It’s another two tournament week on the PGA Tour with the Barracuda Championship in Reno, Nevada, serving as an alternate event to the WGC. That means a less than sparkling field, considering the event also comes a week after the final major of the season. A relatively small field of around 130 golfers will attempt to tame the Montreux Golf and Country Club in the Tour’s only event featuring the Modified Stableford scoring system, which credits points based on how players perform at each hole. Collin Morikawa opened as the betting favorite at online sportsbooks with odds indicating a wide open field.
Odds to Win Barracuda Championship at BookMaker.eu
Collin Morikawa +1000
Martin Kaymer +1800
Martin Laird +2000
Daniel Berger +2000
Emiliano Grillo +2200
Russell Henley +2200
Ryan Palmer +2500
Bill Haas +2500
Sepp Straka +3000
Cameron Tringale +3000
Sam Ryder +3300
Jhonattan Vegas +3500
Denny McCarthy +4000
J.J. Spaun +4000
Robert MacIntyre +4000
Brendan Steele +4000
Andrea Pavan +4500
Pat Perez +4500
Bronson Burgoon +5000
Chris Stroud +5000
Roger Sloan +5000
Wes Roach +5000
Andrew Landry +5000
Beau Hossler +5000
Josh Teater +5500
Troy Merritt +6000
Sebastian Munoz +6000
Sam Saunders +6000
Kelly Kraft +6600
Patrick Rodgers +6600
Richy Werenski +6600
D.J. Trahan +7000
Cameron Davis +7000
Carlos Ortiz +7000
Harris English +7000
Brandon Harkins +7000
Jonas Blixt +7500
Kramer Hickok +8000
Peter Uihlein +8000
Johnson Wagner +8000
Kyoung-Hoon Lee +8000
Hank Lebioda +8000
Jim Herman +8000
Ryan Blaum +8000
Stephan Jaeger +8000
Seamus Power +8000
Zack Sucher +8000
Alex Prugh +8000
Adam Svensson +8000
Tom Hoge +9000
Dominic Bozzelli +9000
Odds Analysis
Collin Morikawa +1000
The field is much similar to that at last week’s Barbasol Championship and if you had the foresight to put some coin on Jim Herman you’d be bankrolled for the rest of the year. This field allows for a big underdog to triumph, but it also gives young studs like Morikawa a chance to shine. Since turning pro, the former top-ranked amateur has placed among the top 36 at five straight events with a back-to-back top-5s. Can he finally reach the plateau and earn instant PGA Tour status with a victory? He’s not a bad choice at a decent price.
Beau Hossler +5000
We’ll let last week’s MC at the Barbasol slide and give Hossler the benefit of the doubt considering he’s played some of his best golf at elevation. The altitude will help level the playing field and Hossler can take advantage of his stellar short game with cruel approach numbers. He’s also not shy about being aggressive, which pays off in the Modified Stableford scoring system.
Sam Saunders +6000
Another player comfortable in the altitude, Saunders hopes to use that to his advantage for his first career Tour victory. Escaping the shadow of his famous grandfather Arnold Palmer, Saunders headed west and spent several years in Colorado while working on his game. He’s come close at the Barracuda with three straight top-10s and recent form saw him go below 70 in all four rounds for a T10 at the John Deere Classic.
Sepp Straka +3000
He’s just 50 percent on the cutline this season, but Straka is playing the best golf of his young career and comes off a career-best solo third at the Barbasol where he went 63-66 over the weekend. That showing comes after a T26 at the John Deere Classic and previous-best T11 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Competing against a similar field as last week, Straka should be a confident player.
Andrea Pavan +4500
With European Tour on hiatus for a few weeks, Pavan has crossed the Atlantic to participate in the Barracuda. He’s also hoping to put last week’s disaster at The Open behind him. We don’t know which Pavan we’re going to get, but if it’s the good one there is a hefty payday at the end. He won the BMW International last month and was T4 at the Scottish Open. In between those starts he had a pair of MCs before also exiting early at Royal Portrush. Despite the inconsistent finishes, his approach game has been strong and that could get him to the top of the field.
Course: Montreux Golf and Country Club – 7,472 yards, Par 72
Elevation is the key word for the week. The host venue since the inaugural playing of the event in 1999 stretches to 7,472 yards at par 72, but when you factor in the distance above sea level the track plays much shorter. You would assume that gives big hitters an advantage but that hasn’t always been the case. Wide fairways eliminate plenty of mistakes off the tee and there aren’t a lot of on-course obstacles to contend with. The biggest issue will be the weather, which has caused a number of variations in scores over the years. It’s going to be hot and we will see afternoon wind gusts playing with the later groups.
TV Coverage: Golf Channel
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