The party that is the Barracuda Championship in Reno takes place this week at the Montreux Golf and Country Club.
The tournament is an official PGA Tour event, but features the Modified Stableford scoring system that gives fans a different look at a Tour event. The tournament is the second on the schedule this week with the World Golf Association Bridgestone Invitational taking place this week as well.
While the top players in the world will be at the Bridgestone in Ohio, it doesn’t mean the Barracuda won’t be an exciting and fun tournament.
Tournament organizers have turned the week into a party – more tournaments have moved in that direction – offering great food and beverages throughout the week.
The scoring format also makes for a lot of fun.
Rather than counting the total number of strokes taken as in typical stroke play golf, a Modified Stableford involves scoring points based on the number of strokes taken at each hole. Good play earns points and poor play takes away points.
Unlike traditional scoring methods, where the aim is to have the lowest score, the objective in a Modified Stableford is to have the highest score. The number of points awarded on each hole is determined based on comparison of the number of strokes to par. Once a player has taken two strokes more than par, a double bogey, they may pick up their ball as it is then not possible to score any points on that hole and he cannot lose any additional points. They can then resume play on the next hole.
Scoring at the 2017 Barracuda Championship will look like this: Double Eagle: 8 points; Eagle: 5 points; Birdie: 2 points; Par: 0 points; Bogey: -1 point; Double Bogey or more: -3 points.
The field certainly has its share of name players. Defending champion Greg Chalmers is back, as is Angel Cabrera, Camilo Villegas, David Duval, Davis Love III, Hunter Mahan, K.J. Choi, Padraig Harrington and Retief Goosen are a few of the players.
The tournament will be shown on a tape delayed basis on the Golf Channel.
For more information go to www.barracudachampionship.com