Trey Mullinax stood on the edge of what his life was before and what it now is.
He’s now a PGA Tour champion, a distinction held by precious few.
He will be a participant in The Open Championship for the first time, and he’ll soon fly to Scotland to take part in the event’s 150th edition at historic St. Andrews later this week.
He also now owns a big check, both in monetary amount and stature: $666,000 is now his for four days work in Central Kentucky.
This was all realized over the course of a few minutes Sunday, across 14 feet and 11 inches of grass on the 18th green at the Champions at Keene Trace golf course in Nicholasville.
The 2022 edition of the Barbasol Championship — marred by rain and delays on Friday and Saturday — concluded in glorious sunshine Sunday evening, with Mullinax birdieing the 18th hole to secure his first PGA Tour victory.
His winning score of 263 strokes (25-under par overall) was one better than Kevin Streelman (24 under), a two-time PGA Tour winner. Streelman missed about an 11-foot putt that would have matched Mullinax’s birdie and sent the Barbasol Championship to a playoff for the second straight year.
But no playoff occurred, and instead Mullinax’s celebratory fist pump, which began right as his birdie putt dropped into the cup, stood the test of time.
Mullinax shot a 66 (6 under) in Sunday’s final round, which came after he and all the others in the Barbasol field had to finish their third rounds on Sunday morning.
The marathon day of golf in Nicholasville culminated with a showdown between Mullinax and Streelman, who shot 67 (5 under) over his final 18 holes. The back-and-forth battle came while they were playing in the same group, along with Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia. The group maintained a sizable crowd throughout the final round.
Because of the weather delays, this year’s Barbasol Championship used the same pairings for both the third and fourth rounds, the first time that has happened on the PGA Tour since 2019.
The Mullinax-Streelman battle reached a crescendo over the final three holes.
On the par-3 16th, Streelman sent his tee shot left of the green into a bunker and went on to bogey the hole, briefly giving Mullinax the lead. Mullinax made par on the hole.
On the par-4 17th, Streelman made birdie and brought the top of the leaderboard level again. Mullinax made par on the hole.
Then came the 18th, and the putt that changed everything for Mullinax.
There’s also a local angle to the 2022 Barbasol champion.
Mullinax’s caddie, Julien Trudeau, lives near Keene Trace with his wife — former University of Kentucky star and LPGA Tour player Mallory Blackwelder — and family.
“It’s been pretty cool to have all them out, cheering me on, too,” Mullinax said. “It was like a little army out there.”
Mullinax finally achieves PGA Tour success
Sunday’s victory for Mullinax came in his 106th start on the PGA Tour, and shortly after his 30th birthday.
It has been a road filled with challenges, some of them of the freak variety.
In May 2019, Mullinax was hit in the head by a golf ball during a pro-am in Texas ahead of a PGA Tour event.
Mullinax suffered a concussion and was later found to have convergence insufficiency, and his golf career was briefly derailed.
“(I) went through a pretty dark period. You go from having PGA Tour status to getting injured and not playing great to nothing,” Mullinax said. “Then COVID hit, and (you’ve) got nothing for even longer.”
Now, Mullinax’s golf career is back on track.
What does Mullinax earn with Barbasol win?
A lot.
As the winner of the 2022 Barbasol Championship, Mullinax earns the final qualifying spot in The Open. The tournament begins Thursday in Scotland.
“What a dream come true to be able to go to St. Andrews on the 150th and be able to play,” Mullinax said. “I’ve got a lot of logistics to take care of in just a little bit, but super excited and ready to go over there and try and figure out that golf course.”
Mullinax has limited major championship experience, but what he has is impressive.
He has never played in the Masters, The Open (something that will change soon) or the PGA Championship.
He has only made two major championship starts, both in the U.S. Open.
Mullinax finished in a tie for ninth at the 2017 U.S. Open and missed the cut in the 2018 event.
Additionally, Mullinax wins $666,000 by emerging as the best golfer from the 156-player field (with an expanded international presence) at Keene Trace. The total purse for the tournament was $3.7 million.
Mullinax earned 300 FedExCup points, thanks to his win.
Mullinax had two prior victories on his professional résumé, but both were on what is now the Korn Ferry Tour in 2016 and 2020.
The 30-year old Mullinax was a college star at Alabama, earning All-American honors and helping the Crimson Tide win the 2013 and 2014 NCAA championships.
Mullinax said the last time he had a fist pump similar to the one he celebrated with on Sunday was in 2014, when he sunk a winding putt to clinch the national title for Alabama.
Mullinax overlapped at Alabama with Louisville native and two-time major champion Justin Thomas, who tweeted his congratulations to Mullinax on Sunday night.
Kentuckians in the 2022 Barbasol Championship
Six golfers with Kentucky ties took part in the 2022 Barbasol Championship.
Andrew Stephens, Matt Harris (making his PGA Tour debut) and Jared Wolfe all missed the cut.
Stephen Stallings Jr. finished in a tie for 78th at 3-under par for the tournament.
“I have a lot of good memories and bad memories of this course. It’s like I’m almost better off not playing as many times, because you have a lot of scars,” said Stallings, a St. Xavier High School and University of Kentucky alumnus. “But there are many good shots that you hit, too. It was awesome being back.”
Josh Teater, always a fan favorite, finished in a tie for 63rd at 7-under par for the tournament.
“I think you can look at it two ways. You can be upset with it, which I am in a way, and go forward that way, or you can draw from the positives,” said Teater, a Morehead State alum. “I think that might be the case all the time. I think all of us as golfers put a little too much pressure on ourselves.”
Matti Schmid was in contention throughout the weekend, and led the tournament by two shots after all golfers finished their third rounds on Sunday morning.
But the German, who played college golf at Louisville, played poorly in the final round and shot 77 (+5) to finish in a tie for eighth at 17-under par for the tournament.
The Herald-Leader’s Christina Huang contributed reporting.
