‘It was a roller coaster.’ Former UK golfer survives PGA cut the hard way.
A description of feast or famine does not adequately describe how the first two rounds of the PGA Barbasol Championship went for Stephen Stallings Jr. Feast and famine works better.
Stallings began Thursday’s first round with birdies on the first three holes, five of the first six and six of the first eight. Ahh.
On Friday, Stallings had a six-hole stretch that included two bogeys and three double bogeys. Ouch.
“It was a roller coaster,” Stallings said after finishing Friday’s second round.
His coaster had relatively little level track. Through 36 holes, the Louisvillian had fewer pars (17) than the combined scores below par (13 birdies) or above par (three bogeys and three double bogeys).
The stomach-clutching ride ended with Stallings shooting a 1-over 73 in the second round and a 67 in the first round.
Being 4-under after two rounds left in doubt whether Stallings would make the cut to play on Saturday and Sunday.
“I’m not even going to look at it,” he said of making the cut. “In my head, it’s 5 (under). So, we’ll see what happens. If not, I’ll just move on.”
Players at 3-under or worse did not make the cut, so Stallings earned the right to play this weekend.
Stallings, whose four seasons playing for the University of Kentucky’s golf team ended in 2017, could hardly have gotten off to a better start.
“I was just trying to play golf,” he said of the flurry of birdies. “I’m playing well.”
Then Thursday’s first rain delay halted play for more than an hour. Then came a second rain delay. Stallings spoke of perhaps his momentum being adversely affected.
When the first round was suspended because of darkness, Stallings faced the need to play 20 holes on Friday.
He shot par on his first hole Friday, the 410-yard par 4 No. 17.
Then he hit a ball in the water on No. 18 and finished with a double bogey.
“If I was right-handed, I would have been able to play it,” he said. “But since I’m left-handed, I had to get in the water and just chip it out.”
Yes, he said, he took his golf shoes off for the shot.
Starting the second round on the back nine, Stallings bogeyed No. 10, then double-bogeyed Nos. 11 and 12. No. 11 included a lost ball.
His father, Steve, who played collegiately for LSU, watched this struggle. “He was pacing up and down a little bit,” Stallings said.
Being 7-under par after 17 holes disappeared three holes into the second round. He was 1-over after the first five holes of the second round.
Instead of crumbling, Stallings made five birdies in the next nine holes (four in a five-hole stretch) to make the cut.
“I played good enough golf to be right there in the lead,” he said. “I made plenty of birdies, just way too many mistakes.
“I don’t know what to take from it. If it wasn’t for a four-hole stretch, I’m 14-under par right now. Or . . . 10-under par. . . . I don’t know how to explain today. One of those days. It just happens.”
Teater charges
Lexingtonian Josh Teater shot a bogey-free 67 Friday to move into contention. He went into the weekend at 8-under. That’s tied for 22nd place, five shots behind the lead.
“A lot less fireworks than yesterday,” Teater said in reference to hitting two shots in the water on No. 18 in the first round.
Teater, who played for Henry Clay High School and then Morehead State, acknowledged feeling pressure to do well.
“I try not to, but it’s probably hard not to,” he said. “I’m trying to feel like I’m out here playing with my buddies.”
‘Blown away’
J.T. Poston led after two rounds at 13-under. That gave him a one-shot lead over Ryan Armour and Joseph Bramlett.
Bramlett, 33, is from Stanford, Calif., and a Stanford University graduate. In his post-round interview session, he gushed about Kentucky.
“Kentucky is a beautiful place, man,” he said. “This is my first time to Kentucky, and I’m blown away. I didn’t know what to expect coming here. But it’s some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve gotten to experience all year.”
COVID
The PGA Tour is not immune to the coronavirus.
Anirban Lahiri, who was in contention to win the Barbasol Championship at 9-under par after two rounds, said he had “a bad” case of the disease in the spring.
A native of India, Lahiri said he caught the disease from his coach, who is also from India.
When asked how he feels about people wearing masks and being vaccinated to help lessen the spread of COVID-19, Lahiri said, “You have to do what you have to do. We’re definitely living in a slightly different world. You have to respect that. You also have to be caring about other people. You have to be sensitive.
“I try not to be too hard line either way.”
Lahiri said his approach was “live and let live.”
Another golfer, Fabian Gomez, withdrew from a recent tournament after learning that a good friend had died of COVID.
Gomez, who is from Argentina, is playing in the Barbasol Championship in part to help raise money for charity, his caddie and interpreter, Omar Peralta, said.
Gomez is donating $500 for each birdie he makes. Gomez made seven birdies in the first 36 holes and was at 1-under par.
63 not enough
In the 2019 Barbasol Championship, David Lingmerth shot a 9-under 63 in the second round . . . and missed the cut.
“Quite impressive,” he said sarcastically when reminded Friday of that oddity. “I don’t know how many guys have done that in the history of the PGA Tour.”
Lingmerth, who is from Sweden, shot a 79 in the first round two years ago.
“After that first round, I didn’t have a lot of hope,” he said. “I figured (I’d) go out and have a fun day. . . . Not having a great chance of making the cut, it was a good way to bring something with you for the next week.”
After two rounds this week, Lingmerth was on the leaderboard at 9-under.
Family affair
Case Cochran, the son of longtime PGA golfer Russ Cochran, missed the cut. He was 2-under par after two rounds.
The younger Cochran, who shares the hometown of Paducah with his father, said that COVID had a bright side in terms of spending more time with his two children.
“My 2-year-old’s already playing golf and he likes to go out to the golf course just like my dad took me,” Case Cochran said. “My dad’s flying over to the Senior British to get ready. My brother Reed is on the bag. It’s just a family affair.”
The 2-year-old’s name is Cash, his father said.
PGA Barbasol Championship
When: Thursday through Sunday
Where: Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville (Champions Course)
TV: Sunday, 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel)
This story was originally published July 16, 2021 at 9:12 PM.
