The First Look: Barracuda Championship

The PGA TOUR’s only Modified Stableford event also is granting access to DP World Tour members for the first time as part of the strategic alliance between the two tours. Here's how the format works.

FIELD NOTES: This year’s field has been expanded to 156 golfers to include the top 50 available from the DP World Tour… Former Pepperdine standout Joe Highsmith is amongst the sponsor exemptions. Highsmith finished 10th in this year’s PGA TOUR University Ranking presented by Velocity Global and has finished T2 and T4 in two PGA TOUR Canada starts this season… Ricardo Gouveia will make his second straight PGA TOUR start (and third overall) as part of the group of DP World Tour golfers who are teeing it up at the Barracuda Championship. Gouveia was just two shots back going into Sunday’s final day at the Barbasol Championship… Amongst the group of DP World Tour golfers teeing it up in Tahoe are multi-time winners Rasmus Hojgaard, and Ryder Cupper Alex Noren. Hjogaard and Noren are both making the lengthy commute from Scotland after playing the Genesis Scottish Open… More than 10 PGA TOUR winners will be in the field at Old Greenwood.

FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 300 FedExCup points

COURSE: Tahoe Mt. Club (Old Greenwood), par 71, 7,480 yards. About 50 yards have been added for 2022 from last year’s set up in Lake Tahoe. This is the third year for Old Greenwood to play host to the Barracuda Championship. There are rolling hills, numerous bunkers, and large greens at Old Greenwood, which opened in 2004. With the course set at over 6,000 feet above sea level there are a handful of driveable par 4s but also some beastly holes, like the 631 yard par-5 2nd.

STORYLINES: The Barracuda Championship, like the Barbasol Championship, are contested as PGA TOUR events with exemptions given to 50 DP World Tour players… The Modified Stableford scoring format features eight points for an albatross, five points for an eagle, and two points for a birdie. For a full explanation on the format, click here… There are only three events left before the FedExCup playoffs… Andrew Putnam finished runner-up in Tahoe a year ago and the 2018 champ is back to try to create some more magic. Erik Van Rooyen will not defend his title as he’s competing in The Open.

72-HOLE RECORD: +50, Erik Van Rooyen

18-HOLE RECORD: +22, Kyle Reifers (4th round, 2015), Chad Campbell (3rd round, 2018).

LAST TIME: Erik van Rooyen won his maiden PGA TOUR title thanks to three birdies in his final five holes in Lake Tahoe. He won by a five-point margin over Andrew Putnam. Van Rooyen had a 16-point final day after making six birdies and an eagle. Putnam got off to a blistering start, making an eagle and three birdies in his first four holes but couldn’t keep the momentum going through the back nine. Putnam won this event in 2018. Scott Piercy finished third while 54-hole leader Adam Schenk could only muster a 5-point effort in the final round and finished fourth.

HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET)

TELEVISION: Thursday-Sunday, 6 p.m.-9 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)