For those PGA Tour players who didn’t qualify for the Open Championship this week, the Barbasol Championship in Opelika, Ala., is more than just another tournament.
It represents a chance to play and win against some of the world’s top golfers and to make strides toward heading across the Atlantic at this time next year.
The Barbasol Championship will be contested beginning Thursday as the Lake Course at Grand National in this suburb of Auburn. It is an alternate event, but it refuses to take a back seat.
Five former major championship winners — Jim Furyk (2003 U.