Preview

Course Info

Opened in 2004, Old Greenwood is a Jack Nicklaus designed course.  It hosts the Barracuda Championship for the first time, the event having been played at Montreux Golf & Country Club in recent times.

Normally a par 72, the course will play as a 71 for the pros with three par 5s and four 3s.  The most significant factor to be aware of is the altitude, with the course being situated 6,000 feet above sea level.  The ball will fly further and players who have proven experience of playing at such elevation will be at an advantage.

Old Greenwood is a classic risk reward course with three driveable par 4s, the 8th, 11th and 16th.  Eagles will very much be up for grabs this week despite there being only three par 5s. 

Significant Info To Be Aware Of

Continue to exercise an abundance of caution (credit: Chase Koepka and the PGA Tour) in relation to Covid-19 related withdrawals.  

This event uses a modified stableford format rather than traditional strokeplay.  The format rewards aggressive play with five points awarded for an eagle, two for a birdie and zero for a par.  Negative points are awarded for bogey or worse.

Trends

The last three champions have been first time winners on the PGA Tour so it is very much a format to side with players looking for a first win.

Stats Analysis

With this being a new course, we cannot provide any insight into the type of player suited.  Aggressive types who make plenty of birdies and eagles are preferred.

In Play

We have no in-play history to draw upon.  However, the format lends itself to leaders and Collin Morikawa was only the second winner who didn't hold at least a share of the 54-hole lead.

Six To Watch

Pat Perez - 50/1 @ Spreadex
Pat isn't seeking his first win on the PGA Tour but his form is trending nicely as he's recorded finishes of 45-39-23 in his last three starts.  He ranked 19th in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green last week at the 3M Open and had a 2nd place in this format in 2011.  He's a three-time PGA Tour winner who can go close.

Robbie Shelton - 80/1 @ William Hill
Robbie did very well at the 3M Open last week. He ranked 2nd Strokes Gained: Tee to Green on his way to 3rd place and given he is a player who can maintain a hot streak, he's one to be kept onside.  He won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour last season and very much fits the bill of a young player looking for his first win on the PGA Tour.

Denny McCarthy - 80/1 @ Betfred
Denny finished 32nd last week but on closer inspection there's reason to think he'll go well here.  He was quoted last week saying he has been working "really hard" and feels like he is playing "really good golf" at the moment.  An aggressive player, he ranks 21st in birdie average this season on the PGA Tour.  He won the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in 2018 and he's ready to make the step up to win on the PGA Tour.

Doug Ghim - 125/1  @ Betfred
Doug is a former amateur number 1 who was the 2018 Ben Hogan award winner, given to the best collegiate golfer in the USA.  Almost every winner of this award has won on tour, so Doug is very much one to keep an eye on in these lower grade events where young players thrive. 
He finished 18th at last week's 3M Open and he has also shown he can play well at altitude, having recorded two of his best three career finishes in these conditions (8th at 2018 Omega European Masters and 3rd at 2018 Country Club de Bogota Championship).  He also has a 23rd at this event in 2018, albeit at a different venue.

Brandon Harkins - 125/1  @ Sportingbet
A bit of a punt but Brandon will have a significant advantage over the field as he has played the course over 20 times. His family owned a house in the area.  He's shown a liking for altitude, finishing 9th in this event in 2018 and comes into this having finished 17th last week on the Korn Ferry Tour.  He also boasts a 2nd place and 6th on that tour this season.  The price is a little skinny, but Brandon is a former PGA Tour player who may use this opportunity to catapult him back onto the Tour.  He also has the Nappy Factor going for him, his first son Jackson being born at the end of 2019.

Hank Lebioda - 175/1 @ Spreadex
Hank ranks 28th in holes per eagle on the PGA Tour this season and 6th in par 4 eagles made which may be important given the three driveable par 4s.  He placed 26th at the 3M Open, ranking 10th Strokes Gained: Tee to Green in the process.  He's an improving player who could go well if he putts a little better.

Note - Sam Burns narrowly missed out on the Six to Watch this week and we would suggest he's one to keep an eye on in-play.

In-play

In-Play Blog

1st August 2020

+22 Stanley
+20 Schwab
+20 Streb
+20 Grace
+19 McNealy
+19 Merritt

Kyle Stanley holds the lead going into the weekend at the Barracuda Championship but given he has only a 1 star Pressure Performance Rating, he's very much someone to take on.  The chasing pack are a mix of experienced winners (Grace, Merritt, Grillo) and hopeful maidens (Schwab, McNealy), so it should be an interesting weekend ahead.

We favour two experienced players who appear to be overpriced considering their proven ability to get the job done.

2ptsBranden Grace - 10/1 @ Genting Bet
1ptEach Way (1/4 1,2,3,4) Russell Knox - 25/1 @ Boylesports

With 12 wins in 363 career appearances, Branden is by far the best closer of anyone on this leaderboard.  It is acknowledged that two of those wins have been Sunshine Tour events but the other ten have been European or PGA Tour wins.  He already has a win this season at the South African Open and whilst he has played poorly to date since golf has re-started, he has shown a liking for the course here at altitude.  Branden must be ruing the fact he is not at the WGC event this week and a win here will see him leap up the world rankings.

We noted on our Twitter feed earlier in the week that BetVictor had made Russell their 20/1 joint favourite which was odd considering he was generally 80/1 elsewhere and had missed his last 10 cuts.  However, he seems to have found something here and enters the weekend nicely positioned with 18 points.  We were reluctant to consider him pre-event given his woeful putting, but this format appears to be freeing him up somewhat.  As a former WGC winner, he'll be desperate to get back into the bigger events and this represents a good opportunity for him to do so.  

31st July 2020

+14 Moore
+14 Schenk
+11 Streb
+11 Power
+11 Rodgers


It;s a fairly congested leaderboard after the first round of the Barracuda Championship with 30 players within 6 points (3 birdies) of the leaders, Ryan Moore and Adam Schenk.  Moore goes into the second round as favourite at 6/1 but with the field as bunched as it is at the moment that makes little appeal.  With multiple tour winners lurking just below the leaders, it's hard not to think someone will make a move today at big odds.

1pt Each Way (1/4 1,2,3,4) Lanto Griffin - 50/1 @ William Hill

Lanto has 8 points after the first round and is well within touching distance of the leaders.  He won the Houston Open late last year and given the odds of 50/1 he represents value in a field with this little quality.  Lanto ranks 65th in birdie average this season, slightly above average, and if he can improve on that slightly this week, he has the game to go close.