While the great and the good of golf are battling it out in the WGC in Memphis this week, the second string of the PGA Tour get the chance to showcase their credentials in the annual Stableford scoring event, the Barracuda Championship.
This event kick started the career of Collin Morikawa two years ago and there are plenty of hopefuls who will be looking to follow in his footsteps and springboard their career into the spotlight, or revive it to old glories.
Recent Winners
2020 – Richy Werenski
2019 – Collin Morikawa
2018 – Andrew Putnam
2017 – Chris Stroud
2016 – Greg Chalmers
2015 – JJ Henry
2014 – Geoff Ogilvy
2013 – Gary Woodland
2012 – JJ Henry
2011 – Scott Piercy
The Scoring
It is Stableford scoring this week rather than the usual scoring system used on the PGA Tour. Players receive two points to their score for every birdie they make while each eagle is worth five points. You get nothing for a par and lose a point for each bogey your player makes. Double bogeys and worse are worth a loss of three points. At the end of the week the highest number of points wins the tournament.
The Course
This tournament will be staged at the Old Greenwood Course at the Tahoe Mountain Club for the second time this year after the track debuted last year. The Nicklaus designed course is perfect for this scoring with three par 5s and three drivable par fours. It is a cross between Riviera and Muirfield Village, albeit easier to score on. The overriding thing to remember is birdies are the order of the day. While bogeys aren’t helpful here they might not be the hindering factor of a normal event, especially if a player backs it up with an ocean of birdies.
We are at altitude this week so the ball is going to go further so players with a good record in this part of the world or in places like Mexico or Switzerland are good to have on side. Nearly all Nicklaus designs have wide open landing spots and require accurate irons and this is unlikely to be any different. I’m after players who can putt well. A decent short game would be a bonus as I don’t expect many long irons being hit in. There is talk of strong breezes this week so that is something to factor in too.
The Field
You never expect a great field in this particular tournament purely because it goes up against the WGC St Jude Invitational. In saying that though this is probably an upgrade on some of the line ups we have had for this tournament. He probably doesn’t want to be defending the title here as he’d rather be in Memphis but Richy Werenski will attempt to defend the title. Other immediate notables in the field are the 2019 US Open champion Gary Woodland, Puerto Rico winner Branden Grace and the Ryder Cup champion Padraig Harrington.
Then you have the players who will be looking to make a name for themselves and launch their careers fully into life this week in the form of Maverick McNealy, Mito Pereira, Aaron Wise and Patrick Rodgers. Emiliano Grillo is an interesting entrant this week while the European charge will be headed up by Thomas Pieters and Tom Lewis, both of whom will like their chances. The likes of Matt Kuchar and Adam Hadwin are among those looking to get their careers back on track.
Market Leaders
Maverick McNealy heads up the betting market this week but the fact he is 18/1 to win the tournament highlights how competitive an event we can expect here. He was seventh here last year which is very much a positive and he arrives on the back of five straight top 30 finishes. Usually you wouldn’t really allow top 30 finishes to catch the eye but the distinct drop in level in the field means they are significant. He feels like a worthy favourite but this format isn’t one which encourages me to take favourites.
We have a quartet of players next in the betting at 20/1. They are Gary Woodland, Mito Pereira, Emiliano Grillo and Branden Grace. I’ll immediately drop Pereira from my interest because he’s coming back from Japan and I just can’t be having that as anything other than a negative. Grillo is fancied after a top 10 here last year but four missed cuts in five isn’t ideal and you just know his putter will let him down at some point. Woodland and Grace could be capable of blowing this field away but the former is a little too hot and cold. The latter might well be the one to beat but I hate taking anyone too short in this format.
Troy Merritt and Ryan Moore complete those who are 30/1 or shorter in the market. Both will tee it up as 28/1 shots to win the tournament. Merritt almost won the Rocket Mortgage Classic and has three other top 10s since the turn of the year. He was edged out by Ricky Werenski here last year so his credentials are obvious. Moore was second two starts ago at the John Deere Classic but he has exceptional form around TPC Deere Run and his form before and after that hasn’t been so good. He was in the top 12 here last year which makes him a threat but he’s no better than correctly priced for me.
Main Bets
I want good putters this week and there aren’t many in the field who are better than Brandt Snedeker. Snedeker is always a threat on the western side of America and when you factor in how good he is in the wind he should be a leading light this week. Snedeker has successive top 20s coming into the week so a career that is on the decline might just be about to click into gear again. Given where he was and where he now is in his career this feels like it could be a turning point week for the American so I expect him to target this strongly. Conditions should suit him very well and he’s a leading fancy for me.
There aren’t many in this tournament who boast form lines of three top 10s in their last six starts but Ryan Armour is one of them and I think that has to count for something. One of those top 10s was at the Barbasol Championship which is a second tier event like this one but the other two at the Palmetto Championship and the 3M Open were more significant. At the Palmetto and the 3M he ranked fifth in strokes gained putting and he is generally very good off the tee. If he can continue to set up birdie chances this week he should run very strongly.
Outsiders
The form of Michael Thompson is nothing to write home about but I can’t forget that it was only 12 months or so ago that he was beating a decent field in the 3M Open and when he is on it he is one of the best putters on the PGA Tour. He hasn’t been on it in recent times which is a clear and obvious concern but it only takes a few putts to drop early to turn that around. The key is he’s been operating at a level above this one so if he can find some confidence early on in the event then he might well show enough to get into the mix.
When I look for outsiders in these events I look for players who have had a decent recent outing. Clearly consistency is going to be an issue because if a player is consistent he wouldn’t be an outsider at this level but a good recent showing at least shows there will be a bit of confidence coming in here. Scott Brown has that after he was fourth at the John Deere Classic when he led a decent field in strokes gained putting. His long game has been a bit of an issue in recent times but this isn’t as much of a test off the tee which will help. Brown likes it in the west too. Twice he has finished second at Riviera and he has a top 10 at Torrey Pines as well. If you can play well there you can here and if he can just tighten up the long game the putter looks like it will get him into contention.
Tips
Back B.Snedeker to win Barracuda Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with Betfair (1/5 1-7)
Back R.Armour to win Barracuda Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 41.00 with Betfair (1/5 1-7)
Back M.Thompson to win Barracuda Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 71.00 with Betfair (1/5 1-7)
Back S.Brown to win Barracuda Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with Betfair (1/5 1-7)
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