What the pros are playing at Safeway Open

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The Barbasol Championship returns to the PGA TOUR schedule for 2021 after it was not played due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jim Herman will return to defend his title from 2019. FIELD NOTES: Two past champions – Grayson Murray and Aaron Baddeley – join Herman in the field… John Daly will play his third PGA TOUR event of the season (he missed the cut at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the PGA Championship)… Daly, Jason Dufner, and Charl Schwartzel are the major championship-winning contingent teeing it up in Kentucky… Some of the Korn Ferry Tour’s top point-getters through the 2020-21 season will play the Barbasol including Paul Barjon, Lee Hodges, Taylor Pendrith, Greyson Sigg, Davis Riley, Stephan Jaeger (who is No. 1 on the Points List) and Mito Pereira (who already received a promotion to the PGA TOUR after notching his third win of the season)… Amongst the Sponsor Exemptions include college stars Davis Thompson and Sahith Theegala along with teenager Preston Summerhays. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 300 FedExCup points. STORYLINES: After Jim Herman won in Kentucky he went on to win the Wyndham Championship the following season and called his win at the Barbasol a career rejuvenator… The winning total just keeps getting progressively lower at Keene Trace so look for birdies to come in bunches this week in Kentucky… This week marks another alternate-field opportunity for some of the top golfers on the Korn Ferry Tour to test their mettles before they earn full PGA TOUR status come fall… There are only three weeks left in the TOUR’s regular season for 2020-21 so now is the time to pick up valuable FedExCup points. Some guys on the bubble teeing it up in Kentucky include Chase Seiffert (No. 124) along with Bo Hoag and Sam Ryder, who are No’s 128 and 129, respectively. COURSE: Keene Trace GC (Champions), par 72, 7,328 yards. This is the third time the 1987 Arthur Hills design will play host to the PGA TOUR. It’s one of the top courses in the state of Kentucky. Scoring is at a premium at Keene Trace and the final hole, the par-4 18th is built for drama as its got a ton of water risk around the edge of a lake. 72-HOLE RECORD: 262, Jim Herman (2019) 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Kelly Kraft (3rd round, 2019) LAST TIME: In record-setting fashion it was Jim Herman who captured the Barbasol Championship. After he and Kelly Kraft shot sizzling Saturday scores – Herman tied the previous course record with a 62 while Kraft set a new record after a 61 – the dual was a little more muted on Sunday as they shot matching 2-under 70s. However, Kraft bogeyed No’s 16 and 17 on Sunday and as Herman stayed steady he managed to take the win across the finish line in surprising fashion. To that point in the 2018-19 season, Herman had played 19 TOUR events and made the cut only three times. Sepp Straka finished third while Austin Cook and Matt Jones rounded out the top five. HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 5-7:30 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 4-7 p.m. PGA TOUR LIVE: None. RADIO: None.

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Bubba Watson completes the 20-player field for the 2020 PNC Championship taking place at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Orlando, Grande Lakes, Dec. 17-20. A two-time Masters winner, Watson is making his debut alongside his father-in-law, Wayne Ball, in this unique PGA TOUR event where Major winners compete as a team alongside a family member. With a career-high ranking of World No. 2 in 2015, Watson is among a line-up that reads like a "who's who" of world golf at the recently re-named 2020 PNC Championship. Fellow competitors making their debut include Tiger Woods, Justin Thomas and Mark Calcavecchia. They join a field that boasts 66 Major titles and more than 1,000 international professional victories. Watson commented, "I am very excited to be playing in this tournament for the first time. I love the family connection with this event. My father-in-law, Baller (Wayne), might get a little nervous, especially if we have a chance to win the Willie Park Trophy belt, but I think that will make it all the more fun. My son Caleb is also making the trip with us, which will make this a three-generation experience. I am pretty sure Caleb thinks it's a scouting trip for the future when he will be old enough to play in the tournament." While this year's tournament will take place without spectators due to COVID-19-related restrictions, fans still will be able to enjoy watching these A-list golfers and their partners. An extensive broadcast schedule is planned to air on NBC, GOLF Channel and Peacock (click here for times.) There also will be enhanced social media coverage across all PNC Championship channels to ensure fans don't miss out on what continues to be the largest and most impressive gathering of golf's all-time legends each year. The confirmed field currently is: • Mark Calcavecchia & son • John Daly & son • David Duval & son • Jim Furyk & son • Padraig Harrington & son • Lee Janzen & son • Tom Kite & son • Matt Kuchar & son • Bernhard Langer & son • Tom Lehman & son • Greg Norman & son • Mark O'Meara & son • Gary Player & grandson • Nick Price & son • Vijay Singh & son • Annika Sorenstam & father • Justin Thomas & father • Lee Trevino & son • Bubba Watson and father-in-law • Tiger Woods & son Since the inaugural tournament in 1995, when ten major winners gathered with their sons, the PNC Championship has continued to evolve and develop. It now features 20 major champions and their relatives competing for the total purse of $1,085,000 in a two-day, 36-hole scramble for the Willie Park Trophy. The 2019 edition was won by two-time major champion Bernhard Langer and his son, Jason. Over the years, the tournament has featured a multitude of family member combinations including father/son, father/daughter, father/grandson, son/father and more recently, daughter/father when Annika Sorenstam paired with her father Tom Sorenstam. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has been the title sponsor of the tournament since 2012. To qualify for the PNC Championship, players must have won a major championship or THE PLAYERS Championship. Their partner must not hold a PGA TOUR card.

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