Roach shoots 64 in opening round of Barbasol Championship, seeing hard work start to pay off

LEXINGTON, Kent. – Turns out, the entry in his online bio is a little dated. Wes Roach actually has been to New York City. Once. But he’d love to make a return trip — particularly if it meant playing in the first event of the FedExCup Playoffs. And if he keeps playing the way he did on Thursday in the opening round of the Barbasol Championship, the former Duke standout just might be making his Playoffs debut. Roach fired a bogey-free 64 with matching nines of 32 at the Champions Course at Keene Trace Golf Club to finish two strokes off the lead held by J.T. Poston. He hit 11 of 14 fairways, all but two greens in regulation and ranked third in Strokes Gained: Total. “I played solid,â€� Roach acknowledged. “Hit a lot of fairways, gave myself some good opportunities with some wedges and short irons, and was able to hit some quality shots, and putted nice.  So yeah, everything was pretty good today.â€� Actually, Roach has been playing well for the last six weeks or so. In his last five starts, he’s finished 11th or better three times – shooting four rounds in the 60s each time. “Yeah, I’m starting to play a little better,â€� Roach said. “Been working awfully hard.  The first part of the year was a little bit tough, but had to keep grinding away.  You know, still a lot of work to do, a lot of golf to play, but I’m happy with the start.â€� Roach, who lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, is pleased to see the work he’s done with his swing coach, Brad Rose, pay dividends. He’s also been working on his fitness with Randy Myers since the beginning of March – which could come into play with heat indexes in triple digits expected the next three days. “My body’s moving pretty good, warms up pretty good with the heat,â€� Roach said. “I like playing in the heat.  I’m not too afraid of that at all.â€� The payoff could be job security for the 2019-20 season, should he solidify his spot in the top 125 in the FedExCup. He came to Kentucky ranked No. 124 with this tournament and two others remaining in the regular season. Oh, and a second trip to New York City, this time to to play in THE NORTHERN TRUST at Liberty National.  “I’m happy, but there’s a lot of golf left,â€� Roach said. “I’m very happy with the performance today, but can’t be satisfied, I guess.  There’s still a long ways to go.â€�

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