First-Round Leaderboard
J.T. Poston 62 (-10)
Nick Taylor 63 (-9)
Wes Roach 64 (-8)
Eight players 65 (-7)
Things to Know
- J.T. Poston equals the current course record at the Barbasol Championship
- 10-under 62 leads following the first round for the second consecutive year (Troy Merritt/2018, J.T. Poston/2019)
- Local favorite Josh Teater records 7-under 65
- John Daly cards an opening-round 1-under 71
- Defending champion Tory Merritt opens with a 1-over 73
First-Round Lead Notes
7 First-round leaders/co-leaders to win in 2018-19 (most recent: Nate Lashley/Rocket Mortgage Classic)
1 First-round leaders/co-leaders to win the Barbasol Championship (Troy Merritt/2018)
J.T. Poston (-10/1st)
Age: 26 (June 1, 1993)
Joined TOUR: 2016
Entering this week
#76 FedExCup
#154 OWGR
75 PGA TOUR starts
5 PGA TOUR Top-10s (best finish: T4/2017 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open)
25 PGA TOUR starts in 2018-19
2 Top-10s in 2018-19
2 Starts at Barbasol Championship
1 Top-10 at Barbasol Championship (5th/2018)
0/1 Wins when holding 18-hole lead/co-lead (T41-2017 Charles Schwab Challenge)
- Opened with six birdies in his first eight holes en route to a career-best 10-under 62
- Previous-low round on TOUR was a second-round 63 at the 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic (T11)
- Had a career-best 11 birdies (10/2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic/R2)
- Lone bogey came on the par-3 ninth hole
- Seeking third top-10 finish of the season (T6-RBC Heritage, T7-Desert Classic)
- Making his third start at the Barbasol Championship (5th/2018, T42/2017)
Miscellaneous Notes
- Nick Taylor posted a bogey-free 9-under 63, highlighted by an eagle-birdie-birdie stretch on Nos. 15-17; equaled his career-low round on TOUR (2018 Wyndham Championship/R4)
- Wes Roach carded a bogey-free 8-under 64, marking his 10th score in the 60s in his last 11 rounds; has three top-11 finishes in his last five starts (T11-RBC Canadian Open, MC-Travelers Championship, T3-Rocket Mortgage Classic, MC-3M Open, T10-John Deere Classic)
- One week following a T10 at the John Deere Classic (his first top-10 finish since the season-opening Safeway Open/T10), 2011 FedExCup champion Bill Haas posted a 7-under 65
- Lexington native and Morehead State University graduate Josh Teater had four birdies (Nos. 5-8) in his last five holes for a 7-under 65
- Jason Dufner began with a 5-under 67; has finished inside the top 100 in the FedExCup 10 consecutive seasons on TOUR and entered the Barbasol Championship ranked No. 127 in the standings
- 13-time PGA TOUR winner David Toms has finished inside the top 20 in both Barbasol Championship starts (T19/2015, T11/2016); he opened Thursday with a 4-under 68
- John Daly followed a triple bogey on the par-4 fourth hole with an eagle on the par-5 fifth en route to a 1-under 71; missed the cut at the PGA Championship in his only other start on TOUR this season
- Making his title defense, Troy Merritt opened with a 1-over 73; picked up his second PGA TOUR title by winning the weather-plagued 2018 Barbasol Championship by one stroke over Richy Werenski, Tom Lovelady and Billy Horschel
- Jhonattan Vegas, who finished T4 in his only other Barbasol Championship start (2016), posted a 3-under 69; three-time TOUR winner is seeking his first win since winning the RBC Canadian Open in back-to-back seasons (2016, 2017)
Course Statistics
Toughest Hole
R1: Par-3 16th (3.174), Par-4 18th (4.174)
Easiest Hole
R1: Par-5 fifth (4.265)
Scoring Averages
Front 9 Back 9 Total Cumulative
R1: 34.674 35.477 70.152 —
Early Late
R1: 69.74 70.56
Bogey-free rounds
R1: Nick Taylor (63), Wes Roach (64), D.J. Trahan (65), Kelly Kraft (65), Sebastian Munoz (65), Roberto Castro (65), Jim Herman (65), Ricky Barnes (66), Matt Jones (66), Dominic Bozzelli (67), Satoshi Kodaira (67), Freddie Jacobson (67), Ryan Blaum (68), Seamus Power (69), Brice Garnett (69), Whee Kim (69), Martin Piller (70), Chip McDaniel (71)