2019 Barbasol Championship Preview

2019 Barbasol Championship Preview
Dates: July 15-21, 2019
Where: Nicholasville, Kentucky
Course: Keene Trace Golf Club (Champions Trace)
Par/Yards: 36-36—72/7,328 yards
Field: 132
2018 champion: Troy Merritt
Purse: $3,500,000/$630,000 (winner)
FedExCup: 300 FedExCup points to the winner
Format: 72-hole stroke play

Things to know

  • After a one-shot win in 2018, Troy Merritt returns to defend title
  • Weather plagued the 2018 event, with 52 players returning on Monday to complete the final round
  • After making their professional debuts at the 2018 Barbasol Championship, Cooper Musselman and Chip McDaniel among a large contingent of local favorites
  • Five major championship winners in the field: John Daly (2), Jason Dufner, David Toms, Mike Weir, Y.E. Yang
  • Of four Barbasol Championship winners, Scott Piercy (2015) went on to qualify for the season-ending TOUR Championship

A look at the field

  • Past Barbasol Championship winners: Troy Merritt (2018)
  • Players in the field with the most PGA TOUR wins: David Toms (13), Mike Weir (8), Bill Haas (6), Hunter Mahan (6), Jonathan Byrd (5), John Daly (5), Jason Dufner (5)

Barbasol Championship and the FedExCup

With just three weeks (five events) remaining in the 2018-19 Regular Season, the Barbasol Championship is pivotal for players trying to secure a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs. Only the top 125 in the standings after the Wyndham Championship advance to THE NORTHERN TRUST, the first of three Playoffs events.

  • Of the four Barbasol Championship winners, 2015 champion Scott Piercy went on to qualify for the 30-player TOUR Championship, eventually finishing No. 22 in 2015
  • After claiming his second PGA TOUR title at the 2018 Barbasol Championship, Troy Merritt advanced to the second of four FedExCup Playoffs events; finished 91st in the FedExCup standings
  • FedExCup Playoffs regulars Jason Dufner (127th), Bill Haas (142nd) and Harris English (146th) enter the event outside the top 125 in the standings

A look back at the 2018 Barbasol Championship

  • Troy Merritt picked up his second PGA TOUR title by winning the weather-plagued 2018 Barbasol Championship by one stroke over Richy Werenski, Tom Lovelady and Billy Horschel
  • The Barbasol Championship was one of four Monday finishes on the PGA TOUR in 2017-18: Farmers Insurance Open (unscheduled), Barbasol Championship (unscheduled), Dell Technologies Championship (scheduled for Labor Day), BMW Championship (unscheduled)
  • Merritt, the 54-hole co-leader closed with 5-under 67 in a Monday finish to win in his 178th start at age 32 years, 8 months, 28 days
  • Merrit’s final-round 67 included an eagle-2 at No. 8 from 133 yards
  • Week highlighted by an opening-round 62 (tying the course record)
  • 2019 marked the third time he posted 18-hole score of 10-under in a PGA TOUR event; prior to the 2018 Barbasol Championship, the last time was in round three of the 2015 Quicken Loans National, which he won
  • Merritt won in his third start in the Barbasol Championship (2016/T20, 2017/T35)
  • Top-10 finishes during the 2018-19 season: Safeway Open (T4), 3M Open (T7), RBC Heritage (T10)

Additional Player Highlights

  • Five-time PGA TOUR winner John Daly will make his Barbasol Championship debut in his 534th official PGA TOUR event; the PGA TOUR Champions member missed the cut at the PGA Championship in his only other start this season
  • Jason Dufner has finished inside the top 100 in the FedExCup 10 consecutive seasons on TOUR and enters the Barbasol Championship ranked No. 127 in the standings; best of his two top-10 finishes in 2018-19 is T4 at the Wells Fargo Championship
  • University of Louisville’s Derek Fathauer will make his fifth Barbasol Championship start (MC/2015, T35/2016, T61/2017, MC/2018)
  • 2011 FedExCup champion Bill Haas is coming off a T10 at the John Deere Classic, his first top-10 finish since the season-opening Safeway Open (T10)
  • Tom Lovelady finished a career-best T2 in 2018 on his 25th birthday; final-round 4-under 68 included an eagle-three at No. 14
  • Hunter Mahan finished T7 in 2018 for his first top-10 finish since the 2015 Dell Technologies Championship (T4)
  • 2018 University of Kentucky graduates Cooper Musselman and Chip McDaniel both made their professional debuts at the 2018 Barbasol Championship, finishing T57 and T60, respectively; Musselman is the 2017 Kentucky Open champion, while McDaniel is the owner of two Kentucky Amateur titles (2013, 2017)
  • Lexington native and Morehead State University grad Josh Teater will be making his third start at the event (77/2015, T40/2018)
  • 13-time PGA TOUR winner David Toms has finished inside the top 20 in both Barbasol Championship starts (T19/2015, T11/2016)
  • Jhonattan Vegas finished T4 in his only other Barbasol Championship start (2016); three-time PGA TOUR winner is seeking his first win since winning the RBC Canadian Open in back-to-back seasons (2016, 2017)
  • Richy Werenski closed with a bogey-free 6-under 66 to claim a share of second with Billy Horschel and Tom Lovelady at the 2018 Barbasol Championship, equaling his best PGA TOUR finish at the 2017 Barracuda Championship (modified stableford scoring format)
Barbasol Ad from the 1930s featuring Craig Wood

Tournament Sponsor

  • Barbasol has a long-standing connection with golf that dates back to the 1920s and 30s, when advertising campaigns featured product endorsements from celebrated PGA TOUR golfers Johnny Farrell and Craig Wood.
  • Again in 2018, Barbasol became the proud sponsor of the Barbasol Championship, with wide-reaching involvement across several levels of the sport.
  • The brand sponsors talented professional golfers on the PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour and PGA TOUR Champions, and supports collegiate golf by presenting the Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year Award. Barbasol-sponsored professional golfers have included Ryan Armour, Chad Campbell, Ben Curtis, Chris DiMarco, Kyle Reifers, Brian Stuard, Robert Streb, Bronson Burgoon, Joel Dahmen, Martin Piller, Russ Cochran, Neal Lancaster and Loren Roberts.

2019 Barbasol Championship Preview Via PGA TOUR

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