Power Rankings: Barracuda Championship

No matter who wins the Barracuda Championship, he’s almost certain to deliver a headline that writes itself. The competition held at Montrêux Golf and Country Club in Reno, Nevada, anchors a record five additional events this season. The first two served as coronations for PGA TOUR rookies Cameron Champ (Sanderson Farms) and Martin Trainer (Puerto Rico). The most recent pair rewarded former winners with a shred of status in Graeme McDowell (Corales), who was conditionally exempt, and Jim Herman (Barbasol), who fell deep into the Past Champions category after coming nowhere near meeting the terms of his medical extension. Setting the Barracuda apart is the fact that the 132-man field will be pursuing the highest score. For the eighth consecutive year, Modified Stableford scoring will measure performance. Scroll past the projected contenders and others to consider for more on the layout and targets for the eventual champion. OTHERS TO CONSIDER • Brendan Steele … With four top 20s and a T25 in five trips, it’s a knock that he’s not included above, but he’s enduring a rough season. Currently 169th in the FedExCup but already fully exempt for 2019-20. • Emiliano Grillo … While he’s missed only two cuts in the last 12 months, he’s finished inside the top 15 in only one TOUR stop in 2019 (T9, Memorial). Struggling since and he’s a first-timer at Montrêux. • Robert Garrigus … From 2006-2017, he went 8-for-8 with three top 10s and another two top 25s at Montrêux, so it’s as smart a place as any to expect him to reconnect with form. Montrêux G&CC is the only site ever used for the Barracuda Championship. It dates back to 1999. Since the fourth edition, the course has tipped at 7,472 yards. It’s a stock par 72 with a closing par 5 that stretches 616 yards, and it’s only second-longest on the property. The par-5 eighth can reach 636 yards. Length isn’t as much of a challenge as it is a necessity in Reno. Situated at about 5,500 feet above sea level, it doesn’t discriminate against short hitters. In fact, with primary bluegrass rough framing fairways stretching as high as two-and-three-quarter inches and another half-inch of length around greens, it’s a myth that this is a bomber’s paradise. If you want proof, the 2018 winner, Andrew Putnam, who qualified for the concurrently contested World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational and will not defend the Barracuda, ranked T137 in distance of all drives on the PGA TOUR last season. Chris Stroud was T142 in the stat in 2016-17 when he prevailed in a playoff here that season. And Greg Chalmers always has been known best for his lights-out putting, not for slotting the equivalent of T114 in distance of all drives in limited action in 2015-16. Other than a tendency to hit longer irons into greens, which average only 5,000 square feet at Montrêux, Putnam, Stroud and Chalmers share in common the fact that each was a first-time winner. Like all but Stroud before him when Modified Stableford scoring was introduced in 2012, Putnam owned the outright lead entering the final round. He padded it by one point to post 47, which tied the second-highest clip in tournament history. Geoff Ogilvy’s 49 in 2014 is the gold standard. Putnam completed 72 holes with one eagle, 24 birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey. (A worse score on any hole cannot be carded.) The obvious objective is to capitalize on scoring opportunities, particularly with birdies counting for twice as many points contributing to one’s score that bogeys deduct. With the unique format, focus is refreshed, if not stimulated, and at a time of the season when it can pay off. Next week’s Wyndham Championship serves as the line of demarcation determining who qualifies for the FedExCup Playoffs, who’s headed to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals and who’s headed back to qualifying school. Customarily warm and breezy conditions are in store as a dry pattern sets in. Daytime highs easily will climb into the mid-90s, while winds will be sustained at 15 mph with gusts. Because it’s so dry in the area, diurnal ranges will be 30-35 degrees throughout the week, so don’t rule out seeing the earliest starters tee off with a light jacket or long sleeves. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings (WGC) TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Barracuda), Sleepers (WGC), Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done (WGC), One & Done (Barracuda), Champions One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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