Barracuda Championship 2025 – PGA Picks & Odds
With most of the golf world in Northern Ireland this week for The Open Championship there is a need for another tournament. And the PGA Tour obliges with the Barracuda Championship to fill the void as an alternate field event. With the season nearing its conclusion, valuable FedExCup points are out there for bubble players to improve their standing. And like last year members of the DP World Tour are invited to play with the expanded field assembling at Tahoe Mountain Club. This is the only PGA Tour stop featuring the Modified Stableford scoring system, which credits points based on how players perform at each hole. For example, an eagle is worth five points, a birdie is worth two points and no points are awarded for par. Also, points are deducted for plus-strokes on a hole.
2025 Barracuda Championship Overview
The 2025 Barracuda Championship will tee off on Thursday, July 17 and run through Sunday, July 20 from the Tahoe Mountain Club in Truckee, CA. The only Tour event that uses the Modified Stableford scoring system forces players to adjust and be more aggressive in search of points. Opening PGA betting line odds had Kurt Kitayama, Pierceson Coody and Cameron Champ as tri-favorites. It’s been a rough go for Nick Dunlap since winning the tournament last year. However, he is coming off one of his four top 20s in the last 12 months posting a T11 at the John Deere Classic a few weeks ago. Dunlap is one of three winners of the past four tournaments to peg it up this week joining Chez Reavie (2022) and Erik van Rooyen (2021). The tournament adopted the scoring system in 2012 with van Rooyen setting a points record with 50 in his triumph. Situated in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, Old Greenwood at the Tahoe Mountain Club plays at nearly 7,500 yards, which seems like a hefty amount. But that number is irrelevant since the altitude allows balls to fly through air. All of the action can be seen on Golf Channel.
2025 Barracuda Championship Betting Odds
Kurt Kitayama +2200
Pierceson Coody +2200
Cameron Champ +2200
Max Homa +2500
Rico Hoey +2500
Vince Whaley +2500
Emiliano Grillo +2800
Ryan Gerard +2800
Patrick Fishburn +2800
Patrick Rodgers +2800
Mark Hubbard +3300
Taylor Moore +3300
Kevin Roy +3500
Lee Hodges +3500
Nick Dunlap +3500
Beau Hossler +4500
Ryo Hisatsune +4500
Austin Eckroat +4500
Doug Ghim +4500
Erik van Rooyen +4500
All Other Players higher than +4500
2025 Barracuda Championship Top Contenders
Garrick Higgo +6000
With success on the DP World Tour and in similar events, Higgo has plenty of value at his price. He won the alternate field Corales Puntacana Championship in April and posted a T12 a month earlier at the Puerto Rico Open. In between he earned a podium at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Club Car Championship. He won his first PGA Tour start back in 2021 and has eight professional wins.
Max Homa +2500
One of the bigger names in the field, Homa is back at the Barracuda for the first time since 2017. Since his debut in this event he has six PGA Tour victories and currently sits just outside the FedExCup playoff points race. A good showing will certainly help his cause in qualifying and he had his best finish of the season last time out with a T5 at the John Deere Classic finishing 2-swings off the pace.
Kurt Kitayama +2200
A strong showing last fall that included a solo fifth at the ZOZO Championship didn’t carry over to the start of this season, but Kitayama has seemingly found his form embarking on this event. He’s also coming off a T5 at the Deere Classic, his second in his last six starts. His hot streaks come in bunches, which is a good sign for Kitayama backers. He won the Arnold Palmer Invite and had a T5 in three starts in 2023, further proving the point.
Seamus Power +5500
Power also enjoyed a strong fall season and started 2025 with four top 25s in 10 starts. He’s had a tough time lately, but getting back to a tournament he’s familiar with could change his vibe. Power has four starts in this event with the last two being his best. He was T25 in 2019 and T9 in 2020, which should definitely boost his confidence. Also, Power’s two Tour victories came in similar field events.
Erik van Rooyen +4500
I do like the fact that van Rooyen is a past winner and his price is definitely worth taking a look at. Not only did EVR win with a tournament scoring record in 2021 he followed up with a T6 two years later. He elected not to defend his title in 2022. Van Rooyen had a strong career in the DP Tour and should feel right at home with the field this week.
2025 Barracuda Championship Prime Free Picks
This is typically a tournament that’s up for grabs given the varied field and the use of the scoring system. Taking a chance on players further down the odds board can pay off this week and there are some good ones in van Rooyen, Power, Higgo, Luke List and Davis Riley, among others.
