The PGA Tour is back in Kentucky. Here’s what you need to know about the ISCO Championship.
The PGA Tour is back in Central Kentucky for its annual stop.
This week, a field of 156 golfers will contest the 2024 ISCO Championship at Champions at Keene Trace golf course in Nicholasville.
The event, formerly known as the Barbasol Championship, has been contested at Keene Trace each year since 2018, with the exception of the 2020 event (which was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic).
This week’s tournament will carry a $4 million total purse and will be contested from Thursday through Sunday. The top 65 players and ties will make the cut following Friday’s second round.
With professional golf back for another year in the region, here’s everything you need to know about the ISCO Championship, from how to buy tickets to how to watch from home.
Central Kentucky’s annual PGA Tour event has a new name
For its first five editions at Keene Trace, this week’s event was known as the Barbasol Championship, with the American shaving brand serving as the title sponsor. But that sponsorship deal expired after the 2023 tournament, and the future of Central Kentucky’s annual PGA Tour event was uncertain.
While the event was initially left off the PGA Tour’s 2024 schedule, it was eventually added under the ”Kentucky Championship” name.
In June, the PGA Tour announced that ISCO Industries — a total piping solutions provider headquartered in Louisville — would be the new title sponsor.
ISCO has the title sponsorship rights for the event through 2027.
ISCO’s CEO, Jimmy Kirchdorfer, is a familiar name in the Kentucky golf scene.
In 2022, Kirchdorfer was part of a group of four businessmen who purchased Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville. Earlier this year, Valhalla hosted the 106th PGA Championship, which was won by Xander Schauffele.
While the title sponsor has changed, other major elements of what is now known as the ISCO Championship will remain the same.
This includes a field of 156 golfers contesting the event, and that group having a significant international presence: 50 players in this week’s field are from the DP World Tour.
A $4 million total purse will be on offer at the ISCO Championship this week, with $720,000 going to the winner.
How to buy tickets to the 2024 ISCO Championship
Tournament week festivities at Champions at Keene Trace run from Wednesday through Sunday.
Wednesday will feature the playing of the ISCO Championship’s official Pro-Am, with morning and afternoon wave tee times. Wednesday is also Executive Women’s Day at the event and will feature a Fore the Women Luncheon.
Thursday’s opening round coincides with the tournament’s Military and First Responders Day, presented by Commonwealth Credit Union. Friday’s second round coincides with the tournament’s popular College Day, presented by the Kentucky Lottery.
Saturday’s third round coincides with the tournament’s Kroger Family Day, presented by G&J Pepsi. Third-round action will also be presented by Chick-fil-A as part of Moooving Day.
Among the attractions and events at Keene Trace on Saturday will be University of Kentucky student-athletes and Lexington Sporting Club’s women’s soccer team, which will soon begin professional league play.
Sunday’s final round falls on Championship Sunday, presented by UK HealthCare.
Tickets to the ISCO Championship are available at iscochampionship.com and a general admission ticket to one day at the tournament costs $40. A general admission ticket for the entire week of golf (Thursday through Sunday) costs $120.
A daily hospitality ticket to Club ‘87 at the ISCO Championship will cost $285, and a weekly hospitality ticket to Club ‘87 will cost $1,000.
Up to four children, ages 15 and under, can receive complimentary grounds admission to the ISCO Championship with a ticketed adult.
Children who are over the age of 5 need a ticket for any hospitality venue, such as cabanas, chalets and suites.
Members of the United States Armed Forces, veterans, first responders and Kentucky educators are eligible for free tickets.
Golf Channel, Peacock to broadcast the ISCO Championship
All four rounds of the 2024 ISCO Championship will be shown on the Golf Channel and via NBC’s Peacock streaming service.
On Thursday, coverage will go from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
On Friday, coverage will also go from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Saturday’s third round will have coverage from 4-7 p.m.
Sunday’s final round will also have coverage from 4-7 p.m.
Luke Clanton, Neal Shipley among new names to know at tournament
While the 156-golfer field at the ISCO Championship isn’t brimming with household names, there are still plenty of names to know ahead of the event, whether those are up-and-coming players or veterans who were once among the game’s best.
In that former category, some players to watch are Luke Clanton, Neal Shipley and Alejandro Tosti.
Clanton, a rising Florida State junior who is playing as an amateur, is currently on the golf heater of a lifetime. He’s the first amateur to record consecutive top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour since 1958.
Clanton finished in a tie for 10th at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Michigan two weeks ago, and was part of a three-way tie for second last week at the John Deere Classic in Iowa. Earlier this summer, the 20-year-old Clanton made the cut and finished in a tie for 41st at the U.S. Open. Clanton is in the ISCO Championship field on a sponsor’s exemption.
Clanton is the betting favorite to win this week at Keene Trace. Earlier this year, former Alabama golfer Nick Dunlap became the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since 1991.
Shipley, a former college golfer at James Madison and Ohio State, was the low amateur at this year’s editions of The Masters and the U.S. Open. The runner-up at the 2023 U.S. Amateur, Shipley made his PGA Tour debut this summer at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and finished that event in a tie for 20th.
Last week, Shipley (who is also in the ISCO Championship field on a sponsor’s exemption) missed the cut at the John Deere Classic.
Tosti is a 28-year-old from Argentina who played college golf at Florida. He earned his first PGA Tour card last year after finishing third on the Korn Ferry Tour points list. Tosti is the highest-ranked player in the ISCO Championship field according to the Official World Golf Ranking (No. 107).
The latter category includes the likes of Jason Dufner, Kevin Kisner, Brandt Snedeker and Camilo Villegas.
Dufner is a five-time PGA Tour winner. The former Auburn golfer is best known for winning the 2013 PGA Championship and losing in a playoff at the 2011 PGA Championship.
Kisner is a four-time PGA Tour winner who played collegiately at Georgia. Kisner finished in a tie for second at the 2018 British Open.
Snedeker, a Nashville native who went to Vanderbilt, is a nine-time PGA Tour winner. He won the 2012 FedEx Cup and has finished in a tie for third at both The Masters (2008) and the British Open (2012).
Villegas, who is from Colombia, is a five-time PGA Tour winner. The 42-year-old former University of Florida golfer won on the PGA Tour in November at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
Four former winners of the ISCO Championship (from when it was known as the Barbasol Championship) are in the field this week: Jim Herman (2019), Troy Merritt (2018), Aaron Baddeley (2016) and Scott Piercy (2015).
Herman’s and Merritt’s victories came at Keene Trace, while Baddeley and Piercy’s wins came when the tournament was contested in Alabama.
Several golfers with Kentucky connections in ISCO Championship field
Within the 156-golfer ISCO Championship field, several participants hold ties to the commonwealth. These players are:
▪ John Marshall Butler: A former star golfer at Louisville’s Trinity High School, Butler just won an NCAA men’s golf team championship at Auburn and is making his PGA Tour debut this week. Butler is in the field on a sponsor’s exemption.
▪ Alex Goff: A five-year standout at Kentucky, Goff owns the best career scoring average by a UK men’s golfer (71.45 strokes per round) since at least the 1993-94 season. Goff is in the field on a sponsor’s exemption and is making his PGA Tour debut this week.
Across his college career, Goff carded 80 rounds of par-or-better, one win and six runner-up finishes.
Former Kentucky men’s golfer Chip McDaniel — who is currently a UK men’s golf assistant coach — will be Goff’s caddie this week. McDaniel played in the 2023 ISCO Championship, carding rounds of 71 (-1) and 74 (+2) before missing the cut.
In 2019, McDaniel finished in 68th at the ISCO Championship. In 2018, McDaniel tied for 60th at the ISCO Championship.
▪ Will Gordon: A former college golf star at Vanderbilt who was named the 2019 SEC Player of the Year, Gordon was born in Lexington before moving to North Carolina as a young child. Gordon was coached at Vanderbilt by then-Commodores assistant men’s golf coach Gator Todd, who is now the head coach for the UK men’s golf program.
▪ Daniel Iceman: A former standout at Louisville’s St. Xavier High School, Iceman played collegiately at both Morehead State and Louisville.
▪ Cooper Musselman: A former standout at Louisville’s St. Xavier High School, Musselman also played at UK. Musselman’s grandfather, Tom Sr., and great uncle, Bill, are both members of the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame.
At the 2018 ISCO Championship, Musselman finished in a tie for 57th.
▪ Stephen Stallings Jr.: Another former star golfer at St. Xavier High School, Stallings played at Kentucky and has made the cut in three of the last four editions of the ISCO Championship.
▪ Josh Teater: A fan favorite, the 45-year-old Teater is from Danville, attended Lexington’s Henry Clay High School and played college golf at Morehead State. Teater finished in a tie for sixth at the 2019 ISCO Championship.
▪ Vince Whaley: The 29-year-old Whaley was born in Lexington before moving to Florida and Texas during his childhood. He played college golf at Georgia Tech and has five career top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour.
PGA Tour ISCO Championship
When: Thursday through Sunday
Where: Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville (Champions Course)
TV: 4:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 4-7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (Golf Channel)
Streaming: Peacock
Tickets: Visit iscochampionship.com
This story was originally published July 9, 2024 at 6:15 AM.
