Barracuda Championship
 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Reno, Nevada, U.S. |
| Established | 1999, 19 years ago |
| Course(s) | Montrêux Golf and Country Club |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 7,472 yards (6,832 m) |
| Tour(s) |
PGA Tour (alternate event) |
| Format | Modified Stableford |
| Prize fund | $3.3 million |
| Month played | August |
| Tournament record score | |
| Aggregate |
267 Vaughn Taylor (2005) 49 points Geoff Ogilvy (2014) |
| To par | −21 Vaughn Taylor (2005) |
| Current champion | |
 | |
The Barracuda Championship is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in western Nevada. Founded 19 years ago in 1999 as the Reno–Tahoe Open, it is an alternate event played annually in August at the Montrêux Golf and Country Club, located midway between Reno and Lake Tahoe. Opened in 1997, the par-72 course was designed by Jack Nicklaus and plays at 7,472 yards (6,832 m); its average elevation is 5,600 feet (1,710 m) above sea level with an elevation change of 800 feet (240 m).
Until 2010, the tournament was played 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 British Open in mid-July. This lasted only one year, as it returned to early August in 2011, opposite the WGC-Bridgestone.
The purse in 2015 was $3.1 million, with a winner's share of $558,000. 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 Barracuda Championship 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 Barracuda Championship was given the honor of awarding entry to the Open Championship to the leading non-exempt player.
Modified Stableford
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 | Albatross (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
^ Modified Stableford System (2012−present)
Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.
Source:[2][3]
References
- ↑ "Barracuda becomes title sponsor for Reno-Tahoe". PGA Tour. July 9, 2014.
- ↑ Barracuda Championship – Winners – at pgatour.com
- ↑ Reno–Tahoe Open – Winners – at golfobserver.com (1999–2009)