Ricky Barnes Earns Final Sponsor Exemption to Round Out Field for 2018 Waste Management Phoenix Open
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Thunderbirds – hosts of the Waste Management Phoenix Open – announced today that Ricky Barnes will receive the last of five sponsor exemptions to play in the 2018 Waste Management Phoenix Open, set to tee it up January 29-February 4 at TPC Scottsdale. A field of 132 players will vie for the $6.9 million purse, the $1,242,000 first-place check and 500 FedExCup points. Additionally, Web.com Tour graduates Wyndham Clark and Tom Lovelady were awarded exemptions over the weekend.
The field for this week’s tournament is nearly set, with only three Monday qualifying spots left.
Barnes has played in 274 PGA TOUR events since turning pro in 2003. To date, he has 51 Top-25 finishes, 18 Top-10s, three 3rd-place finishes and a runner-up finish at the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. This will be his ninth WM Phoenix Open appearance with his best finish, a T14, in 2004.
Clark began his collegiate career at Oklahoma State University, where he began making waves after redshirting his freshman year due to medical hardship. In his first full season at OSU, the 23-year-old was named Big 12 Player of the Year and a first-team All-American after seven top-10 finishes and a strong showing at the NCAA Championship.
Lovelady earned his PGA TOUR card after the 2017 season and has put together a decent start to the wrap-around season making four cuts in eight events, the most recent of which was a T45, even-par finish at the Farmers Insurance Open.
The 2018 field now includes 22 of the Top-50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. Jon Rahm (2) is the highest-ranked player currently in the field, which features four of the Top-5, five of the Top-10 and 11 of the Top-25 in the OWGR. Other ranked players in the field include Jordan Spieth (3), Justin Thomas (4), Hideki Matsuyama (5), Rickie Fowler (7), Marc Leishman (13), Matt Kuchar (16), Alex Noren (19), Francesco Molinari (22), Charley Hoffman (23), Patrick Reed (24), Xander Schauffele (26), Daniel Berger (31), Kevin Chappell (32), Webb Simpson (38), Si-Woo Kim (40), Tony Finau (44), Kyle Stanley (45), Phil Mickelson (46), Zach Johnson (47) Brendan Steele (48), and Russell Henley (49).
The field includes eight players who have combined to win 17 Major championships including Lucas Glover (1), Retief Goosen (2), Zach Johnson (2), Phil Mickelson (5), Webb Simpson (1), Jordan Spieth (3), Justin Thomas (1) and Bubba Watson (2).
The 2018 field also has five former WM Phoenix Open champions including Matsuyama (2016, 2017), Mickelson (1996, 2005 and 2013) and Aaron Baddeley (2007), J.B. Holmes (2006, 2008) and Kyle Stanley (2012).