Congrats to all Sepp Straka backers last week. He was unbelievable on Sunday posting a 62 to win the John Deere Classic by two strokes over Alex Smalley. I liked our position heading into Sunday with Schenk and McCarthy both tied for second but neither had particularly great final rounds.
Let’s get into this week’s storylines…
Outside of the Genesis Scottish Open, the Barbasol Championship is the last chance for players who are non-exempt to earn a spot in next week’s event, The Open Championship.
As it is an alternate event, this week’s field is extremely weak. Only eleven of the world’s top two-hundred golfers are in the field. Lucas Glover (#112) is the highest-ranked golfer followed by Taylor Pendrith (#113) and Carl Yuan (#144). Two previous champions, Jim Herman and Troy Merritt are also in the field this week.
Given that this is a co-sanctioned event approximately 50 DP World Tour pros will compete, or a chance to earn non-member FedExCup points in the pursuit of PGA TOUR cards. The top-ranked players from the DP World Tour teeing it up this week include Julien Guerrier (No. 32), Aaron Cockerill (No. 40), and Marcus Helligkilde (No. 44).
Tournament Information:
- Dates: July 13th, 2023 – July 16th, 2023
- Location: Nicholasville, Kentucky, United States
- Course: Keene Trace Golf Club (Champion Trace)
- Course Type: Resort
- Par: 72 (4x 3’s / 10x 4’s / 4x 5’s)
- Length: 7,328 yards
- Format: 72-hole stroke play
- Greens: Bentgrass
- Fairways: Bentgrass
- Rough: Bluegrass / Fescue
- Bunkers: 76
- Water Hazard(s): 6 (In-Play on 6 Holes)
- Average Green Size: 6,000 sq. ft.
- Stimpmeter: 11 ft.
- Purse/ Winner: $3,800,000/ $684,000
- FedEx Cup Points: 300
- Field/ Cut: 156 Pros | Top 65 and Ties – 36 Holes
- Historic Cut Line:
- 2022: -5
- 2021: -4
- 2019: -4
- Course Scoring Average:
- 2022: 69.82 (-2.18), Rank 46 of 50
- 2021: 69.89 (-2.11), Rank 46 of 51
- 2019: 69.59 (-2.41), Rank 46 of 49
Course Architect:
- Course Architect: Arthur Hills (1987)
- Renovations: N/A
Comparable Courses & Greens:
- Comparable Courses:
- TPC Craig Ranch – AT&T Byron Nelson
- TPC Twin Cities – 3M Open
- Designer Link (Arthur Hills):
- None
- Comparable Location (Nicholasville, Kentucky):
- Muirfield Village Golf Club – Dublin, Ohio – the Memorial Tournament
- TPC Southwind – Memphis, Tennessee – FedEx St. Jude Championship
- TPC Deere Run – Silvis, Illinois – John Deere Classic
- Comparable Yardage (7,328 Yards):
- Riviera Country Club – 7,322 Yards – The Genesis Invitational
- Innisbrook Resort – 7,340 Yards – Valspar Championship
- East Lake Golf Club – 7,346 Yards – TOUR Championship
- Comparable Greens (Bentgrass):
- Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club – Bentgrass – ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP
- Torrey Pines Golf Course (North Course) – Bentgrass .100” – Farmers Insurance Open
- TPC Craig Ranch – Bentgrass .100” – AT&T Byron Nelson
- Muirfield Village Golf Club – Bentgrass .090” – the Memorial Tournament
- TPC Twin Cities – Bentgrass .110” – 3M Open
- Comparable Average Green Size (6,000 sq. ft.):
- Monterey Peninsula Country Club – 6,000 sq. ft. – AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
- Corales Golf Course – 6,000 sq. ft. – Corales Puntacana Championship
- Sedgefield Country Club – 6,000 sq. ft. – Wyndham Championship
TV Information:
- Round 1: Thursday, July 13th, 2023
- Golf Channel – 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM ET
- Round 2: Friday, July 14th, 2023
- Golf Channel – 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM ET
- Round 3: Saturday, July 15th, 2023
- Golf Channel – 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM ET
- Round 4: Sunday, July 16th, 2023
- Golf Channel – 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET
- Thursday: Thunderstorms 80 F, 12 mp/h SW, 84% Humidity, 96% Chance of Rain
- Friday: Scattered Thunderstorms 83 F, 8 mp/h WSW, 81% Humidity, 46% Chance of Rain
- Saturday: Scattered Thunderstorms 85 F, 11 mp/h WSW, 79% Humidity, 58% Chance of Rain
- Sunday: PM Thunderstorms 86 F, 7 mp/h W, 71% Humidity, 37% Chance of Rain
Course/ Tournament History:
The Barbasol Championship debuted in 2015 as an alternate event to The Open Championship in Britain in July. The first three additions of this event were played at the Grand National course of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. In 2018, the tournament moved to its current venue, the Keene Trace Golf Club.
Starting last year this tournament became a co-sanctioned event with the European Tour, played the same week as an alternate event to the Genesis Scottish Open. With that change, the winner of the Barbasol Championship, if he is not already qualified, will earn the final spot in The Open Championship.
- 72-Hole Record:
- 262, Jim Herman (2019)
- 18-Hole Record:
- 60, James Hahn (Round 3, 2021)
Course Guide/ Scorecard:
The Keene Trace Golf Club is one of the easiest courses on Tour. From 2018 – 2022, all four winners finished with a score of -20 or less. Only six holes at the 2022 edition of the Barbasol Championship had a scoring average above par.
The four Par 3’s, No. 2, No. 9, No. 14, & No. 16, range between 187 yards and 209 yards. At the 2022 Barbasol Championship, only one of the Par 3’s had a scoring average below Par (No. 2).
No. 2 ‘Triple Tears’, 187 yards, Par 3: “Multiple tees present different angles to a shallow, tiered green. Deep collection area to left. Important to be on proper tier to avoid a nasty putt.”
No. 9 ‘The Brink’, 205 yards, Par 3: “Tee shot over water to relatively big green, but could be dicey if wind is blowing and pin is in front. Entertaining hole in tournament play.”
No. 14 ‘Blackberry Hill’, 209 yards, Par 3: “Tee shot over a valley to a shallow green with deep bunker guarding front. Hit the middle of the green, get par and move on.”
No. 16 ‘Bullseye’, 191 yards, Par 3: “Another good par 3, this one downhill. Important to hit the right club, with deep bunker right and wind possibly a factor. Middle of the green always good.”
Four of the ten Par 4’s range between 450 – 500 yards. No. 1 is the shortest listed at 392 yards with the longest being No. 3, playing 462 yards.
No. 1 ‘Pandora’s Box’, 392 yards, Par 4: “Not much trouble on this dogleg right. Bunker left shouldn’t come into play. Long hitters can go with 3-wood off the tee. Green slopes back right to front left.”
No. 3 ‘Hard Par’, 462 yards, Par 4: “Demanding hole, with fairway sloping right to left. Long tee ball needed to get to downslope. From there it’s an uphill, 140 to 150 approach. Tight lies from collection areas. Green tilts back right to front left.”
No. 17 ‘Picture Perfect’, 410 yards, Par 4: “Beautiful hole. Split fairway, but much better to play from upper left. Driver not required for long hitters. If tee shot gets hung up between fairways, awkward lie awaits. Back-to-front sloping green guarded by water and bunkers.”
No. 18 ‘Waterloo’, 429 yards, Par 4: “Tough hole from start to finish. Need to avoid bunkers guarding left side of fairway, but don’t block your tee shot – water borders right side. Small green requires accurate approach. Front pin position especially testy. Par is a really good score.”
The four Par 5’s are No. 5, No. 8, No. 11 & No. 15. In 2022, all of these holes had a scoring average under par.
No. 5 ‘Great Crossings’, 543 yards, Par 5: “Terrific risk-reward hole. Long hitters can get a downhill roll to where it’s a mid-or short-iron second shot. Even those who lay up face a tough approach to a shallow green guarded by a creek in front and bunker back left.”
No. 8 ‘Water’s Edge’, 567 yards, Par 5: “Water on left running length of the hole, mounds on right but not penal. Those trying to get home in two can bail out right, although three bunkers come into play. Fairly small green also guarded by bunkers, with water to the left.”
No. 11 ‘Winding Way’, 573 yards, Par 5: “Off the tee, an uphill, slight dogleg left. Preferable drive gets you a flat lie for the second shot. Long hitters can get home in two. Better to be short than long because green has severe pitch from back to front.”
No. 15 ‘Hidden Treasure’, 516 yards, Par 5: “Relatively short but quirky hole, and very scoreable, especially out of the fairway. Approach can be awkward to a shallow, sloping green hidden by bunker and mounding. Don’t go long or could be OB.”
Featured/ Signature Hole(s): 18
For a hole-by-hole overview of the course, you can click the following link.
Key Statistics:
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee
- Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green
- Strokes Gained: Putting (Bentgrass)
- Birdies or Better
- Par 3 Scoring: 175 – 200 (x2), 200 – 225 (x2)
- Par 4 Scoring: 400, – 450 (x4), 450 – 500 (x4)
- Par 5 Scoring: 500 – 550 (x2), 550 – 600 (x2)
- Proximity: 75 – 100 Yards
- Comparable Courses and Event History
The Field/ Odds:
There will be 156 players competing in this year’s Barbasol Championship. Only eleven of the world’s top two-hundred players are in the field. Here are the current favorites in this week’s event:
Taylor Pendrith (+1800) has some great course history at Keene Trace finishing T11 in 2021 and T13 in 2022. He’s coming off one of his best finishes of the season at the Rocket Mortage Classic finishing T14. Outside of that, he has only finished inside the top 20 three other times this season in his twenty-three starts.
Lucas Glover (+2200) will make his debut in the Barbasol Championship. He struggled earlier this season but is playing some of his best golf as of late. In his last three starts on Tour, he’s finished T20 at the RBC Canadian Open, missed the cut at the Travelers Championship, and T4 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Vincent Norrman (+2500) will make his debut in the Barbasol Championship. He’s coming off T24 finish at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Norrman had a solid stretch from late April into early May finishing T9 at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, T18 at the Mexico Open, and T8 at the AT&T Byron Nelson. However, after that he missed the cut in three of his next four events.
Peter Kuest (+2500) became a temporary member of the PGA Tour earlier this week after a two-week heater finishing T4 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and T17 at the John Deere Classic. He’ll make his debut in the Barbasol Championship this week.
Akshay Bhatia (+2800) became a temporary member of the PGA Tour earlier this year after a runner-up finish at the Puerto Rico Open. Bhatia has been struggling as of late failing to finish inside the top 30 in each of his last six starts. He’ll make his debut in the Barbasol Championship this week.
Kevin Streelman (+3000) was the runner-up in last year’s Barbasol Championship. He’s missed the cut in two of his last three starts but before that finished T9 at the Charles Schwab Challenge and T8 at the Wells Fargo Championship.
- Previous Winners in the Field (Keene Trace Golf Club):
- Jim Herman (’19), Troy Merritt (’18)
- Notable Withdraws:
- Harrison Endycott, Marc Warren, Lukas Nemecz, Johnson Wagner, Jamie Donaldson, Nacho Elvira, Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Erik van Rooyen, Troy Merritt
To see the most up-to-date odds, you can click the following link.
To see the full field for this event and how they qualified, you can click the following link.
Horses for Courses:
| (All held at the Keene Trace Golf Club) | ||||
| Barbasol Championship | ||||
| Field Rating: 10.00 | Field Rating: 17.00 | Field Rating: 17.00 | Field Rating: 11.00 | |
| 2022 | 2021 | 2019 | 2018 | |
| Taylor Pendrith | T13 | T11 | ||
| Vincent Whaley | 5 | T26 | ||
| Michael Gligic | T21 | 19 | ||
| Jason Dufner | T27 | T26 | T18 | |
Donkeys for Courses:
“Horses for Courses” is a phrase that is widely used and describes the best course/tournament fits. These are the players that have had success at the particular course/event. “Donkeys for Courses” is something I came up with that highlights the players who have struggled at a specific course/tournament.
| (All held at the Keene Trace Golf Club) | ||||
| Barbasol Championship | ||||
| Field Rating: 10.00 | Field Rating: 17.00 | Field Rating: 17.00 | Field Rating: 11.00 | |
| 2022 | 2021 | 2019 | 2018 | |
| Wesley Bryan | MC | MC | ||
| Kevin Stadler | MC | MC | ||
| Martin Trainer | MC | MC | ||
| Brian Davis | MC | MC | T68 | |
| Omar Uresti | MC | MC | MC | WD |
Previous Winners Scores & Prices:
- 2022: Trey Mullinax (-25)
- Price: 150-1
- 2021: Seamus Power (-21)
- Price: 20-1
- 2020: Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Price: N/A
- 2019: Jim Herman (-26)
- Price: 500-1
- 2018: Troy Merritt (-23)
- Price: 55-1
Previous Winners Incoming Form (Last 5 Starts):
- 2022: Trey Mullinax
- MC – John Deere Classic (PGA)
- MC – Travelers Championship (PGA)
- 69 – RBC Canadian Open (PGA)
- MC – Charles Schwab Challenge (PGA)
- T32 – AT&T Byron Nelson (PGA)
- 2021: Seamus Power
- T8 – John Deere Classic (PGA)
- T8 – Rocket Mortgage Classic (PGA)
- T19 – Travelers Championship (PGA)
- T19 – Palmetto Championship (PGA)
- T9 – AT&T Byron Nelson (PGA)
- 2019: Jim Herman
- MC – John Deere Classic (PGA)
- MC – Rocket Mortgage Classic (PGA)
- MDF – Travelers Championship (PGA)
- MC – RBC Canadian Open (PGA)
- MC – AT&T Byron Nelson (PGA)
- 2018: Troy Merritt
- T43 – John Deere Classic (PGA)
- T17 – Quicken Loans National (PGA)
- MC – Travelers Championship (PGA)
- T12 – FedEx St. Jude Classic (PGA)
- T53 – AT&T Byron Nelson (PGA)
Picks (Outrights):
- Lucas Glover (+2000) – FanDuel
- Risk 0.40 to win 8.00 Units
- Vincent Norman (+2000) – FanDuel
- Risk 0.40 to win 8.00 Units
- Kevin Steelman (+3000) – FanDuel
- Risk 0.27 to win 8.10 Units
- Justin Lower (+4000) – FanDuel
- Risk 0.20 to win 8.00 Units
Total Risk on Outrights: 1.27 Units
Picks (Top 20):
- Peter Kuest (+105) – BetMGM
- Risk 1.00 to win 1.05 Units
- Grayson Murray (+162) – BetMGM
- Risk 1.00 to win 1.62 Units
Total Risk on Top 20: 2.00 Units
Picks (Top 40):
- Julien Guerrier (+110) – FanDuel
- Risk 1.00 to win 1.10 Units
Total Risk on Top 40: 1.00 Units
Total Risk on the Barbasol Championship: 4.27 Units
Best of luck, and as always you can find me on Twitter @GatorBetting and Instagram @Gator_Sports_Betting. Any feedback whether positive or negative, is always encouraged.
