Barracuda Championship 2025 Betting Tips: 250/1 shot one of six for alternate event

As the world’s best chase the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush, an interesting and eclectic field gathers in California for the second of our co-sanctioned alternate-field events: the Barracuda Championship at Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood Course.

Our resident golf tipster Jamie Worsley is back with his comprehensive preview. Six players stand out to him as each-way value this week, so let's check out his Barracuda Championship 2025 Betting Tips here at Betfred Insights...

*You can bet on the tournament and check out the latest Barracuda Championship odds over on betfred.com

TOURNAMENT HISTORY 

The Barracuda Championship debuted on the PGA Tour in 1999. This opposite-field event was originally played using a regular stroke-play format, switching to this unique Stableford scoring system in 2012.

It has been played the same week as The Open Championship since 2023 and much like last week's ISCO Championship, it has been co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour since 2022.

Stableford Scoring:

+8 points (Albatross)

+5 points (Eagle)

+2 points (Birdie)

0 points (Par)

-1 points (Bogey)

-3 points (Double bogey or worse)

Two players have claimed this trophy twice. Vaughn Taylor won back-to-back stroke-play editions in 2004 and 2005, and J.J. Henry won the first renewal in this current format in 2012, before then regaining the title in 2015.

Although the top players are usually playing in more prestigious events elsewhere when this tournament takes place, we have seen several big names win the trophy. This includes three majors champions: Gary Woodland (2013), Geoff Ogilvy (2014), and Collin Morikawa (2019).

Last five winners:

• 2024

Winner: Nick Dunlap (49 pts)

Runner-up: Vince Whaley (47 pts)

• 2023

Winner: Akshay Bhatia (40 pts, playoff)

Runner-up: Patrick Rodgers (40 pts)

• 2022

Winner: Chez Reavie (43 pts)

Runner-up: Alex Noren (42 pts)

• 2021

Winner: Erik Van Rooyen (50 pts)

Runner-up: Andrew Putnam (45 pts)

• 2020

Winner: Richy Werenski (39 pts)

Runner-up: Troy Merritt (38 pts)

Nick Dunlap achieved the second-highest winning total in the event's history last year, scoring 49 pts to claim win No. 2 of his rookie season. He returns to defend this week.

THE COURSE

The Jack Nicklaus-designed Old Greenwood Course at Tahoe Mountain Club first staged this event in 2020. It was played at another Nicklaus design for the first 20 years – Montreux Golf & Country Club in Nevada.

Both nines are flipped for this event and the opening hole, usually played as a par 5, is converted into a lengthy 540yd par 4. This creates a long par-71 course, measuring 7480yds, though situated at 6000ft above sea level – meaning the ball will travel around 6% further in the thinner air – it plays closer to 7000yds. It has 4x par 3s (187-230 yards), 11x par 4s (345-540 yards) and 3x par 5s (551-631 yards).

The Old Greenwood Course is an undulating, tree-lined course built in the mountains near Lake Tahoe in California. It has moderate elevation changes throughout and water is in-play on six holes, with routing that involves having to play shots into ever-changing wind directions.

There is little at this course to trouble the players. It is spacious despite being tree-lined, and the fairways are reasonably wide. With the plentiful bunkering and rough generally non-penal.

The small, often elevated bentgrass/poa annua greens to do require attention. Many are multi-tiered, angled to the fairway position, and narrow/shallow in shape, which usually makes for some tricky pin positions. Meanwhile, deep greenside bunkers offer protection and can be difficult to play from.

This is a course full of scoring chances, with two potentially drivable par 4s (the 345yd 2^nd and 357yd 17^th) and all of the par 5s there to be attacked for most in the field. It perfectly suits a format that necessitates aggressive golf, and we should expect birdies to be the order of the day again this week.

THE WEATHER

The forecast look ideal in California this week, with warm, dry and sunny conditions predicted throughout. Gusting winds of 25mph+ could add a dimension of difficulty, though it won't be that strong for the majority of the week and there's nothing to suggest scoring won't be as good as usual.

KEY STATS

• SG: Approach/Greens-in-Regulation

With small greens and a format that requires players to make birdies, it's no surprise to see quality iron players perform well at the Old Greenwood Course.

Last year's winner, Nick Dunlap, arrived in form in approach and excelled in this area for the season, ranking 65^th. The 2023 winner, Akshay Bhatia, ranked 11^th in greens-in-regulation and 33^rd in approach that year; Chez Reavie won in 2022 and ranked 22^nd in approach on the PGA Tour; 2021 and 2020 winners, Erik Van Rooyen and Richy Werenski, were both strong in approach around the time they won.

• SG: Putting (bentgrass/poa)
• Birdie-or-Better %

It's also possible for players to contend with a strong putting week, with those who have excelled on bentgrass or bentgrass/poa greens of particular interest. Additionally, birdie-or-better % is another helpful stat in an event that rewards birdies more than it penalises bogeys.

CORRELATING EVENTS

PGA Tour

Shriners Open (TPC Summerlin)

TPC Summerlin is another spacious course at altitude, possessing slow bentgrass greens and an emphasis on low scoring.

Notable correlating form:

Alex Norren:

Barracuda (2^nd) / Shriners (3^rd)

Andrew Putnam:

Barracuda (2^nd) / Shriners (11^th, 12^th)

Vince Whaley:

Barracuda (2^nd) / Shriners (13^th, 16^th)

Martin Laird:

Barracuda (3^rd) / Shriners (1^st, 1^st)

Scott Piercy:

Barracuda (3^rd) / Shriners (6^th, 7^th)

Adam Schenk:

Barracuda (4^th) / Shriners (3^rd)

Taylor Pendrith:

Barracuda (5^th) / Shriners (3^rd)

Robert Streb:

Barracuda (5^th) / Shriners (4^th)

James Hahn:

Barracuda (6^th) / Shriners (5^th)

Chesson Hadley:

Barracuda (6^th) / Shriners (4^th, 5^th)

Beau Hossler:

Barracuda (6^th) / Shriners (7^th, 7^th)

Joel Dahmen:

Barracuda (7^th, 10^th) / Shriners (7^th, 9^th)

Texas Open (TPC San Antonio)

The Texas Open at TPC San Antonio wouldn't appear an obvious comp, as a much more challenging test. However, it's an event that often favours strong iron players and we've seen plenty of crossover form between the two courses.

Notable correlating form:

Akshay Bhatia:

Barracuda (1^st) / Texas (1^st)

Chez Reavie:

Barracuda (1^st) / Texas (6^th)

Troy Merritt:

Barracuda (2^nd) / Texas (4^th)

Patrick Rodgers:

Barracuda (2^nd, 5^th) / Texas (5^th)

Andrew Putnam:

Barracuda (2^nd) / Texas (8^th)

Martin Laird:

Barracuda (3^rd) / Texas (1^st)

Patrick Fishburn:

Barracuda (3^rd) / Texas (5^th)

Matthias Schwab:

Barracuda (3^rd) / Texas (8^th)

Adam Schenk:

Barracuda (4^th) / Texas (5^th, 7^th)

Mac Meissner:

Barracuda (4^th) / Texas (10^th)

Ryan Gerard:

Barracuda (5^th) / Texas (2^nd)

Chesson Hadley:

Barracuda (6^th) / Texas (4^th)

Beau Hossler:

Barracuda (6^th) / Texas (4^th)

Ryo Hisatsune:

Barracuda (10^th) / Texas (5^th)

Travelers Championship (TPC River Highlands)

TPC River Highlands is a similarly short, hilly, tree-lined course, with bentgrass/poa mixed greens that are close in size to Old Greenwood.

Notable correlating form:

Chez Reavie:

Barracuda (1^st) / Travelers (1^st)

Akshay Bhatia:

Barracuda (1^st) / Travelers (5^th)

Patrick Rodgers:

Barracuda (2^nd, 5^th) / Travelers (3^rd)

Scott Stallings:

Barracuda (5^th) / Travelers (6^th, 8^th)

Beau Hossler:

Barracuda (6^th) / Travelers (2^nd)

Chesson Hadley:

Barracuda (6^th) / Travelers (5^th)

Black Desert Championship (Black Desert Resort)

There is little comp form for the Black Desert Championship due to the event only debuting on the PGA Tour last year. However, this is another course situated at altitude, which showcases frequent elevation changes, wide fairways and bentgrass greens.

DP World Tour

Omega European Masters (Crans-sur-Sierre)

Crans-sur-Sierre is the most obvious place to start on the DP World Tour. As a tree-lined venue at altitude, with dramatic elevation changes and small bentgrass/poa mixed greens, it has much in common with the Old Greenwood Course.

Notable correlating form:

Erik Van Rooyen:

Barracuda (1^st) / European Masters (8^th)

Alex Noren:

Barracuda (2^nd) / European Masters (1^st)

Matthias Schwab:

Barracuda (3^rd) / European Masters (8^th)

Sebastian Soderberg:

Barracuda (10^th) / European Masters (1^st)

Sean Crocker:

Barracuda (10^th, 13^th) / European Masters (4^th)

Ryo Hisatsune:

Barracuda (10^th) / European Masters (13^th)

Marcus Helligkilde:

Barracuda (13^th) / European Masters (13^th)

Kenya Open (Muthaiga Golf Club)

There is some eye-catching comp form attached to Muthaiga Golf Club and it's easy to see why. Again at altitude, it is densely tree-lined and features small bentgrass greens.

Notable correlating form:

Hurly Long:

Barracuda (7^th) / Kenya (2^nd)

Ryo Hisatsune:

Barracuda (10^th) / Kenya (3^rd)

JC Ritchie:

Barracuda (10^th) / Kenya (11^th)

Jayden Schaper:

Barracuda (13^th) / Kenya (4^th, 7^th)

Lucas Nemecz:

Barracuda (13^th) / Kenya (5^th)

Joburg Open (Houghton Golf Club)

Lastly, players with form at Houghton Golf Club will also be of interest this week. This fellow Jack Nicklaus design ticks all of the boxes we're looking for – it's tree-lined and at altitude, with wide fairways and small bentgrass greens.

THE FIELD

This week's field is a good bit stronger than last week's other co-sanctioned, alternate-field event. It features 10 of the world's top 100, headed by No. 65 Davis Riley and also includes defending champion Nick Dunlap at No. 79.

Dunlap is one of five former winners teeing it up in California. He is joined by Chez Reavie (2022), Erik Van Rooyen (2021), Andrew Putnam (2018), and Scott Piercy (2011).

The DP World Tour contingent has more depth than in the ISCO Championship, with 2025 winners, Calum Hill and Nicolai Von Dellingshausen, the highest-ranking players. Meanwhile, Max Homa plays this event for the first time since 2017 having dropped out of the world's top 100 for the first time since 2021, and current world No. 3 amateur Michael La Sasso is in the field on a sponsor's exemption.

SELECTIONS

Market leaders (1/4 5 places): Kurt Kitayama 20/1, Vince Whaley 22/1, Ryan Gerard 22/1, Max Homa 25/1, Rico Hoey 25/1, Patrick Fishburn 25/1

1.5 pts Lee Hodges each-way (1/5 - 6 places) @ 30/1

Lee Hodges has been one of the strongest irons players in this field in 2025 and prior to last week, he'd also found improvement on the greens. He finished 11^th in this event on his only previous try in 2021 and with additional form at altitude, he has a great chance to record PGA Tour win No. 2 this week.

Hodges has produced four top-25 finishes in his last four starts – 9^th in the Canadian Open and 21^st in the John Deere Classic. I expected him to perform better than his missed cut in Scotland last week, but that was largely due to a troublesome two days on the greens, and with his irons continuing to fire, I'm happy to forgive that effort.

He ranks 2^nd in this field in approach in 2025 and is also 13^th on the PGA Tour for greens-in-regulation. As mentioned, the putter had been looking better before his trip to The Renaissance Club, ranking 10^th in Canada and sitting inside the top 50 in birdie-or-better %, he knows how to make the birdies required to win this event.

Hodges impressed with an 11^th-place finish at the Old Greenwood Course in 2021 when he was still predominantly plying his trade on the Korn Ferry Tour. He's obviously a much more accomplished player now – and a PGA Tour winner – and having recorded top-10 finishes in the Texas Open and Black Desert Championship, I'm confident he can improve on that debut effort.

1.5 pts Ryo Hisatsune each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 35/1

Japanese youngster Ryo Hisatsune has progressed nicely on the PGA Tour in his second season. He’s a player who has looked more than comfortable at altitude and excelling in approach, he is well equipped to handle this test.

Hisatsune has missed just six cuts in 20 starts this season, recording six top-20s. His standout effort came in the Valspar Championship, finishing 4^th, and he’s also collected further top-10s of 5^th in the Texas Open, 6^th in the Charles Schwab Challenge, and 10^th in the Mexico Open.

His iron play has been particularly impressive, ranking 15^th in this field in approach and 33^rd in greens-in-regulation. That being said, he’s showing little weakness throughout the bag, gaining strokes in every area, and he arrives here as the seventh-best-performing player in the field this season.

Hisatsune debuted at Old Greenwood in 2023, finishing a highly respectable 10^th. He’s regularly played well at altitude, recording finishes of 3^rd in Kenya, 13^th at Crans-sur-Sierre, and 25^th at the Black Desert Resort. Meanwhile, that 5^th-place finish in Texas provides us with added encouragement.

1 pt Steven Fisk each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 55/1

I put Steven Fisk up in the ISCO Championship last week, where he looked like being a feature early on but ultimately faded into 28^th over the weekend. Still, there was plenty of encouragement to be found there, as he again excelled from tee-to-green, and possessing a couple of handy performances at altitude on the Korn Ferry Tour, he’s well worth another shot this week.

Fisk’s performance in Kentucky was his best since finishing 13^th in the Myrtle Beach Classic in May. That was one of six top-30 finishes in his rookie season, with a 4^th-place finish in the Puerto Rico Open rating as his standout result.

He ranked 10^th from tee-to-green last week and that that was not a one-off, ranking 7^th in this field for the year overall. His ball-striking has looked top-class, ranking 14^th off-the-tee and 17^th in approach among this group of players, and he’s also an impressive 7^th in greens-in-regulation.

Fisk will make his debut this week and though he’s not played a great deal of golf at altitude, he does have a couple of noteworthy performances in comparable conditions on the Korn Ferry Tour – finishing 6^th in Utah in 2023 and 18^th in Colorado the previous year.

1 pt Jackson Suber each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 66/1

I’m going to lean on quality iron players again and there’s few players hit them as strongly as Jackson Suber in 2025. The rookie arrives here after recording two of his three best finishes of the season in his last four starts, and as a player who makes a decent amount of birdie but struggles to keep bogeys off his card, this format should suit.

Suber made a fantastic start to his debut PGA Tour season, finishing 6^th in the Sony Open. He couldn’t manage another top-40 in his next 13 starts, but he hit the top 20 twice in his last four, finishing 6^th in the Rocket Classic and 18^th in the Canadian Open.

He’s the seventh-best iron player in this field in 2025, and although struggling on the greens for much of the season, he’s found form in recent starts, ranking 14^th across his last 20 rounds. He ranks 59^th in birdie-or-better % and should benefit from this format, where bogeys mean less than usual.

Suber hasn’t played here before, but he has finished 9^th and 25^th in Colorado on the Korn Ferry Tour. Those two experiences at altitude should serve him well, helping him towards the first win of his professional career in California.

1 pt Thomas Rosenmuller each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 70/1

Germany’s Thomas Rosenmuller is one of the very best drivers on the PGA Tour. It hasn’t quite helped him to real success in his rookie season, but he did produce his second-best finish of the year last week and possessing form at altitude, I fancy him to deliver a season’s best in California.

Rosenmuller turned pro in 2019 and played on the Pro Golf Tour in Europe in 2020, recording three wins. Unfortunately, it was a struggle throughout the next few years, much of which was spent on the Korn Ferry Tour. He finally found his feet at that level in 2024, reeling off five top-five finishes in his last seven starts of the season – including a win in the NV5 Invitational – to earn his PGA Tour card for this year.

There were few positives at the beginning of the season, with his driving looking a little wayward. However, as he started to control that club his performances have improved, and he has achieved his two best results – 12^th in the Corales Puntacana Championship and 14^th in last week’s ISCO Championship – in this second part of the year so far.

He was really good from tee-to-green at Hurstbourne Country Club, ranking 3^rd and he ranks 10^th in in this field over the last three months in that area. It’s the ball-striking what has contributed most, combining power with accuracy to rank 7^th off-the-tee over that period, and he complements it with strong iron play, ranking 13^th in this field in approach in the same time span.

Rosenmuller will make his debut this week but he’s no stranger to similar conditions, finishing 5^th in Utah in 2024 and 12^th in Colorado in 2023 on the Korn Ferry Tour. In addition, two of those wins on the Pro Golf Tour in 2020 were played at moderate elevation in Austria and Czechia.

0.75 pts Cristobal Del Solar each-way (1/5 - 8 places) @ 250/1

I’m going to roll the dice on unpredictable Chilean, Cristobal Del Solar at a huge price. He hasn’t quite set the world alight in his rookie season, but he arrives at the Old Greenwood Course showing greater consistency in recent weeks. Having won on the Korn Ferry Tour in similar conditions last year, this could just be the week he contends.

Del Solar has made 17 appearances on the PGA Tour this season and recorded just the one top-20 – in the Zurich Classic alongside Matteo Manassero. However, he has made each of his last five cuts on the tour and has shown improvements in most areas.

He can be a spectacularly low scorer when he gets it rolling, famously shooting a 57 in the first round of the Astara Golf Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour last season. This is something he has transferred to the PGA Tour, firing a 61 in the first round of the Canadian Open four starts ago and there is a feeling that this format will just allow his chaotic brand of golf to flourish.

What is particularly encouraging concerning Del Solar is that his 57 in Colombia came at high altitude. He again showed his ability to perform in these conditions in Colorado later in the year, winning The Ascendant by four shots. Combined with his greater level of consistency in of late, there is a lot to like about his chances at this monster price.

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