Barracuda Championships ready at Old Greenwood!

The 2020 Barracuda Championships PGA Tour event is being played this week at Old Greenwood in Truckee for the first time after previously being held at the Montreux Country Club in Reno. No spectators are allowed at the tournament.

The tournament was originally scheduled over the Fourth of July weekend. I am looking forward to the event as I have played Old Greenwood numerous times and am excited to see both how the players tackle the course that has three drivable par 4’s, as well as how the beautiful course translates to TV.

Here are some notes pre-tournament:

Course: Tahoe Mountain Club (Old Greenwood) Par/Yards: 36-35—71/7,390 yards

Field: 132

2019 champion: Collin Morikawa

Purse: $3,500,000/$630,000 (winner)

FedExCup: 300 points to the winner

Format: 72-hole Modified Stableford

Things to Know

  • Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood Golf Course hosts the Barracuda Championship for the first time after 21 consecutive years at Montreux Golf and Country Club south of Reno.
  • With just three weeks (four events) remaining until the FedExCup Playoffs, all but three players ranked 126-135 in the FedExCup are in the field
  • Notable players in the field include PLAYERS champions Si Woo Kim, Martin Kaymer and FedExCup champion Bill Haas
  • The top two players, not otherwise exempt, in the top 10 and ties will earn a spot in the 2020 U.S. Open
  • First player who scores a double eagle on No. 12 in each round will receive a $100,00 charitable donation in his name
  • 62 PGA TOUR winners accounting for 127 wins
  • Players in the top 30 of the FedExCup: Lanto Griffin (10), Sebastain Munoz (14)
  • FedExCup champion: Bill Haas (2011)
  • Major champions: Martin Kaymer (2), Shaun Micheel (1)
  • THE PLAYERS champions: Si Woo Kim (2017), Martin Kaymer (2014),
  • Past champions of the Barracuda Championship: Greg Chalmers (2016), Chris Stroud (2017), John Rollins (2009), Parker McLachlin (2008), Vaughn Taylor (2004, 2005)

A look back at the 2019 Barracuda Championship

  • Morikawa birdied four of his last five holes to earn his maiden PGA TOUR victory in sixth professional start
  • Morikawa won as Special Temporary Member and earned TOUR membership to claim two-year exemption
  • The Barracuda Championship changed its format from stroke play to Modified Stableford in 2012, a format not utilized on the PGA TOUR since The INTERNATIONAL ended after 2006. The Modified Stableford scoring system allocates points based on the number of strokes taken at each hole, with the goal of achieving the highest overall number of points. The tournament includes a 36-hole cut of low 65 and ties.

The following is a breakdown of how points are awarded in a Modified Stableford scoring system:

Double eagle: +8 points; Eagle: +5 points; Birdie: +2 points; Par: 0 points; Bogey: -1 point; Double bogey or worse: -3 points

Featured Player Notes:

Lanto Griffin (FedExCup No. 10, World No. 85)

  • Highest FedExCup-ranked player in the field (No. 10)
  • Highlighted by his maiden TOUR win at the 2019 Houston Open, owns two additional top-10s in the 2019- 20 season (T7/Sony Open in Hawaii, T9/AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am)
  • Making second start at Barracuda Championship (T26/2018)

Jhonattan Vegas (FedExCup No. 126, World No. 151)

  • Makes fifth appearance at the Barracuda Championship (2014/MC, 2015/T47, 2016/T53, 2019/WD)
  • Enters the week No. 126 in the FedExCup standings; seeks to enter the FedExCup Playoffs for the seventh time and fifth consecutive
  • Notched two top-25 finishes since the Return to Golf (T17/RBC Heritage, T24 Travelers Championship)

Si Woo Kim (FedExCup No. 134, World No. 128)

  • Youngest winner of THE PLAYERS Championship (2017) at the age of 21 years, 10 months, 16 days
  • Two-time PGA TOUR winner (2016 Wyndham Championship, 2017 THE PLAYERS)
  • Enters the week No. 134 in the standings, seeking to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs and advance to the BMW Championship for the fifth consecutive season
  • Making third start at Barracuda Championship (MC/2013, T35/2016)

Will Gordon

  • Earned PGA TOUR Special Temporary Membership with a T3 finish at the 2020 Travelers Championship, which allows him to seek unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the season in his attempt to earn his TOUR card for the 2020-21 season
  • Graduate of Vanderbilt University, was named the 2019 SEC Player of the Year as a senior

Peter Kuest

  • Playing on a sponsor exemption
  • Making fifth career PGA TOUR start and seeking a first made cut
  • BYU grad won 10 tournaments during his collegiate career and was ranked the No. 1 NCAA golfer in Fall of 2019

Sahith Theegala

  • Playing on a sponsor exemption
  • Making sixth career PGA TOUR start and has one made cut (T49/2017 The Genesis Invitational—amateur)
  • The Pepperdine grad won the Fred Haskins Award, the Ben Hogan Award and the Jack Nicklaus Award in 2020 – marking the fifth time in the last 30 years that one player has grabbed all three honors, the last coming in 2014 with Stanford’s Patrick Rodgers

Barracuda Bonus

  • The first player to post a double eagle on No. 12 (8 Stableford points) in each round will receive a $100,000 charitable donation in his name. Half of all charity dollars will go to local Reno-Tahoe charities (which the tournament will direct) and the remaining 50% will be directed to a 501(c)(3) of the winning player’s choice.

Dennis Miller