Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The ninth annual Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS is expected to have an economic impact of $6 million this year. That’s according to Executive Director Kate Peters. The event started Monday at Panther Creek Country Club, and tournament play gets underway Thursday. Since its inception, Peters said total economic impact comes in at over $50 million dollars.

“This year, trust that the caliber of talent will be excellent,” she said. The official field for the tournament will include three past champions and twenty of the top thirty on the current Korn Ferry Tour points list. Former champions in the field include Paul Haley II (2022), Brett Drewitt (2020), and Xinjum Zhang (2019).

Harry Higgs, Steven Fisk, Mason Andersen, Max McGreevy, Quade Cummins, and Frankie Capan III make up six of the current top ten on the Korn Ferry Tour points list.

This year’s tournament exemptions are Jackson Buchanan, Michael Feagles, Michael Feuerstein, Patrick Newcomb, and Chase Wright. Buchanan and Feagles both with local ties to the University of Illinois, Buchanan an incoming senior and Feagles an alum.

Full field

Players will compete for a total purse of $1,000,000.  The tournament, as part of the Korn Ferry Tour, is a PGA sanctioned event and is one of 20 domestic events on the schedule.

Free grounds tickets are available courtesy of Visit Springfield, and free parking and shuttle are available at Landmark Ford in Prairie Crossing.