Josh Teater interacted with a lot of fans during Wednesday's Pro-Am. (Larry Vaught Photo)
It was just the pro-am portion of the Barbasol Championship Wednesday at Champions at Keene Trace outside Nicholasville but it was already obvious Josh Teater felt right at home. The Kentuckian figures to have one of the largest galleries today when he tees off to start the event where he tied for sixth in 2019 and won $117,000 after rounds of 65-70-64-68 to finish 21-under par.
Almost every hole during the pro-am someone was shouting or waving to Teater, a former Henry Clay High School and Morehead State golfer who recently moved back to Lexington from St. Simons Island, Ga.
“We kind of knew we’d come back at some point,” Teater said Tuesday. “It just seemed the right time, with the kids’ ages and the family we have here.”
His children are 7 and 3 1/2 and he attended John Calipari’s Father-Son Camp recently with his oldest son. He joked while waiting to hit on the fifth tee Wednesday that Calipari gave him a hard time during the camp and really would have been on him if he had seen the shots he missed.
Teater, 42, knows this course well and looked extremely comfortable Wednesday during the pro-am. He has never won a PGA Tour event but knows he has the game to do it if putts are falling.
“I’ve been a good ball hitter off the tee, and I hit a lot of greens. When I see some putts go in, my confidence grows,” he said. “That’s our goal this week – to give ourselves as many opportunities as we can, play the par-5s good, and see where we land Sunday afternoon.”
He can look at last week when 41-year-old Lucas Glover won the John Deere Classic, his first win in 10 years. Stewart Cink, 48, has won twice this year and the biggest oldie win came when 50-year-old Phil Mickelson won the PGA Championship.
“Seeing guys in their 40s win, it’s encouraging for sure,” Teater said.
He knows it will take a low score to win based on only tying for sixth two years ago when he was 21 under par. However, he said the par 5’s were “getable” again with two solid shots. He also said the “greens are pretty soft” with recent rains and more expected this week.
He likes supporting his community and for each birdie or eagle, he makes he will donate money to Caddie127, a group of local charities that gets money from the Barbasol Championship.
“If people want to give whatever they can afford, even if it’s a dollar . . . we’re just trying to help out,” Teater said.
He will donate $250 per birdie and $500 per eagle to Caddie127. Charities that will benefit are All God’s Children, Kentucky Children’s Hospital, Kentucky Region of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Refuge for Women, Sunrise Children’s Services, and the Woodhill Community Center.
