Weather yet again the story at delayed Barbasol Championship in Kentucky
Weather was again the story at the Barbasol Championship on Saturday.
The PGA Tour’s annual stop in Central Kentucky experienced its third weather delay in as many days when torrential rain and thunderstorms moved through Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville.
This followed a pair of delays during Friday’s second round for early-morning fog and afternoon storms.
Those two delays forced many players to finish their second rounds on Saturday morning, before third rounds began around 12:20 p.m.
Third-round play was underway for about 90 minutes when a more than five-hour weather delay began at 1:52 p.m.
More than two and a half inches of rain fell during the delay, which lasted until 7:20 p.m.
While all 83 golfers who made the cut were able to begin their third rounds on Saturday, none were able to finish.
This means a marathon day of golf is ahead to determine the winner of the Barbasol Championship, the recipient of $666,000 and the man who earns a spot in next week’s 150th edition of The Open Championship in Scotland.
Leaderboard update
Here’s what the top five (with ties) of the Barbasol Championship leaderboard looked like when play was suspended due to darkness Saturday night, along with where each golfer is in their third round.
▪ Max McGreevy at 17 under through three holes.
▪ Matti Schmid at 16 under through three holes.
▪ Adam Svensson at 16 under through three holes.
▪ Ricardo Gouveia at 15 under through three holes.
▪ Sean O’Hair at 14 under through four holes.
▪ Kevin Streelman at 14 under through four holes.
▪ Trey Mullinax at 14 under through three holes.
Third round features hole-in-one
While no golfers were able to complete their third rounds at the Barbasol Championship, a historic moment still occurred.
Scott Brown aced the 191-yard 16th hole with a 7-iron during his third round.
This marked Brown’s seventh hole-in-one on the PGA Tour.
That’s good for the third-most on record (since 1983) behind Robert Allenby (10 holes-in-one), Hal Sutton (10) and six players tied with seven.
Kentuckians
Six players with direct ties to Kentucky are took part in this year’s edition of the Barbasol Championship, but only three made the 36-hole cut of 5-under par: Matti Schmid, Josh Teater and Stephen Stallings Jr.
Rising star Schmid nears breakthrough win
Former University of Louisville golfer Matti Schmid could be the story of the weekend at the Barbasol.
Schmid was tied for the lead after two rounds in Nicholasville, having shot 65 (7 under) in his first round and 63 (9 under) in the second.
Schmid is one shot behind Max McGreevy for the tournament lead. Schmid is even par for his third round through three holes.
Increasingly a known presence on the international golf circuit, Schmid played at Louisville from 2017 until 2021.
“It’s great for me to always see it. I have a lot of guys coming out, Louisville supporters,” Schmid said about being back in Kentucky. “It’s fantastic to be back.”
He was the low amateur at the 2021 Open Championship, and went on to earn Rookie of the Year honors on the DP World Tour (also known as the European Tour) last year.
What did Schmid take from his time with the Cardinals?
“The best thing about it was that we had a great team of 10 guys who all had the same dream of trying to get better everyday,” Schmid said. “I think it’s great to be part of such a good environment.”
Schmid has already been in a similar position this year as well. He led the Soudal Open in May in Belgium after 36 holes, but then shot over par in both the third and fourth rounds.
Schmid finished that event in a tie for 29th.
“I think I have put myself in a lot of good positions this year over the weekend and I think I’ve learned a lot already (from) those,” Schmid said. “I think I have a good chance this week to capitalize on those experiences.”
Crowd-favorite Teater
A former Henry Clay High School and Morehead State standout, Teater posted a pair of 68s (4 under) in both the first and second rounds to finish his first 36 holes at 8 under.
Teater is 7-under par for the tournament and is 1-over par through 11 holes in his third round.
Teater finished tied for 15th at last year’s event.
Leading up to the Barbasol, Teater also found some time to help promote a local business.
Teater shot a commercial for Setzer Properties, a national real estate investment and development firm based in Lexington that was established in 1989.
In the commercial, which runs nearly three minutes, Teater tries to coexist alongside a talking golf bag. “I got a phone call that said, ‘Hey, we’re gonna have a talking bag and you’re just going to be annoyed,’” Teater explained about the commercial’s concept. “I spent about eight or nine hours with them one day and we shot all the different scenes. They added the talking bag in later and it was pretty funny when it came in.”
Stallings Jr. provides UK presence
A former St. Xavier High School and University of Kentucky golfer, Stallings finished his first 36 holes at Keene Trace right on the cut line at 5 under.
Stallings is 6-under par for the tournament and 1-under par through four holes in his third round.
Stallings is already used to playing high-pressure golf in the Commonwelath: He won the Kentucky state high school title in 2011.
