A first-time PGA Tour winner likely at 2023 Barracuda Championship

Sunday is bound to be life changing for one PGA Tour player.

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Sunday is bound to be life changing for one PGA Tour player.

None of the top four players on the leaderboard at the 2023 Barracuda Championship at Tahoe Mountain Club in Truckee, California, have won on Tour before. Two of them, Ryan Gerard and Akshay Bhatia, weren’t even PGA Tour members when the season began.

After Sunday’s final round, it’s likely someone hoists a trophy for the first time.

Patrick Rodgers birdied the 18th hole and earned two points in the Modified Stableford format to take a one-point lead over Gerard going into the final round. Rodgers tallied eight points in the third round and sits at 34 for the tournament. Gerard, who led after the 36 holes, struggled to garner any momentum on moving day, earning only three points and has 33 points.

“I was really super proud of the way that I was resilient and turned the round around and knew there was still a lot of points to be had,” Rodgers said. “The eagle on 12 was huge, and birdieing two of the last three was great to be in a good position going into tomorrow.”

Bhatia made a major move up the leaderboard, sitting in solo third with 31 points, courtesy of his 17-point outing. He shot 8-under 63 with six birdies and an eagle.

“I know I’m close to winning,” Bhatia said. “It’s a good feeling. Obviously finishing top 10 and gaining points and everything is important out here. But it’s just amazing the perspective you have when you just kind of wish you did certain things a little different, and I would have been pretty close to hosting that trophy last week.”

Beau Hossler, who is also searching for his first Tour victory, is in solo fourth with 30 points. Joel Dahmen is in fifth with 29.

The opposite-field event gives plenty of opportunities for someone to have a career-changing victory. The leaderboard is set up for exactly that come Sunday.

“I feel like any time that you’re in contention coming down the last round, last however many holes, you’ve got to play well to get into that situation,” Gerard said. “So just going to take that in stride and really just trust that we’re going to have some good stuff happen tomorrow and just really do my best and everything else is just an added bonus. So we’re excited to just go out there and see what happens.”

Ryan Gerard takes big lead at PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship

The name of the game in a Modified Stableford scoring event is big numbers.

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The name of the game in a Modified Stableford scoring event is big numbers and Ryan Gerard is putting up a lot of them so far this week.

Through two rounds at Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood in Truckee, California, Gerard has 16 birdies, each worth two points in the unique scoring format. Two late bogeys in Thursday’s first round cost him one point each but through 36 holes, Gerard has 30 points to lead the 2023 Barracuda Championship.

Gerard’s best finish this season is a solo fourth at the Honda Classic in February. He has made nine cuts in 14 events.


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Patrick Rodgers made a late move with birdies on three of his last four holes to get to 26 points, good for second.

Vincent Norrman, a first-time Tour winner a week ago at the Barbasol Championship, like the Barracuda an opposite-field event, is playing well again this week. He has 23 points.

S.Y. Noh led after the first round with 23 points thanks to three eagles (each worth five points) to become the fourth player this season to have three eagles in one round. Friday, though, was a disastrous day at Old Greenwood for Noh, as he posted a minus-5 score after two double bogeys, a bogey and just one birdie. His Friday 75 dropped him into a tie for 10th.

The cut came in at 10 points and among those to miss out on a weekend tee time: S.H. Kim, Keith Mitchell, Harry Higgs, Greyson Sigg and Taylor Pendrith.

An ace and an eagle help Beau Hossler to early Barracuda Championship lead

The race for the FedEx Cup Playoffs is on.

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Coming into the week at Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood course, Beau Hossler sat 73rd in the FedEx Cup standings.

With the new rules, only the top 70 are guaranteed spots in the Playoffs. Counting this week, there’s only three events left for players like Hossler to lock up their spots in the field at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis.

After the first round of the 2023 Barracuda Championship, Hossler is doing his best to make sure he’s well inside the cut line.

Hossler, in a Modified Stableford scoring format, is +17 after the first round in Truckee, California, and sits on top of the leaderboard. The highlight of his day came on the par-3 third, when he recorded an ace for the first time in his Tour career.

“I was kind of in between clubs,” Hossler said. “I think it was like 211, but at altitude it’s playing like 190. I hit 7-iron and it landed in a good spot and it went in. It looked like it was the only hole on Tour this year that had no camera.”

In addition to his ace, Hossler also made eagle on the par-5 sixth. Two holes, +10 (as eagles are worth five points) on the scorecard and a first-round lead.

He shot 7-under 64 in stroke play with four birdies (worth two points each), the two eagles and a lone bogey (golfers lose a point for bogeys). Hossler hasn’t won in his Tour career but does have two runner-up finishes.

“My game feels probably the best it’s felt in years right now, which is good,” Hossler said. “Maybe the results haven’t quite been there the last few weeks, but I feel like I’m working on some good stuff with my golf swing. Starting to see some a lot better iron play the last probably two weeks. So, hopefully, I can keep doing that and get the putter hot.”

Alexander Levy sits second after the morning wave at +16. Carson Young and Patrick Rodgers are at +15. The Barracuda is the lone event on the Tour schedule to use the Modified Stableford scoring system.

2022 Barracuda Championship prize money payouts for each PGA Tour, DP World Tour player

The Barracuda Championship is the only PGA Tour event played opposite a major during the 2021-22 season.

The Barracuda Championship is the only PGA Tour event to use the Modified Stableford scoring system. It’s also the only PGA Tour event opposite a major championship during the 2021-22 season, and Chez Reavie made the most of the opportunity.

The former Arizona State golfer won his third PGA Tour title at the Old Greenwood golf course at Tahoe Mountain Club at scenic Truckee, California.

Reavie started the final round with a six-point lead and held on for a one-point win over Alex Noren. Reavie, 40, is the oldest winner on the PGA Tour this season.

The event is one of three that is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour as part of the strategic alliance forged by the two governing bodies, and Reavie also earned spots on both tours through the 2024 seasons.

Pos. Player Score Winnings
1 Chez Reavie 43 $666,000
2 Alex Noren 42 $403,300
3 Martin Laird 38 $255,300
4 Mark Hubbard 37 $181,300
5 Scott Gutschewski 35 $151,700
6 Cameron Davis 34 $134,125
7 Hurly Long 33 $124,875
8 Austin Smotherman 31 $115,625
T9 Maverick McNealy 30 $104,525
T9 Michael Thompson 30 $104,525
T11 Harry Higgs 28 $89,725
T11 Taylor Pendrith 28 $89,725
T13 Sean Crocker 27 $72,458
T13 Nick Hardy 27 $72,458
T13 Marcus Helligkilde 27 $72,458
T16 Joshua Creel 26 $58,275
T16 Brice Garnett 26 $58,275
T16 Espen Kofstad 26 $58,275
T16 Justin Lower 26 $58,275
T20 Nino Bertasio 25 $47,175
T20 Yannik Paul 25 $47,175
T22 Stephan Jaeger 24 $37,185
T22 Scott Jamieson 24 $37,185
T22 Callum Tarren 24 $37,185
T22 Kevin Tway 24 $37,185
T26 Bill Haas 23 $27,565
T26 James Hahn 23 $27,565
T26 James Morrison 23 $27,565
T26 Greyson Sigg 23 $27,565
T26 Julian Suri 23 $27,565
T31 Michael Gligic 22 $21,169
T31 Chesson Hadley 22 $21,169
T31 Charley Hoffman 22 $21,169
T31 Kelly Kraft 22 $21,169
T31 Henrik Norlander 22 $21,169
T31 Matthieu Pavon 22 $21,169
T31 Vincent Whaley 22 $21,169
38 Matthias Schmid 21 $17,575
T39 Joseph Bramlett 20 $15,355
T39 David Hearn 20 $15,355
T39 Francesco Laporta 20 $15,355
T39 Martin Trainer 20 $15,355
T39 Aaron Cockerill 20 $15,355
T44 Rafael Cabrera Bello 19 $12,025
T44 Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez 19 $12,025
T44 Richy Werenski 19 $12,025
T44 Ashun Wu 19 $12,025
T48 Rasmus Hojgaard 18 $10,064
T48 Pep Angles 18 $10,064
T50 Mark Baldwin 17 $9,109
T50 Fabian Gomez 17 $9,109
T50 Ben Kohles 17 $9,109
T50 Michael Lorenzo-Vera 17 $9,109
T50 Cameron Percy 17 $9,109
T55 Kevin Chappell 16 $8,584
T55 John Huh 16 $8,584
T55 Jim Knous 16 $8,584
T55 Seung Yul Noh 16 $8,584
59 Lucas Bjerregaard 15 $8,399
T60 Ricky Barnes 14 $8,214
T60 Austin Cook 14 $8,214
T60 Bo Hoag 14 $8,214
T60 Chad Ramey 14 $8,214
64 David Lingmerth 13 $8,029
T65 Taylor Moore 12 $7,881
T65 Scott Piercy 12 $7,881
T65 Chase Seiffert 12 $7,881
68 Bo Van Pelt 10 $7,733
69 Jason Dufner 8 $7,659
70 Sung-Hoon Kang 7 $7,585
71 Preston Stanley 5 $7,511

Barracuda Championship: Leaderboard
More: PGA Tour all-time money list

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Chez Reavie wins 2022 Barracuda Championship, becomes oldest golfer to win on PGA Tour this season

Chez Reavie adds the Barracuda Championship to his PGA Tour resume.

TRUCKEE, Calif. — After several lead changes on the back nine, Chez Reavie clamped down when he needed to and emerged as the champion.

Reavie picked up his third win on the PGA Tour when he took the Barracuda Championship on Sunday at the Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood golf course.

Reavie finished plus-43 points after picking up 6 in Sunday’s final round. He edged Alex Noren, who was second with plus-42.

Reavie, 40, is the oldest player won in the PGA Tour this year. This was his third career win on the Tour. He also had the lead after three rounds in his two previous wins.

Reavie had plus-37 points after Saturday’s round, but struggled a bit on his front nine Sunday.

He said staying patient was the key.

“I knew I was going to have to. I knew some guys were going to make a lot of birdies early. I was hoping to be one of those guys, but the putter was kind of letting me down early,” Reavie said. “Just tried to keep it as close as I could to the hole and give myself some good looks.”

2022 Barracuda Championship
Chez Reavie kisses the championship trophy after winning the 2022 Barracuda Championship at Tahoe Mt. Club’s Old Greenwood in Truckee, California. (Photo: Tom R. Smedes/Special to Reno Gazette-Journal)

Reavie said he didn’t look at the score until after the first nine, but then started checking every other hole.

He picked up 300 points in the standings and moved up to 49th in the FedEx Cup rankings with the win. He also won $666,000 for his efforts.

He also won the 2008 RBC Canadian Open and the Travelers Championship in 2019.

Noren scored 14 points on Sunday. He was making his 132nd PGA Tour start and was trying to become the Barracuda’s sixth straight first-time winner.

Noren, from Stockholm, Sweden, turned 40 last week. He had been the first alternate at the British Open, but decided to play in the Barracuda, thinking nobody would drop out at St. Andrews.

He said the Old Greenwood course was a little tricky Sunday as the wind picked up early and held steady most of the day

“It’s been a roller coaster of a week, obviously, but when you make the cut, you think, well, this is a great week anyway, and then I played good on the weekend and had a blast,” Noren said. “If it was another tournament, I might not have gone there, but I just love this week, and I wanted to have a vacation at home with the kids before the Playoffs start. I wanted to be able to grab some points, either at the Open or here. I didn’t want to just sit out the Open and then having to add a week.”

Martin Laird was third with plus-38 points; Mark Hubbard took fourth with plus-37 and Scott Gutschewski was fifth with plus-35.

Reavie is the first player 40 or older to win on the PGA Tour since Lucas Glover at the 2021 John Deere Classic.

He finished 43rd last year at the Barracuda and his best finish in the event was 42nd in 2009.

The Barracuda went to the Modified Stableford scoring system in 2012.

This was Laird’s best finish of the season.

He played with Reavie on Sunday and said the wind gusts made it a little tougher than earlier in the week.

Both Reavie and Laird said they plan to play in the 3M tournament in Minnesota this week.

Laird said getting away form the golf course for a while earlier in the week paid off for him.

“I feel like my game has been pretty good for a while. It was funny this week, my family has been out and I’ve literally not done any practice, just had a very relaxed week and had my best week of the year. There’s a lot to be said for that,” Laird said. “Sometimes we kind of get stuck in a rut and almost try and practice our way out of it, and sometimes it’s the opposite; you just need to kind of get away. I’m kind of going to take that philosophy the next few week and just kind of be a lot more relaxed and go and enjoy it.”

It was his first time playing at Old Greenwood.

“I really enjoyed the old venue, but this Old Greenwood golf course is fantastic. It’s a really good fun golf course for this format, so look forward to coming back,” he said.

What about 2023?

The dates for next year’s Barracuda have not been set. This is the last year on the current contract with Barracuda as the tournament title sponsor.

Tournament director Chris Hoff told the Reno Gazette-Journal that negotiations are ongoing and he said it is likely that Barracuda will return as the title sponsor.

“We’re in renewal talks with them right now,” Hoff said. “We’re optimistic and they’ve had a great time this week and the last nine years have been incredible.”

The deal to hold the tournament at the Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood course runs through 2023.

In August 2021, it was announced that from 2022 onward, the event would become a co-sanctioned event with the European Tour.

Scoring

The Barracuda Championship is employing the Modified Stableford scoring format, the first PGA Tour event to use the format since The International in 2006. Players are allocated points based on the number of strokes taken at each hole with the goal of achieving the highest overall score. Albatross +8, Eagle +5, Birdie +2, Par 0, Bogey -1, Double bogey or worse -3. It’s the only PGA Tour event to use the scoring format.

Streak broken

The last six winners of the Barracuda Championship were first-time PGA Tour winners.

  • 2016 Greg Chalmers
  • 2017 Chris Stroud
  • 2018 Andrew Putnam
  • 2019 Collin Morikawa
  • 2020 Richy Werenski
  • 2021 Erik van Rooyen

It was the longest streak on Tour.

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‘I didn’t think anybody would withdraw’: British Open first alternate Alex Noren, who skipped St. Andrews, is in contention at Barracuda Championship

Alex Noren: “Golf is a long career, and I’ve played a lot of British Opens, and I’ll get to play it again.”

TRUCKEE, Calif. — Chez Reavie continues to tear up the golf course, and Alex Noren has some added incentive this week.

Reavie leads the PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship with plus-37 points at the Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood course, where they are using the Modified Stableford scoring system.

Martin Laird is next with plus-31 and Noren is tied with Cam Davis, both at plus-28 points.

But Noren was oh-so-close to playing in the year’s final men’s major, the British Open at St. Andrews.

Noren had been the first alternate for the British Open, but decided to fly to California to play in the Barracuda instead.

“I didn’t think anybody would withdraw,” Noren said Friday. “They actually did, and sad for them, but also I wanted to play this.”

When Justin Rose withdrew from the Open, that opened a spot that would have gone to Noren. Instead that spot went to Rikuya Hoshino. Erik van Rooyen, who won the Barracuda in 2021 to earn a spot in the 2022 Open Championship, also withdrew before the Open started.

“I wanted to get some more points. I’ve got three weeks of training after this before the [FexEx Cup] playoffs, and I wanted to play this week, and maybe that mindset made me have a little less patience that I needed this time. Golf is a long career, and I’ve played a lot of British Opens, and I’ll get to play it again.”

Noren tried to forget about what might have been and simply went to work at Old Greenwood, posting a score of plus-28 points through three rounds.

He admits it’s hard to escape the British Open, because it’s on TVs everywhere he goes around Truckee.

He said being contention in the Barracuda, somewhat eases the pain of missing The Open.

“Every time they show ‘The Open’ on TV, I get frustrated, but I love coming here. I think it’s one of the best courses on the Tour and a great tournament. It’s very enjoyable to play,” Noren said.

Noren, 40, is ranked No. 66 in the world, No. 75 in the FedEx Cup rankings.

Reavie, meanwhile, had his first bogey of the Barracuda on No. 15 on Saturday, this after he had five birdies in the third round. He said he expects to feel some nervousness on Sunday, while he waits for his afternoon tee time.

“I have to spend an hour or two at home just calming myself down because I’m so looking forward to coming out here and competing,” Reavie said. “I can come out here and try too hard if I get too excited.”

Reavie, who played golf at Arizona State, is one of only two PGA Tour golfers from that school who have not defected to the LIV Tour, along with John Rahm. Fellow former ASU golfers Phil Mickelson, Paul Casey, Pat Perez and Matt Jones have all jumped to the LIV.

Big leap

Michael Thompson had nine birdies, and nine pars, and totaled 18 points on Saturday. He has plus-26 points heading into Sunday’s final round.

Joshua Creel had two eagles on Saturday, on holes No. 8 and 16 and picked up 11 points on the day. He has plus -26 points through three rounds.

Harry Higgs also earned 11 points on Saturday, thanks to three birdies and an eagle. He is at plus-26 points heading into Sunday. Higgs said he is better off if he can avoid chipping.

“I’ve hit a lot of good iron shots and holed some kind of bonus putts. The first day I just hit a few balls just into a spot where I had to chip out,” Higgs said. “But this format is kind of fun. You can kind of get away with that.”

He enjoys the feeling of smashing the ball on his tee shots and watching it fly farther than it does at most golf courses he plays at.

“It’s fun when it gets in the fairways, too; you can hit a long, long way out here, bouncing and rolling and flying a little further with the altitude,” Higgs said.

Higgs said he has not played well this season and is worrying too much about the little things going wrong.

“I’ve just not been sharp, not been playing good golf, not been kind of playing like myself,” he said. “My attitude has been horrible. I’ve been pissing and moaning about little things that go wrong and then that builds and builds and builds. Been playing on the cut line way too much all year. I view myself as much, much better than that. But obviously there comes a time where talk is cheap and you’re now going to have to show it, more so to myself.”

Scoring

The Barracuda Championship is employing the Modified Stableford scoring format, the first PGA Tour event to use the format since The International in 2006. Players are allocated points based on the number of strokes taken at each hole with the goal of achieving the highest overall score.

Albatross +8, Eagle +5, Birdie +2, Par 0, Bogey -1, Double bogey or worse -3.

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Chez Reavie has blistering round Friday, takes lead at 2022 Barracuda Championship

He was one of the first players on the course and Chez Reavie did not waste time.

TRUCKEE, Calif. – He was one of the first players on the course and Chez Reavie did not waste time.

Reavie scored 19 points in Friday’s second round and surged into the lead at the PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship at the Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood golf course.

Reavie, 40, from Wichita, Kansas, who played his college golf at Arizona State, has plus-28 points after two rounds. Mark Hubbard and Henrik Norlander are tied for second with plus-25 points.

Reavie had seven birdies and an eagle on No. 6, and no bogeys on Friday.

The eagle, his second of the week, came after he chipped in from just off the green.

He said it was a little colder out, starting so early. Reavie teed off at 7:18 a.m. local time Friday, and his shots were not flying quite as far as they did Thursday when he started later in the day.

“Fortunately we kind of noticed that on the range and adjusted for it, and I was lucky enough to just trust the numbers, the clubs that we picked, and then as it warmed up, it kind of gradually kind of started getting closer to what it was yesterday afternoon,” Reavie said.

He said staying in the fairways and out of the rough is key to doing well at Old Greenwood because the greens are so firm.

Hubbard, 33, had seven birdies and two bogeys on Friday, en route to scoring 12 points.

He played basketball at San Jose State and had a few friends from there up at Old Greenwood to watch him play golf this week.

Hubbard is winless on the PGA Tour. He was third last week in Kentucky in the Barbasol Championship.

Hubbard agreed with Reavie that the early start Friday morning took some adjusting.

“It was tough early, man, with the cold and the elevation. It’s hard to know how far the ball is going, and it seemed like every pin on our front nine, the back nine, was front with water short, so you couldn’t really play with it,” he said. “So it was just tough to get the ball close early. Once it heated up and started going another 10 percent I started making some birdies.”

2022 Barracuda Championship
Martin Laird putts on the 18th green during the second round of the 2022 Barracuda Championship at Old Greenwood in Truckee, California. (Photo: Jason Bean/Reno Gazette Journal)

Norlander, who has been working with a sports psychologist, is in his best position after 36 holes this season.

“First of all, I’m pretty excited to not make travel plans on Friday afternoon. That’s been sort of what I’ve been doing every Friday the last few weeks,” Norlander said. “But yeah, it’s a lot of pressure. I’m going to be nervous, but I believe I’m ready for it. … That’s why I practice, and I’m ready for the challenge.”

Under the Modified Stableford scoring system, players receive eight points for albatross, five for eagle and two for birdie. A point is deducted for bogey and three taken away for double bogey or worse.

Kevin Tway is in fourth with plus-21 points, followed by Nino Bertasio, Maverick McNealy and Martin Trainer, each on the leaderboard with plus-19 points.

The cut was at plus-7 points with 70 players making it to keep playing on the weekend.

Noren was been the first alternate for the British Open this week, but decided to fly to California instead to play in the Barracuda.

When Justin Rose withdrew from the British Open, the final major of the year, that opened a spot that would have gone to Noren. Instead that spot went to Rikuya Hoshino.

Noren played nine holes of a practice round at St. Andrews, before flying to California.

“I didn’t think anybody would withdraw. They actually did, and sad for them, but also I wanted to play this,” Noren said. “I wanted to get some more points. I’ve got three weeks of training after this before the playoffs, and I wanted to play this week, and maybe that mindset made me have a little less patience that I needed this time. Golf is a long career, and I’ve played a lot of British Opens, and I’ll get to play it again.”

Erik van Rooyen, who won the Barracuda Championship last year, also withdrew from the British Open.

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Ollie Osborne, with his brother on the bag, making PGA Tour debut at Barracuda Championship

Ollie Osborne settled in at the Barracuda Championship, but he has work to do to make the cut.

TRUCKEE, Calif. — After a bit of a rough start, Ollie Osborne settled in and found his game.

Osborne, a 2017 graduate of nearby Bishop Manogue High School, is making his PGA Tour debut this week in the Barracuda Championship at Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood golf course.

Osborne started his round Thursday with three bogeys on his first four holes, four on the front nine, and a double bogey on No. 7.

But he also mixed in two birdies on the front nine, then two more on the back, including on No. 18, to finish his round with +2 points in the Modified Stableford scoring system.

Golfers earn eight points for a double eagle, five for an eagle, two for a birdie and zero for a par. Golfers lose a point for a bogey and three points for a double bogey or worse. The top 65 and ties make the cut after Friday’s second round.

Osborne, 22, who had a large gallery following him around the course, played in the Barracuda as an amateur in 2019, the last time it was held at Montreux Golf & Country Club.

He graduated from SMU this past spring and turned pro. Playing on a sponsor exemption this year, he finished as runner-up in the 2020 U.S. Amateur, which earned him a spot in the Masters and U.S. Open in 2021.

“I didn’t play too well, but I feel a lot more comfortable out there, especially after having a couple Tour starts,” Osborne said. “I was feeling confident going in, so hopefully I can do (Friday) what I did to end (Thursday). I got off to a tough start but I was able to bring it back a little bit.”

Osborne was at minus-5 points on his front nine, but he said battling back like he did helps his mindset for Friday.

He had played Old Greenwood three times before this week.

His older brother, Stephen, who played golf in college at Nevada, is his caddie this week and he is more familiar with the course.

2022 Barracuda Championship
Ollie Osborne putts on No. 18 in the first round of the 2022 Barracuda Championship at Old Greenwood golf course in Truckee, California. (Photo: Jim Krajewski/Reno Gazette Journal)

Ollie said having so much family and friends supporting him on the course also helps his attitude.

“It was a lot of fun, especially when you make a putt and you hear a couple claps,” he said.

He is tied for 80th place in the 164-player field (as of 6 p.m. Thursday).

As for the leaders

Mark Hubbard and Charley Hoffman are tied for the lead with +13 points. They each made seven birdies Thursday.

Three players are tied for second with +12 points: Brice Garnett, Sean Crocker and Aaron Cockerill.

Maverick McNealy, Jim Knous, Henrick Norlander, Michael Gligic and Callum Tarren are next, each with +11 points.

Former champions

There are nine former Barracuda champions in the field this week: Richy Werenski (2020), Andrew Putnam (2018), Chris Stroud (2017), Greg Chalmers (2016), JJ Henry (2012 and 2015), Geoff Ogilvy (2014), Scott Piercy (2011), Parker McLachlin (2008) Vaughn Taylor (2004 and 2005).

Ogilvy finished with-4 points Thursday, Henry is at +4, Stroud at +5, Werenski at +6, Putnam at -2, McLachlin is at -12, Chalmers is at +5; Ogilvy at -4, Piercy is at +8 and Taylor is at +4 .

Ogilvy, an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour, is making his first start on the Tour since 2018. He received a sponsor exemption into the field this week. He made three starts in Australia earlier this year.

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Barracuda Championship is first PGA Tour stop to accept cryptocurrency for tickets

The Barracuda Championship is the first PGA Tour event to accept cryptocurrency payments for tickets.

Celebrities got things started last week with a raucous party-type atmosphere at Edgewood Tahoe, where Tony Romo came out a winner.

Now, golf in the area gets a little more serious as PGA Tour pros arrive in Truckee, California, for the 24th Barracuda Championship.

The four-day event begins Thursday at the Tahoe Mountain Club on the Old Greenwood course.

Six former Barracuda champions are in the opposite-field event: Richy Werenski (2020), Andrew Putnam (2018), Chris Stroud (2017), Greg Chalmers (2016), JJ Henry (2012) and Scott Piercy (2011).

Local standout Ollie Osborne, a Bishop Manogue High School graduate who later played at SMU, is in the field on a sponsor exemption.

David Longmire, who won the 2022 Reno Open, a mini-tour event, in June, also earned a spot in the tournament.

One player who will not be at the Barracuda is defending champion Eric van Rooyen. He earned his first career PGA Tour win at the 2021 Barracuda Championship and that earned him a spot in the British Open this week at St. Andrews.

He became the first player with a winning score of +50 since the Modified Stableford scoring system was introduced in 2012. He is the sixth consecutive first-time winner of the Barracuda Championship but the first since Collin Morikawa in 2019 to win the tournament in his debut.

Van Rooyen’s score of +50 (+7/+17/+10/+16), set a record for the Modified Stableford format event. Geoff Ogilvy finished the 2014 Barracuda at +49.

The Barracuda is the only PGA Tour event that uses that scoring system. It’s also the only Tour stop held opposite a major championship.

The field includes 50 players from the DP World Tour.

Top players to watch

Maverick McNealy, who has top-20 finishes in back-to-back events, and is the 12-1 favorite according to Tipico. McNealy ranks third in eagles, 18th in birdie average and 34th in scoring average this year.

Other top contenders include Alex Noren, Cam Davis, Mark Hubbard and Taylor Pendrith.

Hubbard is coming off his best finish of the season with a third place at the Barbasol Championship. He has made 14 cuts with six top-25 finishes in 18 events.

Noren, who is from Sweden, has 11 wins as a professional, none on the PGA Tour, with most in Europe. He finished ninth in the Barracuda in 2020. He’s coming off a 30th-place finish at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open, which ended a streak of missed cuts in three straight tournaments.

Fans watch the 2020 Barracuda Championship at Tahoe Mt. Club’s Old Greenwood golf course from a back porch in Truckee, California. (Photo: Tom R. Smedes/Special to Reno Gazette Journal)

Matthias Schwab could be another top player to watch this week, although he is listed at 35-1 odds. He’s coming off a 16th-place finish at the John Deere Classic. Schwab was in eighth after three rounds before shooting 1 over in his final round. Schwab earned his PGA Tour card last year and has three top-10 finishes in his rookie year. He has made 14 of 18 cuts, with five top-25 finishes this season.

More top contenders include Rasmus Hojgaard, who finished tied for 10th at the Scottish. He has only missed one cut through 12 starts on the DP World Tour and ranks 11th in driving distance for the season. Cam Davis is coming off an eight-place finish with four rounds in the 60s at the John Deere.

A first for crypto

The Barracuda Championship is the first PGA Tour event to accept cryptocurrency payments for tickets as well as hospitality and sponsorship packages. More than 300 different cryptocurrency are accepted, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin.

“We are incredibly excited to take this first step in innovating the sport we all know and love, and to offer our spectators a new way to enjoy the tournament,” said tournament director Chris Hoff. “The professional golf landscape continues to innovate and evolve, and we are honored to usher the PGA Tour into this new space.”

The Barracuda is also offering an exclusive VIP experience only to those golf fans who purchase with cryptocurrency. The VIP package will include private hospitality, an official tournament pro-am team and honorary observer experiences.

Tee times

Begin approximately 7 a.m. local (10 a.m. ET) Thursday and Friday and 8:30 a.m. local (11:30 a.m.) Saturday and Sunday after the 156-player field is cut to the top 65 and ties.

Modified Stableford scoring

The Barracuda is the only PGA Tour event to use the scoring system, in which players earn points for aggressive play.

A double eagle is worth 8 points, an eagle is worth 5, a birdie earns a golfer 2, par is 0 points, bogey is minus 1 and double bogey or worse is minus 3.

Purse

The purse is $3.7 million with $666,000 going to the winner.

TV

The Golf Channel will televise the Barracuda on Thursday and Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. ET, Saturday and Sunday from 6 to 9 p.m. ET.

Past winners

1999 Notah Begay III

2000 Scott Verplank

2001 John Cook

2002 Chris Riley

2003 Kirk Triplett

2004 Vaughn Taylor

2005 Vaughn Taylor

2006 Will MacKenzie

2007 Steve Flesch

2008 Parker McLachlin

2009 John Rollins

2010 Matt Bettencourt

2011 Scott Piercy

2012 J.J. Henry

2013 Gary Woodland

2014 Geoff Ogilvy

2015 J.J. Henry

2016 Greg Chalmers

2017 Chris Stroud

2018 Andrew Putnam

2019 Collin Morikawa

2020 Richy Werenski

2021 Erik van Rooyen

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PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship has always faced stiff competition, but the Olympics, too?

The Barracuda, which announced dates of Aug. 5-8, will be played during the final stages of the Summer Olympics in Japan.

The Barracuda Championship golf tournament is used to going up against some big-time opposition for fans’ attention.

The 2021 edition, though, will be facing a unique competitor on the sports calendar. The Barracuda, which announced dates of Aug. 5-8 earlier this week, will be played during the final stages of the Summer Olympics in Japan.

The PGA Tour’s Barracuda event has been played for 22 years, first at Montreux Golf & Country Club in Reno, then switching to Truckee’s Tahoe Mountain Club last year. It has often been scheduled across from other big events, typically stops on the prestigious World Golf Championship calendar.

The 2020 edition of the Barracuda Championship was the first to be held at the Tahoe Mountain Club in Truckee.

The Summer Olympics were originally scheduled for this year, but were postponed due to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. The Games are currently scheduled for July 23 to Aug. 8, 2021, in Tokyo.

The PGA Tour announced its 2020-21 schedule Wednesday, featuring 50 “regular-season” events — the most since 1975 (51). The Barracuda will once again be opposite a WGC event, as the St. Jude Invitational in Memphis is scheduled for the same dates.

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Richy Werenski is the defending Barracuda champion, winning last month’s event by a single point over two-time runner-up Troy Merritt.

Werenski made an eagle on the par-4 No. 16, for +5 points, and then made a birdie on No. 18.

Werenski, who is getting married in December, grabbed the lead on the 18th hole with a birdie for +2 points. He finished with +39 points.

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