Barbasol Championship: Aaron Baddeley Wins in a Playoff

“I think you could tell by my reaction how much it meant to me,” said Aaron Baddeley.

Baddeley made a 24-foot putt on the fourth playoff hole against Si Woo Kim to win the Barbasol Championship at the Lake Course of Grand National in Auburn/Opelika, Alabama.

Baddeley displayed a dance off the green after the putt, tossed his club in the air and threw his cap back onto the green after his fourth PGA Tour victory, his first in 5 1/2 years.

Baddeley earned a two-year exemption and a spot in the PGA Championship along with a trophy and a winners purse of $630,000, his part of the $3.5 million tournament gross.

Said Baddeley, “It’s been a long time between drinks and I had some real struggles.”

Both Baddeley and Kim parred the first three holes of the playoff on 18 and 17. Kim sent his fourth final approach shot into the rough between two grandstands where he chipped to within 5 feet of the hole but Baddeley had it closed out before Woo finished.

Speaking through an interpreter Kim said, “It was an exciting tournament and I had a slow first few rounds. I’m glad I finished the third and fourth round strong. The playoff was definitely a great experience for me on the PGA Tour.”

Disappointment came to Jhonattan (Jhonny) Vegas, someone who built a fan base at the tournament.

His Sunday opened with a three-stroke lead and five holes to go to complete the rain-delayed third round from Saturday. He then shot four bogeys and an eagle over the first nine holes, two days after setting the course record with a 60. His lead dwindled and he finished tied for 4th.

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More Shuttles to Decrease Wait Time at Barbasol Championship

People going to this year’s Barbasol Tournament at Grand National along the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail will notice a lot more shuttles being used to load and unload passengers.

The increase in shuttles will allow for a shorter wait time, according to Tournament Director Jonathan Romeo.

“What we’ve done is we’re increasing the numbers which will make the egress to and from the tournament a shorter turn time, which means folks won’t have to stand out and wait as long for shuttles,” Romeo said.

“It also will allow us should we have any sort of weather delays or anything like that, be able to get folks out quicker if we have to evacuate the golf course. You never can really have too many buses.” The shuttles will be open to the public Wednesday through Sunday.

There will also be a misting area for people who are waiting on shuttles.

Romeo said the routing of the shuttles will be the same as last year.

“It still will be the same basic procedure that will come down Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail which is our main road and there will be what we call Checkpoint Charlie and you will either proceed to the lot by the clubhouse or you’ll be directed into the parking area in front of the Marriott,” Romeo said.

“Then at that point, we’ve got a loading station there where we’ll load the shuttles, you’ll go through security, you’ll get your tickets taken, you’ll get any of the additional credentialing that you have to get done. Then it’s about a four minute loop to ride into where the new entry structure is.”

Romeo said the new entry structure will be air conditioned.

“There will be new entry into the golf tournament itself,” Romeo said. “We’ll still enter at the same spot.”

Romeo said some enhancements have been done to the Marriott’s 40 acre lot where the public and volunteer parking will be.

Another change to the tournament will be the schedule.

“What we did notice last year is people did come to the golf tournament earlier,” Romeo said. “A lot of that had to do with pairings or who was playing at what time, but also I think folks got to the tournament earlier due to the weather, wanting to get there before it got hot. So we’ve adjusted the schedules to hopefully accommodate that a little bit better as well.”

Courtesy: ​Lindy Oller / Opelika-Auburn News / loller@oanow.com 
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Alabama Power to host Junior Golf Clinic at the Barbasol Championship

Birmingham, Alabama - More than 100 children from the area will join four PGA TOUR golfers on Tuesday, July 12, for a Junior Clinic at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Grand National, sponsored by Alabama Power and the Barbasol Championship. Bobby Wyatt, a professional golfer from Alabama, will be joined by Georgia's Lee McCoy, Barbasol's Martin Piller and Michigan's Justin Hicks for the golf demonstration. They will compete in this year's Barbasol Championship with 128 other players.

During the interactive clinic, the children will learn about the game of golf and how it promotes core values, including honesty, integrity, responsibility, courtesy, sportsmanship and respect. The Alabama Power Junior Clinic will be at 10 a.m. on the Driving Range at RTJ Grand National. The Barbasol Championship will be played July 14-17.

“Alabama Power is thrilled to support the Junior Clinic, which will showcase the important lessons that golf can provide our children,” said Leslie Sanders, vice president of Alabama Power’s Southern Division. “We’re excited to have Bobby, Martin, Justin and Lee with us to help host the event.”

Mobile's Wyatt became instantly famous in the golfing world after firing an unheard-of 57 at the 2010 Alabama Boys State Championship. He went on to become one of the Crimson Tide's top players the moment he arrived on campus at the University of Alabama. He was selected to the United States 2013 Walker Cup team where he led all scorers with 3.5 points as the USA proved victorious.

Wyatt was named a first team All-American by Golfweek in 2013 and a second-team choice in 2012. Professionally, Wyatt's best PGA TOUR finish was playing as a sponsor in invite at the rain-shortened Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2016. He finished the tournament tied for fourth. Wyatt has competed in 12 PGA TOUR tournaments over the past three years.

A Texas native and Texas A&M graduate, Piller is part of today's golf power couple. A professional golfer since 2008, both Piller and his wife are professional golfers. Gerina Piller plays professionally with the LPGA and is in the Top 20 on the Rolex Women's Golf World Ranking. Martin is sponsored by Barbasol and finished tied for 19th in the 2015 Barbasol Championship.

He has five professional wins on the Web.com Tour including two victories last year in the Albertsons Boise Open and the Digital Alley Open. This year, the Dallas resident posted four sub-par scores at the Valero Texas Open to finish at 9-under 279 and tied for fourth with four others, his first top-10 finish in 35 starts on the PGA TOUR. At the same time, Gerina was en route to tying for third place at the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic.

A graduate of the University of Michigan, Hicks is in the hunt for his first PGA TOUR victory. Hicks placed second in the 2014 Barracuda Championship and has two wins on the Web.com Tour: at the 2010 BMW Charity Pro-Am and the 2008 Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic. The Michigan native turned professional in 1997.

He shot a 68 on the first day of the 2008 U.S. Open to take the lead but finished 74th in the tournament. Hicks tied for 10th in the AT&T Byron Nelson in May and hopes to bring the Barbasol Championship trophy to his home in Florida.

After a great collegiate career at the University of Georgia, McCoy has turned professional and accepted a sponsor exemption for the Barbasol Championship. In 2016, McCoy was chosen as a PING First-Team All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America. McCoy capped his collegiate career with a sixth-place finish in the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in May.

He was First-Team All-America in 2015 and honorable mention in 2014.He won seven tournaments as a Bulldog (one shy of the school record), including two during the 2015-16 season. He was chosen as the 2016 SEC Player of the Year and highlighted the All-SEC First Team after claiming medalist honors at the league tournament. McCoy wound up as Georgia’s record holder for career (70.87) and single-season (70.00) stroke average.

In case of inclement weather, the clinic will move to the Auburn Marriott Opelika Hotel and Conference Center at Grand National. For details, please contact Mike Jordan at (334) 832-3309.

For more information on the Barbasol Championship, click HERE.

Tickets for children under 15 and for current and retired military are free. Day tickets are $20 per day. Parking is free.

(courtesy Bill Lang RTJ Trail)

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Alabama's Bobby Wyatt Joins the Barbasol Championship

Bobby Wyatt shot an unheard of -57 in high school to make a name for himself in the golf world. A former University of Alabama golfer, Bobby Wyatt joins Robby Shelton as the second Mobile native and former Crimson Tide player to accept a sponsor exemption for the PGA TOUR's Barbasol Championship.

The Barbasol Championship will be July 13-17, 2016 on the Lake Course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail's Grand National site in Opelika, Alabama. The Barbasol Championship field of 132 players features several players with Alabama ties plus former Masters and U.S. Open champions. www.barbasolchampionship.com.

About Bobby Wyatt

Mobile's Bobby Wyatt became instantly famous in the golfing world after firing an unheard-of 57 at the 2010 Alabama Boys State Championship. He went on to became one of the Crimson Tide's top players the moment he arrived on campus at the University of Alabama.

He was selected to the United States 2013 Walker Cup team where he led all scorers with 3.5 points as the USA proved victorious. Wyatt was named a first team All-American by Golfweek in 2013 and a second-team choice in 2012.

Professionally, Wyatt's best PGA TOUR finish was playing as a sponsor in invite at the rain-shortened Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2016.

With a final-round 8-under 64 to miss the three-man playoff by a single stroke, he shot a 6-under 30 on the front nine on Sunday before play was suspended and returned on Monday to complete the third (final) round. He finished the tournament tied for 4th.

Wyatt has competed in 12 PGA TOUR tournaments over the past three years.

About Barbasol

Barbasol is America’s #1 brand of shaving cream. For nearly 100 years, generations of men have trusted Barbasol for a close, comfortable shave. Offered in 7 premium varieties (Original, Soothing Aloe, Pacific Rush, Sensitive Skin, Skin Conditioner, Arctic Chill and Extra Moisturizing), Barbasol is available at all major retailers and continues to be made in America.

For more information, visit Barbasol.com or follow @BarbasolShave on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Barbasolshave. Barbasol is owned by Dublin, Ohio-based Perio Inc.

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Media Contact: Bill Lang - RTJ Golf Trail - bill.lang@rtjresorts.com - 205.965.9574 - www.barbasolchampionship.com.

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Michael Johnson and Matt Gilchrest from Auburn Will Join the Barasol Championship Field - July 13/17

The home field advantage in the Barbasol Championship may go to Auburn's Michael Johnson and Matt Gilchrest. Johnson and Gilchrest have joined the field of the PGA TOUR's Barbasol Championship with sponsor exemptions.

The Barbasol Championship will be July 13 - 17, 2016 on the Lake Course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail's Grand National site in Opelika, Alabama.

Johnson and Gilchrest join fellow Auburn golfers Blayne Barber and Patton Kizzire in the Barbasol Championship field of 132 players. Both Barber and Kizzire competed in the 2015 Barbasol Championship. Kizzire is the highest ranked PGA TOUR player in the field which also features former Masters and U.S. Open champions.

About Michael Johnson

Recently named a Golfweek first-team All-America, Johnson turned professional on June 26 after competing as a member of Team USA at the Arnold Palmer Cup in Formby, England. The former Auburn senior had a sensational senior campaign that saw him win a school record three tournaments and break the single season scoring average school record at 70.37.

Johnson was a semifinalist for the Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus Awards. He become Auburn’s seventh All-American under head coach Nick Clinard, and only the fifth first-team member in school history joining Buddy Gardner, Chip Spratlin, Iain Steel and Blayne Barber. He was also a PING second-team All-American this year.

"I am honored to accept the sponsor exemption from Barbasol and delighted to have this tournament be one of my first as a professional golfer," said Johnson. "Thanks to Barbasol for the opportunity and I look forward to playing this RTJ course in front of an international audience," said Johnson. "Hearing the cries of War Eagle from a PGA TOUR crowd while competing in Auburn/Opelika will be a remarkable experience and I am thankful to everyone who helped make this possible."

The Birmingham, Alabama, native won medalist honors at the Primland Collegiate, Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate and Schenkel Invitational and was ranked No. 1 by GolfWeek for a majority of the season. His five career wins are second only to Jimmy Green for most in school history while his 70.37 stroke average ranked second in the SEC and sixth nationally this season. He played high school golf for Spain Park High School in Hoover, Alabama.

About Matt Gilchrest

A rising senior from Southlake, Texas, Matt Gilchrest has had an exceptional career thus far at Auburn. He averaged 72.43 stokes per round in the 2015 - 2106 season with 10 sub-par rounds and seven rounds in the 60s. He had five top 10 finishes in 9 spring tournaments. Gilchrest was an All-SEC first-team selection in 2015 in addition to being a 2nd team selection in 2014.

Gilchrest was a star on and off the golf course. He was on the 2015 Ben Hogan Award Watch List while also being named an Academic Top Tiger. He will be competing in the Barbasol Championship as an amateur.

"Having started playing golf at an early age, it has always been a dream to compete on the PGA TOUR," said Gilchrest. "I am very pleased that in July that vision will become a reality. Auburn University has great traditions in golf and all athletics. It will be an honor to wear the orange and blue while competing on the Plains in front of my friends and family."

Gilchrest tied for third at the SEC Championship, his career best finish at the tournament while finishing 20th in the 2016 NCAA Championship. He recently finished T6 in the Sunnehanna Amateur and T7 in the Northeast Amateur this month.

He tied for third at the Mobile Sports Authority Intercollegiate at 5 under. In Texas, he played for Southlake Carroll and was named the Team MVP. He captured five AJGA wins during his storied junior career.

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Media Contact: Bill Lang - RTJ Golf Trail - bill.lang@rtjresorts.com - 205.965.9574 - www.barbasolchampionship.com.

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