Mullinax battles back to win Barbasol Championship
Tournament: Barbasol Championship
DP World Tour Rankings: Tournament 24 of 44 events
Venue: Keene Trace Golf Club, Nicholasville, Kentucky, United States of America
Prize Fund: $3,700,000
Hashtag: #BarbasolChamp #DPWT
Final Round Report
Trey Mullinax birdied the 72nd hole to win the Barbasol Championship by a single stroke at Keene Trace Golf Club, securing exemptions on both the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR.
The American, who started the final round three strokes behind 54-hole leader Matti Schmid, battled with playing partner Kevin Streelman down the stretch as the pair exchanged blows in glorious sunshine in Kentucky.
They were neck-and-neck on 24 under par standing on the 18th tee and both found the green with their second strokes, Streelman just inside Mullinax’s approach. Putting first, Mullinax holed his effort from 15 feet for a final round 66 and a 25 under par total, leaving his compatriot with a birdie putt to force a sudden death play-off.
From 11 feet, Streelman pushed his putt, handing Mullinax his first PGA TOUR victory on his 106th start.
With his victory, Mullinax also secured the final place at The 150th Open at St Andrews as part of The Open Qualifying Series.
Mark Hubbard carded a seven under par 65 to finish third on 22 under par, while Germany’s Hurly Long was the best-placed DP World Tour member one stroke back in fourth place after following his nine under par 63 from this morning with a one under par 71.
The trio of Ricardo Gouveia, Marcus Helligkilde and Matti Schmid finished in a share of eighth on 18 under.
Player QuotesTrey Mullinax: "It was a long day today, it was a grind. But we stayed sharp, we stayed focused pretty much all day. We knew it was going to be a grind, we knew we were going to get wore down, but we had to just keep at it, keep firing and at the end of the day I walked away with the low score.
"When I got on 18, me and my caddie, what do we need to do. He said, You and Kevin are tied. I said, What's everybody else? We tried to just really focus on what we were doing. He let me know that information, but at that point it's almost playing match play against him. I hit a great drive on 18 to set me up for a great second shot.
"When it landed on the green I saw it rolling, I was like okay. It just kind of kept rolling away from the hole and I was like all right, it was a good shot, stop, stop. But it kind of kept rolling and I saw it stop. I knew I was going to have an uphill putt, which is huge.
"What an incredible honour to be able to go over there and play. What a dream come true to be able to go to St. Andrews on the 150th and be able to play. I've got a lot of logistics to take care of here in just a little bit, but man, super excited and ready to go over there and try to figure out that golf course."
Kevin Streelman: "I gave my all. Man, Trey and I just battled each other. He's one of my best friends out here so that was kind of fun as well. I'm frustrated I hit two incredible shots there into the last two holes and hit two good putts, one of them went, one of them didn't. So I'm frustrated, but I get to go home and see my family so that's a good thing. I've got my card locked up. I'll rest up for a few weeks probably before Detroit."
Hurly Long: "I definitely played well enough to win here, I know that, just kind of didn't get it going today. Then did get something started on the back nine. Not silly, but just a bogey on 17 out of nowhere, but still a good week. I played well and I'm happy.
"It was tough because it was long days. This was my third week in a row, I've played a lot this year, so a lot of traveling going on. I mean, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour have done a good job of being able to get this thing done. The weather was tough. It was beautiful out there today and my energy levels were better than I thought they would be. I was drained the first few holes today, but then it was okay the rest of the day."
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