The second day of the Barbasol Championship at Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Grand National in Opelika came to a close with only one former Auburn golfer making the cut.
Blayne Barber advanced to play in Saturday and Sunday’s rounds by carding a 4-under par 67 in Friday’s competition.
“I’m in a great spot,” Barber said. “I got myself up into contention. I was kind of hovering around the cut line. To get myself into a position where I can make a move tomorrow and hopefully be in contention on Sunday, that’s where you want to be.”
Barber shot 2-under par in the opening round on Thursday, July 16, and inched closer to a cut when he shot 1-over par on his first nine holes.
Barber turned things around on the front nine after he started his round on the back nine, closing the round at 5-under over the final five holes.
The former first-team All-American cited his eagle on the fifth hole as a major turning point in his round.
“It was a good break,” Barber said. “I made a poor swing, I thought, with the hybrid. It just flew a little farther than I was anticipating. It rolled up to about four or five feet and I ended up making that for eagle, which was great.”
Barber said the surprising eagle gave him a boost that propelled him to good play for the remainder of the round.
“I was just trying to get a birdie, just try to get moving in the right direction,” Barber said. “To make an eagle like that, it kind of got me a little momentum.”
Meanwhile, former Auburn golfer Patton Kizzire and current Auburn golfer Ben Schlottman both fell short of the cut line and will not be playing on Saturday or Sunday.
Kizzire struggled on the front nine, shooting 5-over par.
“Didn’t get off to a very good start so that was tough to come back from,” Kizzire said. “I played really well yesterday and just couldn’t get any putts to fall. Today I might have been putting a little too much pressure on myself.”
Kizzire played even golf on the back nine thanks to consecutive birdies on 14, 15 and 16.
He said feels he can carry some momentum from that surge into the rest of the season.
“I kind of settled down and started playing more of my game,” Kizzire said. “I can definitely take some of that momentum but overall just a disappointing week.”
Schlottman appeared to be on his way to making the cut in his first professional golf event.
After a tough first round in which he shot 4-over par, Schlottman rebounded with a 2-under 69 on Friday.
A bogey on the 10th hole, ,his first of the day, sent him to 5-over, but the SEC Freshman of the Year reeled off birdies on 12, 14, 15 and 18 to get to 1-over par.
“It was nice to get something going on the front nine, hitting shots the way I wanted to,” Schlottman said. “I kind of gave myself some confidence that I can play out here.”
Schlottman stalled on the back nine, however, playing even golf until the 8th hole.
The rising sophomore was tripped up by No. 8 both days, double bogeying on Thursday and carding a bogey on Friday.
Schlottman said there was no particular challenge to the par-3, but he “just hit bad shots” there.
Barber, who is tied for 15th place, is set to resume play on Saturday, July 18, at Grand National.
Barber and Jonathan Byrd will tee off on the first hole of the Lake course at 12:25 p.m.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
