Another PGA tour alternate event is on tap this week as we head to California for the Barracuda Championship. If you have not tuned into this event before, you may be surprised to tune into the event and see the entire leaderboard with a plus sign next to their name. That is because we will see a scoring format called Stableford scoring. The goal of this format is to have the highest score. Don’t be confused. You do not want your guys to go out there and make a ton of bogeys. Here is the breakdown.
- Albatross +8 Points
- Eagle +5 Points
- Birdie +2 Points
- Par 0 Points
- Bogey -1 Point
- Double Bogey or Worse -3 Points
This format rewards extremely aggressive play. Not that this will happen, but you can see a golfer make multiple 10s on their scorecard and still be in the event. These guys will be going for all the par 5s in two and going at each and every flag. That is because birdies are worth double what bogeys will cost you. Golfers in this field will have a pedal-down mentality, and this should be a fun event to tune into Sunday night.
2023 Barracuda Championship DFS: Best Plays in Each Price Range
2023 Barracuda Championship DFS – $9,000+
Taylor Pendrith $10,400
Pendrith was a bet for us at the Barbosal last week and gave us a sweat for 65 holes. Pendrith has been playing better lately and has played his best golf in the summer months. In his two trips to this golf course, he finished no worse than 13th. Look for Pendrith to have another top-ten finish this week and contend to win.
JJ Spaun $9,500
Spaun has gone under the radar over the last few months, but the ball-striking numbers are trending in the right direction. He gained 2.97 at the Memorial, 2.72 at The Travelers, and 5.71 at The Rocket Mortgage Classic. Spaun is a PGA Tour winner and a California guy, so he should be used to playing on the West Coast. Ownership-wise, he will be the forgotten man in this range and will be a nice pivot to add at an event like this.
2023 Barracuda Championship DFS – Mid Range
Akshay Bhatia $8,900
Akshay is a difficult-conditions guy, but the talent alone will be rewarding. Bhatia gained 8.15 strokes in ball striking and was exactly average in putting (0.0 strokes gained). Funny enough, that was his best-putting week since April. Bhatia is an aggressive golfer, and these conditions will be a hair tougher than they were at the Barbosal, which will bode well with Bhatia’s game.
Niklas Norgaard Moller $7,800
Norgaard Moller was one of the higher-priced Europeans at the Barbosal and did not come to fruition. For those who do not know about his game, he is extremely talented but looks like a different golfer when put under pressure.
On the DP World Tour, he gets off to amazing starts nearly every week and cannot put those weekend rounds together. Moller has the ability to dominate off the and be uber-aggressive into these par 5s. I can see a back door top 20 from him this week and a great deal of DK points with the birdie and eagle ability he possesses.
2023 Barracuda Championship DFS – 6K Range
Matthias Schmid $6,800
Matti Schmid poses a super high ceiling for a golfer in the 6K range. Although he has a similar issue to Moller, he gets off to fast starts in rounds and, time after time, has horrible back nines. Schmid is a PGA Tour rookie by way of the European Tour and is not afraid to make a ton of birdies (and a ton of bogeys). That is the volatility you seek in this format, especially in the 6K range.
