While three players in the field at the Barbasol Championship went or are going to Auburn, there are many other players in the field who had never experienced Auburn, or even Alabama, before the event.
The tournament has drawn at least one golfer from all continents except Antarctica, and the majority of the international golfers are playing at Grand National for the first time.
The reviews of the course and the Auburn-Opelika area have been nothing but positive.
Englishman Brian Davis said this is his first time playing in Alabama.
“I had heard nice things about the university, but actually being there now and driving around it, it’s pretty awesome,” Davis said.
The on-site Marriott Hotel and Convention Center was fully booked by the time Davis made reservations, so tournament officials recommended the Auburn University Hotel in downtown Auburn.
“I was a bit worried because I thought, ‘Oh my God, it might be a dorm’,” Davis said. “I might be in with a bunch of other people with communal showers and all that at a college. But no, it’s an amazing hotel. I love it there, very nice.”
Australian Aaron Baddeley is getting, quite literally, his first taste of the Auburn area during this weekend’s tournament.
Baddeley said he was shocked at how much Southerners love barbecue.
“I’ve been to Alabama before, but this is my first time in the Auburn area,” Baddeley said. “I went down to Auburn because everyone said it is a cool little town. Last night we ate at Moe’s Bar-B-Que and it was really good. It was packed. I was surprised how busy it was with it being the summer and a weeknight.”
Carlos Ortiz, who is from Mexico, is also experiencing the Auburn area for the first time.
“It’s really nice,” Ortiz said. “I went around campus [on Wednesday], all around Auburn. This area is fantastic. You have the lakes and trees, and other than it being really hot, it’s really pretty. All of the old buildings give it a different style.”
Several golfers mentioned they were very impressed by the size of Jordan Hare Stadium on the Auburn campus.
Richard Sterne, a golfer from South Africa, said he was surprised by how large the stadium is.
“I went past that stadium,” Sterne said. “That thing looks pretty big, no doubt about that.”
Baddeley also commented on the stadium’s size.
“We drove past the football stadium because I wanted to see how big that was,” Baddeley said. “It was very impressive.”
There was unanimous high praise for the state of the golf course among the players.
“It’s a fun golf course," Davis said."Great practice facilities, and obviously the hospitality down here is great."
Baddeley enjoyed his time on the course on Thursday, July 16, as he posted a 2-under par 69 for the day.
“The condition of [the course] is unbelievable, it’s perfect,” Baddeley said. “The greens have got some slopes in them but that’s like a (Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail) trademark.”
Ortiz said the lake makes the course at Grand National a fun one to play.
“[The course] is amazing, in great shape,” Ortiz said. “The views are spectacular because you have pretty much every hole looking back towards the lake and that makes it a really scenic golf course.”
Andres Romero, who is from Argentina, competed at Grand National once in 2004 and said the course is in even better shape now than it was then.
“I like the course,” Romero said through his manager and interpreter, Chris Castleberry. “I feel comfortable here and I like the area a lot.”
Baddeley, who now resides in Arizona during the season, said the Alabama heat has been a struggle for most of the players to deal with.
“It’s hot,” Baddeley said. “It’s a different heat. You’ve got 90 percent humidity where as in Arizona you have 5 percent.”
The experiences of the international golfers visiting the Auburn area for the first time have been memorable, and many said they would like to return to the event again in the future.
“It’s lovely,” Davis said. “It’s not ‘normal’ America. You’ve got your chain stuff, but they try to keep it not as commercialized as most of America, keep it more local. It’s just a really beautiful place.”
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