Stephen Stallings Jr. (PGA Tour Photo)
No player in this week’s Barbasol Championship is more appreciative of the opportunity than former University of Kentucky golfer Stephen Stallings Jr. of Louisville.
“I’m really excited to be back in Lexington,” Stallings Jr. said. “I spent the best four years of my life here going to Kentucky.”
Stallings played in the 2019 Barbasol Championship at Keene Trace Golf Club and tied for 45th in one of his five PGA Tour appearances since he turned professional in 2018. He was captain of the UK golf team and won an individual state title during his high school career at St. Xavier.
Stallings, 26, has made three PGA Tour cuts but believes the key to more success is more mental than physical.
“I don’t feel like there is too much I need to change. I have to get better but a lot of it is mentally and getting calm and just hitting fairways and greens and getting out of my own way,” he said Tuesday after his practice round.
He’s played this course often and hopes that will give him an edge when the tourney starts Thursday. He’s played junior tournaments, college matches, and practice rounds on this course for years.
“I think this golf course really brings out the best in my game,” Stallings said. “I really like the look of the golf course.”
He will also like the look of the gallery. He will have plenty of family and friends on the course each day watching him play just like he did two years ago when he made the cut.
Stallings doesn’t downplay the significance of having so many familiar faces coming to watch him play.
“I want to play well for all my friends and family that are coming. I’m trying to come out here and have fun. I’m not trying to put expectations because that’s in the back of my head,” the former UK golfer said.
“It’s not easy playing in front of a lot of friends and family sometimes just because you want to play well. But I’m just going to come out, enjoy the moment and see what happens.”
