 2021 and won that year’s tournament with a then-record 257 (Paul Haley II tied that 27-under 257 the next year with his win).
Rob Oppenheim also fired an 11-under in the third round of the 2022 event before Jackson Suber had a 60 in 2024’s second round and Sandy Scott used an 11-under last year in the final round to finish tied for third.
Nesbitt’s previous lowest round in Korn Ferry play came earlier this season at the Visit Knoxville Open when he shot a 63 at Holston Hills Country Club in the first round on May 21.
Coming ‘home’ party for Buchanan
University of Illinois 2025 graduate and former Illini golfer Jackson Buchanan put together a nice run in the morning tee times to finish with a 9-under 62, putting him third, one stroke behind 31-year-old South Carolina golfer Carson Young, who opened his tournament with a 10-under 61, one shot off the early clubhouse leader, Drew Nesbitt.
Buchanan, of Decula, Georgia, birdied holes No. 11-13 to begin 3-under and made the turn at 6-under before shaving three more strokes from par over the front nine. He received an exemption to get into the field for the second time.
“Being able to get comfortable out here and see the course is an advantage,” Buchanan said after his round. “Being a rookie, you don’t see many of the courses from previous years, so this is one I definitely had starred on the schedule, you could say.”
Buchanan, whose 62 is his best round in 16 Korn Ferry tournaments, said getting up and down for birdie on the par-5 No. 13 really helped springboard his round. But it was his pre-tournament trip to see his former Illini coach Mike Small that may have set the tone.
“I went to Champaign, I hung out with coach a little bit,” Buchanan said. “It can always kind of reset you a little bit and put you on the right path. (But Thursday) was just a good day, there’s three days left, so it’s not even halftime yet, but definitely a good day.”
According to the National Weather Service, Springfield has received nearly double its rainfall average for June of 3.75 inches with 7.35 inches. Wednesday’s rain helped make the course — especially Panther Creek’s greens — perfect for low scores, Buchanan said.
“It was about as easy out there as you could get, maybe a little wet if you’re playing long,” Buchanan said. “but greens soft, throwing darts; you see guys 11-under, that’s when you know it’s pretty easy. But you still got to play good golf.”
Buchanan is scheduled to tee off on Friday at 2:26 p.m. for his second round (barring any sort of weather delay with rain and thunderstorms in the forecast). He said the better the round, the more vital it is to forget it.
“I think it’s more important to put it behind you than even a bad round,” Buchanan said. “A bad round, you can learn from. A round like this, put it behind you, build momentum. The more you look at the leaderboard and the more you think, ‘Oh, I must be pretty good,’ you’re going to go the wrong direction. Put it behind you, get dinner, enjoy the night and tee off tomorrow in the afternoon.”
Other golf notes
Wilson Furr, of Jackson, Mississippi, and Columbia, Missouri’s Ross Steelman both carded 8-under 63s to tie for fourth out of the morning group. Three others, Ryan McCormick, Hunter Eichhorn and Hunter Wolcott all shot 7-under 64s to sit four shots off the pace.
Last year’s winner, Austin Smotherman of Dallas, earned his PGA Tour card with his 2025 Korn Ferry success and is not in the field.
Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, ryan.mahan@sj-r.com, Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Nesbitt ties Panther Creek record in Memorial Health golf updates
Reporting by Ryan Mahan, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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By Ryan Mahan, Springfield State Journal-Register | USA TODAY Network
