Barbasol Championship brings back a lot of Cullan Brown memories

I first met Cullan Brown at the 2018 Barbasol Championship and started a friendship I cherished because he always had a way of making me feel better every time I talked to him. (Joe Hafley Photo)

It’s impossible to return to the Barbasol Championship and not think about Cullan Brown — or at least it is for me. The first time I really met and talked to Brown was at the 2018 Barbasol Championship when we both followed his friend, LPGA Tour player Emma Talley, during the pro-am. That was the first time I met his parents, Emily and Rodney, or his sister, Cathryn.

Brown got a sponsor’s exemption in the 2019 Barbasol Championship and the UK freshman not only made the cut but shot par or better all four rounds to finish 57th. He even had five straight birdies in Saturday’s round that created quite a buzz on the course but no player was more popular with fans than Brown.

It was heartbreaking when about a month after the Barbasol he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. He died less than a year later.

This year the Barbasol is making sure Brown’s memory is alive. The Barbasol Junior Championship winner Preston Summerhays received the Cullan Brown Trophy. Cathryn will hit the opening tee shot in Saturday’s round.

It has to be such a bittersweet time for the Brown family knowing how much their son was loved and missed but also still coping with the loss of such a special son.

With that in mind, I went back to find Brown’s press conference after his final round at the 2019 Barbasol in what turned out to be his last major appearance. Enjoy these comments and appreciate how much this young man loved life and always enjoyed it with no complaints — including the final months of his life.

Q. Cullan, you’re a sophomore in college, you’re playing with some top dogs out here. How did you feel knowing that you could compete with them, I guess?

CULLAN BROWN: It was great, it was a great week. Just truly blessed to even have the opportunity much less to be able to compete. Today was a bit of a challenge, didn’t strike the ball well and just really fortunate to get in under par at all. Happy with the day and could not possibly be happier with the week.

Q. So much fan support, too. A lot of Kentucky fans walking around. How nice was it to have that surrounding you all week long?

CULLAN BROWN: Oh, it was unbelievable. The crowds here are phenomenal. I have a great team here, a great group of people that have been here day in and day out in the heat supporting me. I could never thank them enough for that. But this town and this golf course and this crowd, they bleed blue and that’s really shown this week.

Q. What’s next for you, Cullan?

CULLAN BROWN: What’s next for me is a couple of days of rest more than likely. It’s been a long, hot week and I’m looking forward to some time off, and then ramping back up again trying to get ready for our college season, which kickstarts as soon as we get back on campus.

Q. For how you played this week, that’s got to add some confidence to your game heading into your sophomore year, right?

CULLAN BROWN: Certainly, no doubt. We came into this week feeling really unprepared for the week. We felt we were behind in our warm-ups and we were just a little behind and not ready, and the game has held up all week. Like I said, a little struggle today but still not bad. Definitely adds some confidence knowing that even when I don’t quite feel at my best, I can still put together some decent rounds.