"It was a lot of fun": LA Lakers star Austin Reaves plays Korn Ferry Tour qualifier after feeling 'bored'

Los Angeles Lakers star Austin Reaves recently participated in the Korn Ferry Tour qualifier. The qualifying event was held for the Korn Ferry Tour's 2024 Knoxville Open, scheduled from May 23 to 26 at Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Reaves fell short of 11 strokes to qualify for the tournament. The Lakers guard scored 6-over 76 at Willow Creek Golf Club in Knoxville. Caleb Hicks scored the lowest score in the qualifier. Three more players qualified for the Knoxville Open. The players who qualified are as follows with their scores:

• Caleb Hicks (64)
• Jimmy Zheng (65)
• Dawson Jones (65)
• Scott Stevens (65)

Post the competition, Reaves said he enjoyed playing competitive golf at the Korn Ferry Tour qualifier. He said (via PGA Tour):

"You can't really compare anything to it. I was nervous, I will say that, but it was a lot of fun. I was on the first tee shaking a little bit, didn't hit a good ball, but other than that, it was a lot of fun to play some competitive golf."

In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Reaves revealed how he landed at Monday's qualifier for the Korn Ferry Tour.

"I was laying on the couch the other day and I was bored, and I called (my friend Trent Swaim) and said, 'Find me a Monday qualifier around here,'" he added.

In a field of 86 players, he finished in 73rd position. He started with a birdie on par-5 10th but then scored bogeys on the 12th, 14th, and 15th holes. He scored a birdie again on par-4 16th but finished with consecutive bogeys on the 17th and 18th holes.

Austin Reaves scored the front nine with a bogey and a triple bogey on par-3 6th. He finished with a birdie on his final hole of the Korn Ferry Tour qualifier.

The 25-year-old takes inspiration from Jordan Spieth to improve his game. He praised Spieth at the Korn Ferry Tour qualifying event and said (via PGA Tour):

"The artist he has in him ... he can hit every shot with a 60 (-degree wedge), he can close it, hit it low with a lot of spin, open up and hit it high. I just like that, him being able to scramble around and make pars."

Last year, Reaves was asked about his favorite golfer on Zach Lowe's podcast. His answer was "Me." Reaves has a Golf Handicap Index of +2.2 in California. He is also a member of the Westside Golf Collective.

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Tee times for Korn Ferry Tour's Knoxville Open

The Korn Ferry Tour moves from AdventHealth Championship to Tennessee for the Knoxville Open. The event will be held at Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville.

The winner of the Korn Ferry Tour will take home $180,000 of the $1 million purse. Rico Hoey won the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour's Knoxville Open.

Here are the tee times for the Korn Ferry Tour's qualifying event:

4:20 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Brian Campbell (USA), Noah Goodwin (USA), Fred Biondi (BRA)
• Tee 10: Aldrich Potgieter (RSA), Ryan Gerard (USA), Brian Davis (ENG)

4:30 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Brett Drewitt (AUS), Ryan Blaum (USA), Wil Bateman (CAN)
• Tee 10: Shad Tuten (USA), Pontus Nyholm (SWE), Hank Lebioda (USA)

4:40 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Ollie Schniederjans (USA), Brian Stuard (USA), Patrick Welch (USA)
• Tee 10: Jacob Solomon (USA), Alvaro Ortiz (MEX), MJ Daffue (RSA)

4:50 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Spencer Levin (USA), Brandon Harkins (USA), Chris Baker (USA)
• Tee 10: Steven Fisk (USA), Max McGreevy (USA), Morgan Hoffmann (USA)

5:00 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: John VanDerLaan (USA), Billy Kennerly (USA), Sung Kang (KOR)
• Tee 10: Kevin Roy (USA), Chris Petefish (USA), Thomas Walsh (USA)

5:10 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Trevor Werbylo (USA), Russell Knox (SCO), Patrick Cover (USA)
• Tee 10: Kris Ventura (NOR), S.Y. Noh (KOR), Logan McAllister (USA)

5:20 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Isaiah Salinda (USA), Jackson Suber (USA), Kyle Stanley (USA)
• Tee 10: Josh Teater (USA), Ross Steelman (USA), Sudarshan Yellamaraju (CAN)

5:30 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Lanto Griffin (USA), Sam Saunders (USA), Bryce Hendrix (USA)
• Tee 10: Ricky Castillo (USA), David Kocher (USA), Tain Lee (USA)

5:40 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Dawie van der Walt (RSA), Augusto Núñez (ARG), Sean O'Hair (USA)
• Tee 10: Rob Oppenheim (USA), Chase Seiffert (USA), Carter Jenkins (USA)

5:50 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Chris Naegel (USA), Myles Creighton (CAN), Van Holmgren (USA)
• Tee 10: Brendon Jelley (USA), Joe Weiler (USA), Sam Bennett (USA)

6:00 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: KK Limbhasut (THA), Zach Bauchou (USA), Jeffrey Kang (USA)
• Tee 10: Joshua Creel (USA), William Mouw (USA), Tanner Gore (USA)

6:10 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: T.J. Vogel (USA), Dan McCarthy (USA), Raul Pereda (MEX)
• Tee 10: Kaito Onishi (JPN), Davis Shore (USA), Dillon Board (USA)

6:20 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Julian Suri (USA), Nolan Ray (USA), Jimmy Zheng (NZL) (a)
• Tee 10: Clay Feagler (USA), Will Grimmer (USA)

6:30 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Spencer Cross (USA), Blake Wagoner (USA), Casey Flenniken (USA)

9:25 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Rhein Gibson (AUS), Richy Werenski (USA), Paul Peterson (USA)
• Tee 10: Tim Widing (SWE), Chad Collins (USA), Marcelo Rozo (COL)

9:35 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Trace Crowe (USA), Nelson Ledesma (ARG), Braden Thornberry (USA)
• Tee 10: Harry Higgs (USA), Erik Compton (USA), Cristobal Del Solar (CHI)

9:45 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Mason Andersen (USA), Kyle Jones (USA), Kevin Stadler (USA)
• Tee 10: Zecheng Dou (CHN), Joey Garber (USA), Satoshi Kodaira (JPN)

9:55 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Jeremy Paul (GER), Daniel Summerhays (USA), Trent Phillips (USA)
• Tee 10: Tommy Gainey (USA), John Augenstein (USA), Chandler Blanchet (USA)

10:05 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Taylor Dickson (USA), Brad Hopfinger (USA), Doc Redman (USA)
• Tee 10: Fabián Gómez (ARG), Matt McCarty (USA), Trey Winstead (USA)

10:15 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Seth Reeves (USA), Davis Chatfield (USA), Jeff Overton (USA)
• Tee 10: Quade Cummins (USA), Thomas Rosenmueller (GER), Dimi Papadatos (AUS)

10:25 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Roberto Díaz (MEX), Danny Walker (USA), Bronson Burgoon (USA)
• Tee 10: William McGirt (USA), Tano Goya (ARG), Cooper Dossey (USA)

10:35 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Trevor Cone (USA), Rick Lamb (USA), Frankie Capan III (USA)
• Tee 10: Kevin Velo (USA), Cody Blick (USA), Vince Whaley (USA)

10:45 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Brent Grant (USA), Jamie Lovemark (USA), Bo Van Pelt (USA)
• Tee 10: Jared du Toit (CAN), Walker Lee (USA), RJ Manke (USA)

10:55 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Dalton Ward (USA), Emilio Gonzalez (MEX), Austin Hitt (USA)
• Tee 10: Michael Johnson (USA), Davis Lamb (USA), Charles Porter (USA)

11:05 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Brandon Crick (USA), John Pak (USA), Yi Cao (CHN)
• Tee 10: Andrew Kozan (USA), Garett Reband (USA), Mark Goetz (USA)

11:15 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Jack Maguire (USA), Étienne Papineau (CAN), Philip Knowles (USA)
• Tee 10: Mitchell Meissner (USA), Cole Hammer (USA), Keenan Huskey (USA)

11:25 PM GMT+5:30

• Tee 1: Chase Wright (USA), Patrick Newcomb (USA), Dawson Jones (USA)
• Tee 10: Caleb Hicks (USA), Scott Stevens (USA)