The Barracuda Championship is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in California. Founded in 1999, it is an alternate event played annually in August. Previously held at Montrêux Golf and Country Club outside Reno, Nevada, the tournament moved west in 2020 to Tahoe Mountain Club's Old Greenwood course in nearby Truckee, California.

Barracuda Championship
Tournament information
LocationTruckee, California
Established1999
Course(s)Tahoe Mountain Club
(Old Greenwood Course)
Par71
Length7,480 yards (6,840 m)
Tour(s)PGA Tour (alternate event)
European Tour
FormatModified Stableford
Prize fundUS$3,800,000
Month playedJuly
Tournament record score
Aggregate267 Vaughn Taylor (2005)
To par−21 as above
Score50 points Erik van Rooyen (2021)
Current champion
United States Akshay Bhatia
Location map
Tahoe Mountain Club is located in the United States
Tahoe Mountain Club
Tahoe Mountain Club
Location in the United States
Tahoe Mountain Club is located in California
Tahoe Mountain Club
Tahoe Mountain Club
Location in California

Until 2010, it was held in August, the same week as the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. For its first three years, it had a full field of 156 players, while the World Golf Championship event had a field of about 40. When the WGC event expanded to about 80 players in 2002, the field for the Reno–Tahoe Open was reduced to 132 players. With the launch of the FedEx Cup in 2007, the tournament and the WGC event were moved from late to early August. In 2010 the Reno–Tahoe Open was played several weeks earlier, opposite the Open Championship in mid-July. This lasted only one year, as it returned to early August in 2011, opposite the WGC-Bridgestone.

The purse in 2022 was $3.7 million, with a winner's share of $666,000. The Reno–Tahoe Open gained its first title sponsor for the 2008 event, the Legends at Sparks Marina. After two years the name was returned to "Reno–Tahoe Open" in 2010. Barracuda Networks became the title sponsor in 2014.[1]

The Reno–Tahoe Open is an alternate event, which means the winner does not earn a Masters Tournament invitation. The winner still earns 24 OWGR points, 300 FedEx Cup points, a two-year tour exemption, and entry to the PGA Championship.

After flooding in West Virginia cancelled the Greenbrier Classic in 2016, the Reno–Tahoe Open was given the honor of awarding entry to the Open Championship to the leading non-exempt player.

In August 2021, it was announced that from 2022 onward, the event would become a co-sanctioned event with the European Tour.[2]

Highlights edit

  • 1999: Notah Begay III wins the inaugural event.
  • 2006: Yūsaku Miyazato becomes only the second player in PGA tour history to score two holes-in-one in the same round.[3]
  • 2011: Scott Piercy wins in the final year as a stroke play event.
  • 2016: Greg Chalmers eagles the 18th hole after Gary Woodland made bogey, earning entry into the Open Championship. Chalmers was making his 386th PGA Tour start, the most among active golfers without a win, and only had veteran member status on the PGA Tour.
  • 2017: In his 290th PGA Tour start, Chris Stroud won after planning to retire at season's end.
  • 2019: In just his sixth start as a professional, Collin Morikawa birdies the last three holes to win.

Modified Stableford edit

Beginning in 2012, the tournament has used the Modified Stableford scoring system, last used in a PGA Tour event at the 2006 International in Colorado.

Points Strokes taken in relation to par
+8 Double eagle (3 strokes under par)
+5 Eagle (2 strokes under par)
+2 Birdie (1 stroke under par)
0 Par
−1 Bogey (1 stroke over par)
−3 Double bogey or worse (2 strokes or more over par)

This points scale encourages aggressive play, since the reward for scoring under par is higher than the penalty for scoring over par.

Winners edit

Year Tour(s)[a] Winner Score[b] To par Margin of
victory
Runner(s)-up Purse
(US$)
Winner's
share ($)
Barracuda Championship
2023 EUR, PGAT   Akshay Bhatia 40 points Playoff   Patrick Rodgers 3,800,000 684,000
2022 EUR, PGAT   Chez Reavie 43 points 1 point   Alex Norén 3,700,000 666,000
2021 PGAT   Erik van Rooyen 50 points 5 points   Andrew Putnam 3,500,000 630,000
2020 PGAT   Richy Werenski 39 points 1 point   Troy Merritt 3,500,000 630,000
2019 PGAT   Collin Morikawa 47 points 3 points   Troy Merritt 3,500,000 630,000
2018 PGAT   Andrew Putnam 47 points 4 points   Chad Campbell 3,400,000 612,000
2017 PGAT   Chris Stroud 44 points Playoff   Greg Owen
  Richy Werenski
3,300,000 594,000
2016 PGAT   Greg Chalmers 43 points 6 points   Gary Woodland 3,200,000 576,000
2015 PGAT   J. J. Henry (2) 47 points Playoff   Kyle Reifers 3,100,000 558,000
2014 PGAT   Geoff Ogilvy 49 points 5 points   Justin Hicks 3,000,000 540,000
Reno–Tahoe Open
2013 PGAT   Gary Woodland 44 points 9 points   Jonathan Byrd
  Andrés Romero
3,000,000 540,000
2012 PGAT   J. J. Henry 43 points 1 point   Alexandre Rocha 3,000,000 540,000
2011 PGAT   Scott Piercy 273 −15 1 stroke   Pat Perez 3,000,000 540,000
2010 PGAT   Matt Bettencourt 277 −11 1 stroke   Bob Heintz 3,000,000 540,000
Legends Reno–Tahoe Open
2009 PGAT   John Rollins 271 −17 3 strokes   Martin Laird
  Jeff Quinney
3,000,000 540,000
2008 PGAT   Parker McLachlin 270 −18 7 strokes   Brian Davis
  John Rollins
3,000,000 540,000
Reno–Tahoe Open
2007 PGAT   Steve Flesch 273 −15 5 strokes   Kevin Stadler
  Charles Warren
3,000,000 540,000
2006 PGAT   Will MacKenzie 268 −20 1 stroke   Bob Estes 3,000,000 540,000
2005 PGAT   Vaughn Taylor (2) 267 −21 3 strokes   Jonathan Kaye 3,000,000 540,000
2004 PGAT   Vaughn Taylor 278 −10 Playoff   Stephen Allan
  Hunter Mahan
  Scott McCarron
3,000,000 540,000
2003 PGAT   Kirk Triplett 271 −17 3 strokes   Tim Herron 3,000,000 540,000
2002 PGAT   Chris Riley 271 −17 Playoff   Jonathan Kaye 3,000,000 540,000
2001 PGAT   John Cook 271 −17 1 stroke   Jerry Kelly 3,000,000 540,000
2000 PGAT   Scott Verplank 275 −13 Playoff   Jean van de Velde 3,000,000 540,000
1999 PGAT   Notah Begay III 274 −14 3 strokes   Chris Perry
  David Toms
2,750,000 495,000

Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.
Sources:[4][5]

Notes edit

  1. ^ EUR − European Tour; PGAT − PGA Tour.
  2. ^ From 2012, the event was played using the modified stableford system.

References edit

  1. ^ "Barracuda becomes title sponsor for Reno-Tahoe". PGA Tour. July 9, 2014. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  2. ^ "PGA Tour and European Tour announce details of historic Strategic Alliance". PGA Tour. August 3, 2021. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  3. ^ Staats, Wayne (October 29, 2018). "These are the only three golfers to make two holes-in-one in same PGA Tour round". PGA of America. Archived from the original on February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  4. ^ Barracuda Championship – Winners Archived 2014-07-29 at the Wayback Machine – at pgatour.com
  5. ^ Reno–Tahoe Open – Winners Archived 2014-08-08 at the Wayback Machine – at golfobserver.com (1999–2009)

External links edit

39°20′42″N 120°08′35″W / 39.345°N 120.143°W / 39.345; -120.143