UNC Health Championship underway at Raleigh Country Club with local ties

The UNC Health Championship returned to Raleigh Country Club with a field that mixes national stakes and local familiarity, from Raleigh native Chesson Hadley to Cary resident Ben Kohles and Raleigh/Chapel Hill resident Doc Redman. The Korn Ferry Tour event, running May 28-31 at the Donald Ross-designed course in Raleigh, will award 500 points and a $1,000,000 purse as it serves as the 12th tournament on the tour’s 25-event 2026 schedule.

This is the 32nd playing of the championship, which began in 1994 with Skip Kendall as the inaugural winner. The tournament has grown into one of the more recognizable stops in Wake County, helped by a field that includes 17 PGA TOUR winners with 39 total victories and Scottish players Martin Laird, Russell Knox and Sandy Scott among the names set to tee it up.

Raleigh Country Club will again be asked to play as a stern test. The par-70 layout measures 7,133 yards, a distance that demands precision around the greens and enough length to separate the strongest contenders over four rounds. That challenge was on display last year, when Raleigh resident Trace Crowe won with a 21-under 259, setting the tournament’s 72-hole scoring record.

For Wake County, the event is about more than leaderboard position. The championship is promoted as a community and hospitality event, with tickets on sale and volunteers still needed as fans move through a week that puts Raleigh in front of players, families and sponsors from across the Korn Ferry Tour circuit. Thursday tickets are discounted by 50 percent, and children 15 and under get in free with a ticketed adult for grounds admission.

The tournament’s local identity also extends beyond the names in the field. UNC Health has used the championship to spotlight the late Raleigh golfer Grayson Murray through an honorary tee time and a mental-health awareness effort, tying the event to a hometown story that still resonates around the Triangle. With card-only sales for tickets, concessions and merchandise and no ATM on property, the setup is built for a streamlined tournament week, one that brings national golf to one of Raleigh’s oldest courses and keeps the local connections front and center.