Preview
2023 Barracuda Championship Tips
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Event Info
Starts: 20th July 2023
Course: Tahoe Mountain Club, California
Par: 71
Length: 7,480 yards
2022 Champion: Chez Reavie
Barracuda Championship Course Info
Designer: Jack Nicklaus
Used Since: 2020
Fairways: Average (plenty of trees though)
Greens: Bent-Poa blend (average width)
Rough: Only 2 inches this year.
Water Hazards: On 5 holes
Par 5's: 2nd, 6th & 12th
Premium on: Approach play and Putting.
Significant Info
The field is much weaker than regular PGA Tour events as this event is played opposite the Open Championship. In 2021, it was played opposite the WGC FedEx. DP World Tour players have been invited back for a second week running in the States.
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.
2023 Barracuda Championship Weather
Thursday
Sunny with wind speed around 12mph.
Friday
Sunny with wind speed of around 11mph.
Saturday
Sunny with wind speed around 12mph.
Saturday
Sunny with wind speed around 14mph.
2023 Barracuda Championship Trends
Winning Score
Reavie won with 43pts in 2023. Werenski won with a winning score of 39 points in 2021 but Erik Van Rooyen scored the tournament record with 50 points in 2022. Winners have previously needed 40+ points on a different course.
Course Form
Reave was 43rd the year prior to winning in 2022. In 2021, Van Rooyen arrived with no course form but there had only been one edition at the course before he won.
Recent Form
In 2022, Reavie had missed the cut in his last start at John Deere but was 8th the week before that. In 2021, Van Rooyen arrived out of form (58-MC-MC) and runner up Putnam had also missed three cuts in a row. In the previous three years, every winner of the Barracuda has finished in the top 8 in their last start prior to their victory. However, the three champions prior to that had a terrible recent record, none of them bettering 63rd in their last start.
World Ranking
Reavie was 196th in 2022 whilst Van Rooyen was ranked 110th in the world in 2021 whereas runner up Putnam was 175th.
In 2020, Werenski was world number 210. The 2019 champion, Collin Morikawa, was 172nd. In the five years prior to that we've seen rankings of 138rd, 413th, 490th and 416th. Due to the unique nature of the event and weak field, surprises can and do happen.
Nationality
Americans have won six of the last nine events. The other three winners were Australian (2) and South African.
2023 Barracuda Championship Stats Analysis
We look at the stats of the 2022 winner and the top two in 2021 and 2020.
Driving Accuracy
Reavie was 1st in 2022. In 2021, EVR ranked 35th and Runner Up Putnam ranked 57th. In 2020, Werenski ranked 52nd. Troy Merritt (who was runner up) was 34th.
Driving Distance
Reavie was 60th in 2022. EVR ranked 42nd and Putnam ranked 81st. We have no driving distance stats from the 2020 event.
Greens In Regulation
Reavie was 7th last year. EVR ranked 3rd and Putnam ranked 1st. In 2020, Werenski was 8th and Merritt was 11th. GIR looks the key stat this week.
Scrambling
No stats available for Reavie. EVR ranked 41st and Putnam ranked 8th. In 2020, Werenski was 61st and Merritt was 52nd.
Putts per GIR
No stats available for Reavie. EVR ranked 4th and Putnam ranked 29th. In 2020, Werenski was 11th and Merritt was 27th. Putting well is required in a low scoring format.
2023 Barracuda Championship In-Play Tips
Tough Holes
The 10th, 15th and 17th have played as the three hardest holes.
Birdie Holes
The three par 5's are all birdie opportunities, along with the short par 4 8th hole.
Closing Stretch
It's a tough finish as the 17th played 3rd hardest and 18th played 7th hardest.
Fast or Slow Start
It is possible to recover from a slow start at this course. Reavie was 4pts behind after round one but in 2021, Van Rooyen was 9pts behind after round one but the eventual top 4 were all in the top 10 after 36 holes.
In 2020, none of the top four scored more than nine points after round one (round one leader scored 14 points). Werenski was five points behind at halfway and he was seven points behind through 54 holes.
2023 Barracuda Championship Tips
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In-play
Barracuda Championship In-Play Blog
23rd July 2023, 1:30pm (UK time)
| Player | Total |
|---|
| Rodgers |
+34 |
| Gerard |
+33 |
| Bhatia |
+31 |
| Hossler |
+30 |
| Dahmen |
+29 |
| Champ |
+28 |
| Three players tied |
+27 |
2023 Barracuda Championship Round 3 Summary
Patrick Rodgers looked like he was going to fall away through the opening nine but an eagle at the twelth hole and two birdies in his final three holes gave him a one point lead with one round to go.
Notable Round 3 Barracuda Championship Quotes
"I didn't hit it very well at all today. I didn't really make too many putts besides the one on 13, I think. So just a lot of a grind out there today. Course got pretty tough, pretty firm. Greens got really bumpy towards the end, which is going to happen in the afternoon. So just really tried to stay patient, kept myself in it, even though I didn't really have my best game or anything near it." Ryan Gerard
" I felt like I was really close to having a great day. My tee shot on 10 got a bad break and I'm a few points from having a really, really solid round. I thought the golf course played a little bit more tricky today. But I'm loving the way that I'm driving it. I'm giving myself tons of opportunities to score. A lot of birdie and eagle looks. In this format I'm going to have to do the same tomorrow." Patrick Rodgers
2023 Barracuda Championship Round 4 Weather
Sunny. Max wind 14mph.
Back or Fade The Favourite?
Patrick Rodgers is the 23/10 favourite and we're looking to take him on.
As we mentioned yesterday, Rodgers has been inside the top 10 five times going into the final round since May 2022 and failed to improve his position in each of those occasions. He held the 54 hole lead at the Texas Open in April and RSM Classic at the end of last year and would go on to finish 5th and 10th. The short putts Rodgers missed yesterday don't bode well and he's not a player we trust under pressure.
In-Play Barracuda Championship Bets We Considered
Cameron Champ was yesterday's tip to subscribers and he moved himself into position to strike with one round to go. Given his ability to close out tournaments when in contention, he isn't unreasonable at 14/1.
James Morrison and Martin Trainer are two golfers who are volatile but odds of 66/1 and 50/1 may be worth a small play with concerns surrounding the leader.
Barracuda Championship Round 3 Bets
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22nd July 2023, 10:30am (UK time)
| Player | Total |
|---|
| Gerard |
+30 |
| Rodgers |
+26 |
| Norrman |
+23 |
| Hossler |
+22 |
| Dou |
+21 |
| Crocker |
+21 |
| Champ |
+20 |
2023 Barracuda Championship Round 2 Summary
A blemish free round with seven birdies saw Ryan Gerard reach 30 points and take the lead into the weekend of the Barracuda Championship.
Notable Round 2 Barracuda Championship Quotes
"I played really solid all day. I've been hitting it great. I think I've hit 16 or 17 greens both rounds out here. So feel really comfortable at the altitude getting the distances to the right spot where I want 'em. I had a little bit of a mud on my shirt from hitting it out of the water on 6, but besides that it was relatively stress-free and always nice to hole a few par putts coming down the stretch." Ryan Gerard
"I didn't drive it very well yesterday and kind of got away with a few swings and obviously posted a great score. I had a really good chat this morning with my coach, who is actually overseas, but we made a little adjustment with the driver and I hit it on a string all day. So if I keep doing that for the last two rounds I should have tons of opportunities to score points." Patrick Rodgers
2023 Barracuda Championship Round 3 Weather
Cloudy. Max wind 10-15mph.
Back or Fade The Favourite?
Patrick Rodgers is the 9/2 favourite but he's not a player we can support at those odds. Dating back to May 2022, Rodgers has been inside the top 10 five times going into the final round and failed to improve his position. We may well see him put in another solid round today but he is one we are looking to take on tomorrow if he does.
In-Play Barracuda Championship Bets We Considered
There is only one player in the outright market we are looking to back, you can subscribe to our tips below to find out who that is.
James Morrison makes appeal at 6/4 in the two ball market against James Hahn. Morrison ranks 10th for greens in regulation through the opening two rounds compared to Hahn who ranks 57th, The American's score is very much inflated by two eagles in round one and Morrison actually outscores him by five shots using traditional scoring over the opening two rounds.
Barracuda Championship Round 3 Bets
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21st July 2023, 7:50am (UK time)
| Player | Total |
|---|
| Noh |
+23 |
| Hossler |
+17 |
| Levy |
+16 |
| Gerard |
+16 |
| Three players tied |
+15 |
2023 Barracuda Championship Round 1 Summary
Three eagles gave S.Y. Noh a six point lead after the opening day of the Barracuda Championship.
Notable Round 1 Barracuda Championship Quotes
"Playing in the afternoon, starting in the afternoon, the greens are getting firmer. And then a little windy, always windy in the afternoon. So unexpected playing like 23 points a day the first day. But it's playing pretty good. Even a couple missed shots off the tee. But putting's pretty good today. So everything is going pretty good today." S.Y. Noh
"I think you can. Yeah, I mean, yes. Especially on this course. Like, if you get the ball in play off the tee you can be pretty aggressive. The greens are pretty receptive. I think the biggest challenge right now for us is just the calculation of the altitude. Particularly like when you tee off early and it's a little bit chilly in the morning it's an adjustment kind of in the middle of the round. So today we did a really nice job of it. If you can get it in play you have a lot of wedges. So hopefully I can keep doing that and keep getting some pretty good looks after getting it in play off the tee." Beau Hossler
"First 12 holes were amazing. I was 9-under after 12. I didn't hit the ball amazingly, the ball striking wasn't awesome. I'm still a little jet lagged from last week. The body didn't feel great. But I rode the putter really well. The putting has been the key." Max Kieffer
2023 Barracuda Championship Round 2 Weather
Sunny. Max wind 10-15mph.
Back or Fade The Favourite?
Beau Hossler is the 7/1 favourite but we're in no rush to back him. Yet to win on the PGA Tour, he's a fraction short for us.
The last three course winners of this event were all outside the top five after round one and two of those three winners were outside the top ten. Eagles can change scores quickly and we're content to back a couple of players further down the leaderboard.
In-Play Barracuda Championship Bets We Considered
There are very few bookmakers with odds available so our thoughts were confined to the outright market. Ryan Gerard was under consideration but ultimately we have opted for to players a little further back.
Barracuda Championship Round 2 Bets
Want to know which bets we went with? You can sign up for all our PGA Tour tips for 2023 by clicking the button below.
