Power Rankings: Barbasol Championship

While it’s not unprecedented for the PGA TOUR and the DP World Tour to conduct two official events at the same time, this is the first time that split squads from both circuits are facing off in the same week.

RELATED: Play Pick 'Em Live | The First Look | Inside the Field

The Genesis Scottish Open is a Rolex Series event on the DP World Tour. Its 50th anniversary coincides with its debut as an official TOUR stop. Concurrently, the Barbasol Championship is poised for its seventh edition and first as a co-sanctioned competition on the DP World Tour.

About one-third of the field of 156 at Keene Trace Golf Club outside Lexington, Kentucky, is comprised of DP World Tour members. Read below for what they should expect from the course, what’s at stake and more.

POWER RANKINGS: BARBASOL CHAMPIONSHIP

OTHERS TO CONSIDER

• Michael Kim … The 2018 John Deere Classic champion eschewed an exemption as a former winner of that event last week in favor of The Ascendant presented by Blue. He finished T18. See, he’s on his way back to the PGA TOUR via the Korn Ferry Tour where he’s 43rd in points on the strength of seven top 25s in 18 starts. He connected for six of those in his last seven. Second appearance at Keene Trace (T72, 2021).

• Yannik Paul … The 28-year-old from Germany is making his second PGA TOUR start. It was just three weeks ago when he debuted at the U.S. Open for which he gained entry as the eighth-ranked among 10 automatic qualifiers in a four-event series on the DP World Tour. His stretched included a T2 among three top 20s. He’s among the most accurate on approach on his circuit.

• Marcel Schneider … Paul’s fellow countryman is Germany’s top-ranked golfer at 188th in the OWGR. Schneider placed last of the 10 automatic qualifiers for the U.S. Open with three top 10s. Since the major, he’s added a pair of top 20s. Among the best putters on the DP World Tour.

• Justin Walters … At seventh in greens hit on the DP World Tour, it’s understandable why he’s racked up six top 20s in his last nine starts. It’s evidence that the 32-year-old from South Africa is paying off that precision with improved putting.

No matter from where any of the entrants traveled, they are advised to have wasted no time in getting their land legs underneath them, because, true to its regional interests, Keene Trace’s Champions Course is a racetrack.

The stock par 72 in Nicholasville has surrendered three sub-70 scoring averages since it debuted in 2018. (The 2020 edition was canceled due to the pandemic.) It was the easiest par 72 to singularly host a full-field event in both of its first two seasons, and then second-easiest (behind TPC Craig Ranch in its debut as host of the AT&T Byron Nelson) last season. Appropriately during the week of America’s birthday, more eagles have been seen at Keene Trace in its last two stagings than at any other in the seasons in which it’s hosted the Barbasol Championship. That includes a PGA TOUR-record 114 eagles in 2019.

Conventional wisdom suggests that course experience should yield success. Of course, there always are examples of that, but Keene Trace hasn’t rolled over in terms of ratting out the secrets of its bentgrass greens. The surfaces average 6,000 square feet, but they’ve remained stingy from all distances in comparison to all other courses lasered by ShotLink.

All shootouts require a combination of hitting greens in regulation and sinking putts, but this is one of those instances in which the proverbial (but ultimately short-sighted) reference to a putting contest actually applies. Consider that Keene Trace’s average distance of putts converted per golfer last year was just 68 feet, one inch. Of 39 courses measured, it ranked second-lowest behind Copperhead (67’5”). So, piling up the scoring opportunities still applies, but there is some solace in the promise that there are no gimmes.

The winner likely will be able to encapsulate his experience into one word – momentum. Whether his rhetoric will include the combination of sticking it close, holing “everything” or never introducing a big number when missing a green, tidy work in those areas will define how he prevailed. Per usual, primary rough is allowed to extend to 3½ inches and greens are governed to 11½ feet on the Stimpmeter. With no changes, the Champions Course remains 7,328 from the tips.

If a PGA TOUR member wins, he’ll receive the customary load of rewards. It includes 300 FedExCup points, a membership extension into at least the 2024 season and spots in the 2022 editions of the Sentry Tournament of Champions, THE PLAYERS Championship and the PGA Championship. If a DP World Tour member prevails, his optional PGA TOUR membership exemption would extend into only the 2022-23 season, although he’ll still receive the standard two-year exemption on his home circuit.

Furthermore, non-members who finish inside the top 10 will not be eligible for a top-10 exemption into next week’s Barracuda Championship. However, the top finisher, not otherwise exempt into next week’s Open Championship, will be the last man in the field at St. Andrews.

Hot, muggy air will help foster rain and the potential for storms on Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoons, so it’d be an upset if there isn’t at least one delay at some point. Gradual cooling will set the stage for a pleasant finale. Wind won’t be a factor.

ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE

PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled.

MONDAY: Power Rankings (Genesis Scottish Open)
TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Barbasol Championship), Sleepers (Genesis Scottish Open), Expert Picks, Draws & Fades
WEDNESDAY: Pick ’Em Preview
SUNDAY: Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Rookie Ranking

* - Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.