Monday qualifiers: Barracuda Championship

The Barracuda Championship qualifier at Hidden Valley Country Club ended in a two-person playoff that saw 37-year-old Mark Baldwin qualify for the final spot defeating Justin Warren.

Warren missed a 4-foot birdie putt on 18 for a 64 that would have given him the final qualifying spot outright, the only putt he missed inside 10 feet all day. He also uncharacteristically miss a short putt on the first playoff hole that gave the final entry in the Barracuda Championship to Baldwin.

“As brutal as it was to finish the way it did, it’s golf,” Warren told PGATOUR.COM.

After the round, he noted on Twitter that his routine “flew straight out of the window” over the 18-inch putt he missed on the first playoff hole.

“It sucks, and it makes me want to punch a wall, but that doesn’t help anyone. I just have to recognize that I made an error that cost me dearly, and it’s a tough one to swallow, but I just have to keep on keeping on,” Warren concluded.

Akshay Bhatia took the third qualifying spot after posting a bogey-free 64 (-8). It will mark the 19-year-old phenom’s 17th PGA TOUR start.

Justin Suh and John Greco tied for medalist after firing 63 (-8), respectively. Suh posted a bogey-free round while Greco made eight birdies and one eagle.

Suh’s bogey-free round marks his second successful Monday qualifier in his last four attempts. A 5 hole birdie stretch between 11 and 15 played a crucial role in his round.

“My caddy and I just did our best to dial in the number we wanted. We had to deal with elevation and some inconsistency in the firmness of the greens, so we just did our best to figure out our best landing spot,” Suh told PGATOUR.COM.

Suh has been working on club face control through the impact zone of his swing during his fantastic stretch of golf over the last four qualifiers.

“That is definitely still a big factor in my game, but over the course of the last several weeks, it has been more about practicing our numbers (distances) and visualizing shots.”

Justin Suh (63)
Age: 24
College: USC
Turned pro: 2019
PGA TOUR starts: 22
Cuts made: 8
PGA TOUR earnings: $440,283
Notes: Will be Suh’s 11th start of the 2020-21 PGA TOUR season. Last start came at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, where he missed the cut. He has three Top-15s this season: Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship (T14), Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (T8), and Zurich Classic of New Orleans (T11). Earned Pac-12 Player of the Year honors as a junior, besting Jamie Lovemark's school record scoring average in a season. Represented the U.S. as an amateur at the 2018 Palmer Cup. Went 3-1-0 in his four matches at Evian GC in Évian-les-Bains, France. He is No.477 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

John Greco (63)
Age: 27
College: William Jessup University
Turned pro: 2017
PGA TOUR starts: 0
Cuts made: 0
Notes: Greco will make his PGA TOUR debut after co-medaling Monday. Made one start on the Korn Ferry Tour in the 2019 Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae (MC). Played in the 2019 Canada Life Open (MC) on the Forme Tour. Played in seven events on the Outlaw Tour in 2019 and had two Top-10 finishes. Played for two years at William Jessup University and won the University of La Verne Golf Tournament, shooting 1-under-par (215) over three rounds.

Akshay Bhatia (64)
Age: 19
Turned pro: 2019
PGA TOUR starts: 16
Cuts made: 4
PGA TOUR earnings: $258,961
Notes: Bhatia will make his 10th start of the 2020-21 PGA TOUR season. Best finish this year was T9 at the Safeway Open, shooting 66-72-66-68. Finished T13 at The Invitational at Auburn University Club on the Forme Tour. Represented the winning U.S. team as an amateur at the 2019 Walker Cup at Royal Liverpool GC in England. He won 10 junior titles and was ranked as high as No.4 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He is No.771 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Mark Baldwin (65)
Age: 37
College: University of Notre Dame
Turned pro: 2006
PGA TOUR starts: 2
Cuts made: 0
Notes: Baldwin will make his third career PGA TOUR start at the Barracuda Championship. Last start came at the 2019 3M Open. Has played a full schedule on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020-21, recording one Top-10 at the El Bosque Mexico Championship by INNOVA (T7). Finished in the top-10 twice on PGA TOUR China during the 2016 season. Was 2005 Big East Champion and Player of the Year while at Notre Dame. Holds the all-time Notre Dame low individual scoring record for a season. Aspires to have a reality TV show about golf and is the co-founder of Media Brats Marketing. He also has produced a medical podcast, Radio Rounds, hosted by medical students and doctors since 2012. Has tutored children battling severe illness who have fallen behind in school.

NOTES

Notables who missed qualifying: Bobby Bai, Chase Koepka, Eric Axley, Robert Garrigus, Tain Lee, Andrew Yun, John Augenstein, Ted Purdy, Ben Crane, and Anthony Paolucci

2020-21 Monday Qualifier statistics

Last event’s qualifier result (3M Open): Stephen Stallings Jr. (MC), Tom Lovelady (MC), Justin Quiban (MC), and Norman Xiong (MC)

Total money earned by Monday qualifiers on TOUR this season: $1,051,827

Best finish: M.J. Daffue (T12, Sanderson Farms Championship)

Next Monday qualifier: Wyndham Championship at Bermuda Run Country Club-East in Bermuda Run, NC (August 9, 2021)