Event Info
Starts: 5th August 2021
Course: Tahoe Mountain Club, California
Par: 71
Length: 7,390 yards
2020 Champion: Richy Werenski
Results
Overall Profit/Loss: +29.45pts
Pre-Event Bets: -0.4pts
0.75pts EW Joseph Bramlett 80/1 @ Betfred (1/5 1-6)
0.5pts EW Josh Teater 200/1 @ 10bet (1/4 1-5)
0.5pts EW Nick Watney 200/1 @ Bet365 (1/4 1-5)
0.5pts EW Ryan Brehm 500/1 @ Bet365 (1/4 1-5)
0.5pts EW Michael Kim 500/1 @ William Hill (1/5 1-6)
0.5pts EW Roger Sloan FIRST ROUND LEADER 66/1 @ Betfair (1/5 1-6)
0.5pts EW Erik Van Rooyen FIRST ROUND LEADER 75/1 @ Betfair (1/5 1-6)
In-Play Bets: +29.85pts
6 August 2021(+8.25pts)
1pt EW Andrew Putnam 45/1 @ Bet365 (1/4 1-4)
1pt EW John Pak 50/1 @ Skybet (1/4 1-5)
7 August 2021(+21.6pts)
1.5pts EW Erik Van Rooyen 12/1 @ Skybet (1/5 1-4)
Preview
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 (3.5 inches last year)
Water Hazards: On 5 holes
Par 5's: 2nd, 6th & 12th
Premium on: Approach play
Significant Info
Continue to exercise caution in relation to Covid-19 related withdrawals. Branden Grace was forced to withdraw when in 2nd place through 36 holes last year after testing positive.
The field is much weaker than regular PGA Tour events as this event is played opposite the WGC FedEx.
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.
Weather
Thursday
Sunny but extremely windy - forecast suggests wind will be in excess of 21mph.
Friday
Sunny with wind speed of around 10mph.
Saturday
Sunny with wind speed around 14mph.
Saturday
Sunny with wind speed around 16mph.
Trends
Winning Score
Werenski won with a winning score of 39 points last year. Winners have previously needed 40+ points but last year was a new course.
Course Form
Last year was the first time the course had been used so no player had course form.
Recent Form
In the last 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 terible recent record, none of them bettering 63rd in their last start.
World Ranking
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, surprises can and do happen.
Nationality
Americans have won five of the last seven events (including the last four). The other two winners were Australian
Correlating Courses
None of note.
Stats Analysis
Driving Accuracy
Werenski ranked 52nd. Troy Merritt (who was runner up) was 34th.
Driving Distance
We have no driving distance stats from last year's event.
Greens In Regulation
Werenski was 8th and Merritt was 11th.
Scrambling
Werenski was 61st and Merritt was 52nd.
Putts per GIR
Werenski was 11th and Merritt was 27th.
In Play
Tough Holes
The 10th, 15th and 17th played as the three hardest holes last year.
Birdie Holes
The three par 5's are all birdie opportunities, along with the short par 4 8th hole.
Closing Stretch
It was a tough finish last year 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. 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.
In-play
Barracuda Championship In-Play Blog
8th August 2021, 11.55am
Player | Total |
---|---|
Schenk | +38 |
Van Rooyen | +34 |
Putnam | +34 |
Piercy | +33 |
Dahmen | +33 |
Grillo | +31 |
We have Andrew Putnam and Erik Van Rooyen in contention with 18 holes to go. We won't be adding any further bets.
Round 4 Bets
- No bet
7th August 2021, 11.15am
Player | Total |
---|---|
Grillo | +29 |
Schenk | +27 |
Dahmen | +26 |
Putnam | +25 |
Piercy | +25 |
Harrington | +25 |
Van Rooyen | +24 |
Emiliano Grillo is now 11/4 favourite after establishing a two point lead after 36 holes. The Argentinian raced out of the traps yesterday with 9 points from his opening three holes and went to to record 17 points for the day.
Grillo isn't a player we rate in contention (he only has a 1⭐ Golf Betting Club Pressure Performance Rating) and so we are happy to take him on. Although the stableford format will suit him better over the weekend than traditional strokeplay, he's still a player who is likely to feel the heat on Sunday.
Yesterday's tips on the blog performed well and we now have Andrew Putnam and John Pak in good positions going into the weekend. If you didn't read yesterday's blog, we wouldn't put you off backing those two.
We saw Richy Werenski overcome a five point deficit at this point last year and with question marks over the leader, we can probably consider all of those players at 22 points or better to still be in with a strong chance.
The wind will kick up towards the end of the round for the leaders but isn't forecast to exceed 11mph until 5pm.
Round 3 Bets
- 1.5pts Each Way Erik Van Rooyen 12/1 @ Skybet (1/5 1-4)
We selected Erik earlier in the week as a first round leader pick and we'd be annoyed not to be on him were he to go on and win this. He's got history of performing well at altitude having placed 3rd at the WGC Mexico in 2020. A European Tour winner in 2019, he's been playing on the PGA Tour the past couple of years and could well breakthrough in a weaker event like this. Coming from off the pace with two rounds to go will help him, just as he did when shooting 64-64 on the weekend to win his Euro Tour title. Finally, the long game is in good shape this week, he ranks 4th for Greens in Regulation and 9th for Driving Accuracy.
6th August 2021, 9.15am
Player | Total |
---|---|
Dahmen | +16 |
Jaeger | +14 |
S Harrington | +13 |
Thompson | +12 |
Grillo | +12 |
The anticipated advantage for yesterday's early starters didn't materialise and four of the top five played in the afternoon.
Joel Dahmen leads the way and in his post round interview shared that his father-in-law's side of the family is from the area and his wife went to school only 45 mins away. He's played the course before and is clearly comfortable with some family cheering him on this week. A winner earlier in the year at the Puntacana event, he's fairly priced in the betting at 9/1 (2nd favourite).
Favourite with the bookies is Emiliano Grillo (15/2). He stated in his post round interview that he "loves" the course but he's not a player we tend to trust at single figure odds, we're happy to leave him alone for the time being.
Conditions are set to be windy again for round two, with morning starters getting it slightly easier. However, keep in mind the fact we saw the wind kick up yesterday and afternoon starters still topped the leaderboard.
Round 2 Bets
- 1pt Each Way Andrew Putnam 45/1 @ Bet365 (1/4 1-4)
Andrew is a past winner of this event, having won the 2018 edition. That win came at a different course (Montreux) but showed Andrew can flourish when playing in this format. He was bogey free yesterday and ranked 2nd for Greens in Regulation. Strong Greens in Regulation stats were the key to success at this course last year and we're banking on Andrew's irons remaining strong the rest of the week. Take anything 40/1 or better for a player who is capable of winning this event again.
- 1pt Each Way John Pak 50/1 @ Skybet (1/4 1-5)
Collin Morikawa won this event in 2019 as a rookie and we think John Pak is an interesting bet to follow that routeway. Pak has only played a handful of professional events but he did reach 2nd in the amateur rankings and was awarded the 2021 Jack Nicklaus award for college player of the year. He's clearly a player with huge potential and we shouldn't forget the fact that Morikawa won in 2019 having only played a few events. It's a riskier play than Putnam but 50/1 is a number we're happy to get involved with.