The DP World Tour visits Keene Trace Golf Club in Kentucky this week for the 2022 Barbasol Championship, which sees 50 Tour members take their place in the field thanks to the strategic alliance with the PGA TOUR. Here are your five things to know.
Final spot available for The Open
The Barbasol Championship provides the final opportunity for players to qualify for The Open Championship via The Open Qualifying Series.
The event offers one exemption to the leading player (not otherwise exempt) who finishes in the top five and ties.
Four spots in The 150th Open field at St Andrews are available in the final week before the final Major Championship of 2022, with the Genesis Scottish Open offering three places and the Barbasol Championship providing the last route into the landmark Championship.
Who will create history and become a St Andrews Champion at The 150th Open? 🤔 🏆 pic.twitter.com/67Q3j9rnbr
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 3, 2022
Last time around
In last year’s edition, held on the same week as The Open, Ireland’s Seamus Power won his first PGA TOUR title following a six-hole play-off against J.T. Poston.
A five-under-par final round of 67 handed Power the clubhouse lead on 21 under before it was matched by Poston.
After Poston found the water with his tee shot at the sixth play-off hole, the 18th, Power sealed his breakthrough victory with a par.
Power’s American opponent had appeared set for victory during the final round, but he followed a double-bogey on 15 with a three-putt bogey on the next hole.
The 35-year-old DP World Tour member is now ranked at a career-high World Number 36 in the Official World Golf Ranking and will continue his preparations for his debut appearance at The 150th Open by playing in Scotland’s national open this week at The Renaissance Club.
Playing opportunities for DP World Tour members
The Barbasol Championship, which previously took place in the same week as The Open, is one of two tournaments on the PGA TOUR that provides playing opportunities for DP World Tour members this season and DP World Tour Ranking points in the process.
The fields for the Barbasol Championship, played concurrently with the Genesis Scottish Open, and the Barracuda Championship, played alongside next week’s 150th Open, will each include 50 DP World Tour members.
The winner this week will be exempt through to the end of 2024 on the DP World Tour, whether they are a member or not. If the champion is a PGA TOUR member, they are exempt on the PGA TOUR for the rest of the year through to the end of the 23/24 season while if they are a non-member their exemption will run to the end of the 22/23 season.
The Strategic Alliance between both the DP World Tour and the PGA TOUR was announced in November 2020 and last week was strengthened through to 2035.
From 2023, the leading ten players on the end of season DP World Tour Rankings [in addition to those already exempt] will earn PGA TOUR cards for the following season.
The partnership sees both organisations work together on strategic commercial opportunities, including collaborating on global media rights in certain territories, while also collaborating on global scheduling, prize funds and playing opportunities for the respective memberships.
Schmid returns to familiar territory
Matti Schmid is one of the DP World Tour members in the field and his appearance sees him return to the state of Kentucky, where he played college golf at the University of Louisville.
The German’s amateur career included back-to-back wins in the European Amateur in 2019 and 2020 and the Silver Medal as the low amateur in last year’s The Open at Royal St George’s.
Schmid was named as the DP World Tour’s Rookie of the Year last year following a breakthrough season during which he secured his status for the Tour in 2022 just three months after turning professional.
So far this season, the 24-year-old’s best result on the Tour was a tie for third at the Steyn City Championship in March.
He is ranked seventh for driving distance and will be aiming to improve on his standing as 77th in the DP World Tour Rankings.
The venue
Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky, will host the Barbasol Championship for a fourth time this year after the first three editions of the tournament, beginning in 2015, were staged in Alabama at the Grand National Course Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.
Located just south of Lexington, Kentucky, Keene Trace is one of the top-ranked courses in the state and its 76 bunkers will pose one of several challenges to the field.
The 7,328-yard, par 72 course has an interesting mix of holes, including four par fives and four par threes.
The green on the closing 452-yard par-four 18th is built around the edge of a lake and could provide a dramatic finish if the tournament is in the balance in the final round.
