Steve Bamford

Steve Bamford's Barracuda Championship Tips 2021

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Naturally the WGC FedEx St Jude Invitational at TPC Southwind takes centre stage this week, packed full of the world’s very best players. It would be easy to cast aside the Barracuda Championship at the new Old Greenwood Golf Course venue, however it’s a betting heat that I always enjoy and we’ve had winning success in the near past with J.J. Henry and Gary Woodland.

The Barracuda for me is all about spotting players who’ll arrive in Reno, Nevada with real motivation to perform this week and an improving game to boot. Played on a pretty stock Nicklaus-designed Par 72 at altitude, the field also contains some established players. The full 2-year PGA Tour exemption available to the winner is a huge carrot, as is the possibility of harvesting enough FedEx Cup points to grab a spot in the magical top 125, with the FedEx Cup Playoffs only 2 weeks away.

Before we go into the detail surrounding the Barracuda Championship we always have new visitors to Golf Betting System, Welcome and let me point you in the direction of our weekly Golf Betting System podcast (published every Tuesday of the golfing calendar), the Steve Bamford Golf Channel on YouTube and our hugely popular, 5,900 strong+, private Group on Facebook – you can Join Here.

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Course Guide: Old Greenwood Golf Course to my eye is pretty similar to the previous Barracuda Championship host course Montreux.

At 7,518 yards to the tips, this course is a long Par 72 located at high altitude in the Sierra Nevada mountains where the ball travels further than normal. But for this week the course will play as a 7,425 yard, Par 71. Think eagles and birdies!  At 5,883 feet above sea level, expect the course to play incredibly short this week.

Since 2012 this event has been played utilising the Modified Stableford scoring format – you can find out more about how points are accrued here; Modified Stableford System.

Old Greenwood Golf Course, Tahoe Mountain Golf Club, Truckee, California: Designer: Jack Nicklaus 2004; Course Type: High Desert, Resort; Par: 71; Length: 7,425 yards; Number of Holes with Water In Play: 6 Holes; Fairways: Bentgrass with Poa Annua; Rough: Kentucky Bluegrass 1.75″ followed by deep brush; Greens: 5,300 sq.ft average featuring Bentgrass with Poa Annua.

Widths Fairway Widths (yards): Below are the fairway widths for Old Greenwood Golf Course and how they compare to recent courses on Tour:

  • Old Greenwood: 35-40 yards.
  • TPC Twin Cities: 250 yards from the tee: 38 yards wide; 275:38; 300:31; 325:30; 350:36.
  • TPC Deere Run: 250 yards from tee: 41 yards wide; 275:40; 300:36 325:33; 350:30.
  • Detroit Golf Club: 250 yards from tee: 34 yards wide; 275:34; 300:35 325:34; 350:33.
  • TPC River Highlands: 250 yards from the tee: 38 yards wide; 275:36; 300:29; 325:29; 350:28.
  • Torrey Pines South: 250 yards from the tee: 26 yards wide; 275:27; 300:25; 325:24; 350:23.
  • Colonial: 250 yards from tee: 27 yards wide; 275:26; 300:27; 325:26; 350:23.
  • Ocean Course – Kiawah Island: Up to 50 yards wide.
  • Quail Hollow: 250 yards from tee: 33 yards wide; 275:32; 300:31; 325:30; 350:29.
  • Copperhead: 250 yards from the tee: 24 yards wide; 275:20; 300:21; 325:23 350:19.
  • Harbour Town: 250 yards from tee: 29 yards wide; 275:26; 300:22; 325:26; 350:22.

Course Designer Links: For research purposes other Jack Nicklaus designs include:

  • Annandale Golf Club – Sanderson Farms Championship through 2013
  • Glen Abbey – RBC Canadian Open – 2008, 2013, 2015-2018
  • Montreux Golf & Country Club – Barracuda Championship through 2019
  • Muirfield Village – Memorial Tournament
  • PGA National – Honda Classic
  • PGA West – Nicklaus Private – Humana Challenge through 2015
  • PGA West – Tournament Course – CareerBuilder Challenge 2016 – 2019
  • Sherwood Country Club – Thousand Oaks – World Challenge through 2013
  • Valhalla Golf Club – 2014 PGA Championship

Course Overview: Last year was the first time we saw Old Greenwood Golf Course and my initial reaction was that this golf course was extremely similar to the old host course, Montreux G&CC.

At 7,390 yards the course is shorter, but only has 3 par-5s across a Par 71 format. Green sizes are similar and the make-up of the greens remains exactly the same, with Bentgrass Poa Annua mix greens. That’s important in my opinion.

A typical Jack Nicklaus design that becomes more challenging the closer you get to the hole, at 5,883 feet above sea level the air is dry and thin. Two of the par-5s, namely #6 and #12, are reachable to the whole field, and there are a couple of driveable par-4s for the bigger hitters namely #8 (357 yards) and #11 (345 yards).

There’s also a significant change in terms of rough here at Old Greenwood compared to Montreux. Effectively there isn’t any, with the main defence for errant tee shots being a 1.75 inch fairway rough collar and then deep brush. This set-up, in tandem with trees in very close proximity to fairway edges, certainly aided those who were accurate off the tee.

barracuda championship tips

Winners: 2020: Richy Werenski (39); 2019: Collin Morikawa (47); 2018: Andrew Putnam (47); 2017: Chris Stroud (44); 2016: Greg Chalmers (43); 2015: J.J. Henry (47); 2014: Geoff Ogilvy (49); 2013: Gary Woodland (44); 2012: J.J. Henry (43); 2011: Scott Piercy (-15); 2010: Matt Bettencourt (-11).

Lead Score Progression:

  • 2020: Round 1 +14 (Pts); Round 2 +22; Round 3 +33; Round 4 +39.

Tournament Stats: We’ve published some key player statistics for this week’s event that are well worth a look. Naturally they’ll help to shape a view on players who could go well this week: Current Form | Tournament Form | First Round Leader | Combined Stats.

Published Predictor Model: Our published predictor is available here. You can build your own model using the variables listed on the left hand side. Top 10 of my published predictor are Gary Woodland, Adam Hadwin, Brian Stuard, Pat Perez, Chez Reavie, Brandt Snedeker, Brendan Steele, Richy Werenski, Mito Pereira and Emiliano Grillo.

Recent Player Strokes Gained Rankings: These top 25 in the field rankings are based on an 8-tournament window that stretches back to the Palmetto Championship, which includes PGA Tour, European Tour events and the Olympics. Players’ rankings are based on performance relative to the rest of the field:

  • Top 25 SG Off The Tee: 1) Taylor Pendrith; 2) Davis Riley; 3) Thomas Pieters; 4) Mito Pereira; 5) Patrick Rodgers; 6) Joel Dahmen / Branden Grace; 8) Davis Thompson; 9) Charlie Beljan; 10) Maverick McNealy; 11) Greyson Sigg; 12) Tom Lewis; 13) Tyler McCumber; 14) J.J. Spaun; 15) Kyle Stanley; 16) Beau Hossler / Adam Schenk / Aaron Wise; 19) Chez Reavie; 20) Tyler Duncan / Emiliano Grillo; 22) Paul Barjon; 23) Lee Hodges / Michael Thompson; 25) Ryan Armour.
  • Top 25 SG Approach: 1) Michael Gellerman; 2) Chez Reavie; 3) Cameron Percy / Kyle Stanley; 5) Stephan Jaeger; 6) Ryan Moore / Mito Pereira; 8) Charlie Beljan; 9) Bo Hoag / Thomas Pieters; 11) Joel Dahmen; 12) Branden Grace; 13) Brendan Steele; 14) Mark Hubbard / Russell Knox / Vaughn Taylor; 17) Doc Redman / Brandt Snedeker / Shawn Stefani; 20) Joseph Bramlett / Lee Hodges; 22) Scott Brown / David Lingmerth; 24) Ryan Armour / Austin Eckroat.
  • Top 25 SG Around The Green: 1) Andres Romero; 2) Aaron Baddeley; 3) Kevin Tway; 4) Nate Lashley; 5) Camilo Villegas; 6) Thomas Pieters; 7) Michael Thompson; 8) John Daly; 9) Brandt Snedeker; 10) Roger Sloan; 11) Brian Stuard; 12) Beau Hossler / Padraig Harrington; 14) Mark Hubbard / Rob Oppenheim; 16) Parker McLachlin / Greyson Sigg; 18) Chase Seiffert; 19) D.A. Points / Martin Trainer; 21) Mito Pereira / Nick Taylor; 23) Jonathan Byrd / Chez Reavie; 25) Johnson Wagner.
  • Top 25 SG Tee to Green: 1) Thomas Pieters; 2) Mito Pereira; 3) Chez Reavie; 4) Kyle Stanley; 5) Joel Dahmen; 6) Maverick McNealy; 7) Taylor Pendrith; 8) Patrick Rodgers; 9) Brendan Grace / Mark Hubbard; 11) Ryan Armour / Michael Gellerman; 13) Ryan Moore; 14) Joseph Bramlett / Lee Hodges; 16) Gary Woodland; 17) Bo Hoag / Cameron Percy / Aaron Wise; 20) Charlie Beljan / Beau Hossler; 22) Brendan Steele; 23) Davis Riley / Davis Thompson / Camilo Villegas / Xinjun Zhang.
  • Top 25 SG Putting: 1) Stephan Jaeger; 2) John Senden; 3) Kevin Tway; 4) Pat Perez; 5) Adam Hadwin; 6) Jonathan Byrd; 7) Rhein Gibson; 8) Sahith Theegala / Erik van Rooyen; 10) Martin Trainer; 11) Aaron Baddeley / Michael Gligic; 13) Beau Hossler; 14) D.A. Points; 15) Sam Ryder; 16) Luke Donald; 17) Ricky Barnes / Maverick McNealy; 19) Tom Lewis / Brian Stuard; 21) Troy Merritt; 22) Brandon Hagy; 23) Rafa Cabrera Bello / Greg Chalmers; 25) Taylor Pendrith.
  • Top 25 SG Total: 1) Maverick McNealy; 2) Thomas Pieters; 3) Mito Pereira; 4) Chez Reavie; 5) Branden Grace; 6) Taylor Pendrith; 7) Beau Hossler; 8) Ryan Moore; 9) Mark Hubbard / Pat Perez; 11) Gary Woodland; 12) Ryan Armour; 13) Patrick Rodgers; 14) Kevin Tway / Brian Stuard; 16) Kyle Stanley / Erik van Rooyen; 18) Brandt Snedeker; 19) Cameron Percy / Adam Schenk; 21) Lee Hodges; 22) Aaron Baddeley / Sean O’Hair; 24) Michael Gellerman; 25) Sam Ryder.

Winners & Prices: 2020: Richy Werenski 33/1; 2019: Collin Morikawa 12/1; 2018: Andrew Putnam 28/1; 2017: Stroud 80/1; 2016: Chalmers 300/1; 2015: Henry 80/1; 2014: Ogilvy 66/1; 2013: Woodland 40/1; 2012: Henry 40/1; 2011: Piercy 50/1; 2010: Bettencourt 200/1. Past 7 Renewals Average: 86/1; Overall Average: 84/1.

Historical Weather:

  • 2020: Thursday: Sunny. High of 85. Wind W/SW 10-20 mph. Friday: Sunny. High of 86. Wind W/SW 12-22 mph. Saturday: Sunny. High of 87. Wind W/SW 12-22 mph. Sunday: Sunny. High of 85. Wind W/SW 12-22 mph.

Weather Forecast: The latest weather forecast for Truckee, California, is here.

Nothing too major to report, in essence we’re dealing with high altitude, desert conditions this week. Rain in these parts is pretty rare, so the condition of the course will be dictated by the Course Superintendent and the PGA Tour. So expect fairways with some roll and responsive, soft greens to help with scoring.

Temperatures will top out at 29 degrees Celsius with low humidity, so will be very pleasant. A 15-25 mph south-westerly will be a feature on Thursday, with similar direction 10-15mph breezes kicking up every afternoon for the rest of the tournament.

Tournament Trends & Key Factors: Analysing the final stats of the winner here at Old Greenwood gives us a little more insight into the requirements for this:

  • 2020, Richy Werenski (39 Pts).  67.9% fairways (32nd), 76.4% greens in regulation (7th), 58.8% scrambling (33rd), 1.66 putts per GIR (8th).

Let’s take a view from players as to how Old Greenwood sets up and what skill sets the course favours:

Seamus Power (2020): “Like I said, it’s a beautiful golf course. You stand on some of those tees and it’s just lined with those tall, I don’t know, pine trees of some sort, I guess. It’s just beautiful, the whole backdrop. But it’s a good test. The fairways are generous, but then if you kind of get away from it a little bit at all, you’re going to find some nasty spots. I think driving is going to be huge this week..

Emiliano Grillo (2020): “Yeah, I played this tournament last year. It’s only like I think 150 feet higher than Montreux, so it’s kind of the same. It plays a bit shorter in the morning when the ball is wet and it’s maybe a bit cold, but once you get around 9:00 a.m. the ball gets going again. It’s tricky when you see the flag being so far and then all of a sudden you’re hitting an iron. Besides that, it’s pretty easy.”

Troy Merritt (2020): You’re going to have a lot of birdie looks out here. If you find the fairway, you’re going to have a lot of putts inside 20 feet, and obviously you’re not going to make them all, but if you can hole three, four, maybe five of them, you’ll be doing just fine. If you can give yourself 14, 15 looks, you’ll be doing just fine and make a par putt every now and then. Yeah, the key to the game out here is fairways and greens, especially with this system. You can’t let a bogey bother you too much because birdies are worth two and a bogey just the minus one. You can get them back a little more quickly, just got to just let those bogeys go and make some more birdies.”

Path to Victory: Below are the end of round positions for the last 11 winners of the Barracuda Championship:

  • 2020 – Richy Werenski: Round 1: 32nd, Round 2: 5th, Round 3: 1st.
  • 2019 – Collin Morikawa: Round 1: 2nd, Round 2: 2nd, Round 3: 2nd.
  • 2018 – Andrew Putnam: Round 1: 30th, Round 2: 3rd, Round 3: 1st.
  • 2017 – Chris Stroud: Round 1: 15th, Round 2: 38th, Round 3: 22nd.
  • 2016 – Greg Chalmers: Round 1: 5th, Round 2: 1st, Round 3: 1st.
  • 2015 – J.J. Henry: Round 1: 3rd, Round 2: 3rd, Round 3: 1st.
  • 2014 – Geoff Ogilvy: Round 1: 2nd, Round 2: 2nd, Round 3: 1st.
  • 2013 – Gary Woodland: Round 1: 1st, Round 2: 1st, Round 3: 1st.
  • 2012 – J.J. Henry: Round 1: 4th, Round 2: 3rd, Round 3: 1st.
  • 2011 – Scott Piercy: Round 1: 47th, Round 2: 45th, Round 3: 1st.
  • 2010 – Matt Bettencourt: Round 1: 1st, Round 2: 1st, Round 3: 7th.

Incoming form of winners since 2010:

  • Richy Werenski: 3rd TPC Twin Cities/35th Workday Open/ 21st Detroit/ 46th River Highlands.
  • Collin Morikawa: 4th Deere Run/2nd TPC Twin Cities/36th River Highlands/35th US Open.
  • Andrew Putnam: 8th Canada/MC Deere Run/MC Greenbrier/27th TPC Potomac.
  • Chris Stroud: MC Canada/35th Barbasol/19th Deere Run/20th Greenbrier.
  • Greg Chalmers: MC Air Capital Classic/MC Nashville Open/27th Rust-Oleum/MC Puntacana.
  • J.J. Henry: 63rd RTJ/41st Canada/23rd Barbasol/MC Deere Run.
  • Geoff Ogilvy: 34th Canada/55th Congressional/MC US Open/MC St Jude.
  • Gary Woodland: 61st Canada/48th JDC/62nd Old White TPC/18th Congressional.
  • J.J. Henry: 37th Canada/21st Annandale/13th Deere Run/MC Old White TPC.
  • Scott Piercy: MC Old White TPC/6th Canada/18th Annandale/45th Deere Run.
  • Matt Bettencourt: 49th Deere Run/MC Aronimink/MC TPC River Highlands/70th US Open.

First Round Leader Analysis: First round leader(s), their wave and winning score since 2019. Full First Round Leader stats are here.

  • 2020 – Schenk/Moore – AM/PM 14 Points – 66/1 & 35/1.
  • 2019 – Lingmerth – AM 17 Points – 125/1.

For the record, here’s the breakdown of pure Poa Annua and Bentgrass/Poa Annua mix PGA Tour victors in the field since 2008:

  • 4 – Brandt Snedeker.
  • 2 – J.J. Henry, Scott Piercy, Brendan Steele, Nick Watney, Gary Woodland.
  • 1 – Aaron Baddeley, Sangmoon Bae, Greg Chalmers, Emiliano Grillo, Bill Haas, Padraig Harrington, Russell Knox, Matt Kuchar, Nate Lashley, Sean O’Hair, Andrew Putnam, Chez Reavie, Scott Stallings, Nick Taylor, Vaughn Taylor, Kevin Tway, Bo Van Pelt, Richy Werenski.

This week is all about attacking golf. With eagles worth 5 points and bogeys -1 point, players who can create numerous scoring chances and convert plenty of them will gravitate to the head of the leaderboard. Such a format also rewards those who can take advantage of the altitude which, at 5,800 feet, is the highest tournament location on the PGA Tour.

In the last 3 champions of the Barracuda Championship, Richy Werenski, Collin Morikawa and Andrew Putnam, we’ve seen a huge swing in quality and price of winner.

Werenski was a 33/1 chance coming directly to California from Minnesota where he’d finished 3rd at the 3M Open. Morikawa hardly needs introduction and he won this as the 12/1 favourite in 2019, his maiden PGA Tour win. 4th at the John Deere Classic and 2nd at the 3M Open was face-palm obvious form, but naturally many a punter was put off by the lack of value in his price.

Andrew Putnam was similar in 2018 as he arrived at the Barracuda direct off an 8th place finish in the RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey – a Jack Nicklaus design. He’d already had a great season finishing 5th at Corales, 8th at the Valero Texas Open and 2nd behind Dustin Johnson at the FedEx St Jude Classic. At 138th in the OWGR he had already jumped over 200 spots in 2018.

Both of these wins also destroyed a long Barracuda trend. Before Putnam, no winner had been ranked inside the top 100 in the FedEx Cup when arriving here – indeed Scott Piercy (142nd), Geoff Ogilvy (151st), J.J. Henry (151st), Greg Chalmers (229th) and Chris Stroud (144th), were well outside the top 125 when triumphing.

My selections are as follows:

Maverick McNealy 2pts Win 18/1 with bet365

Maverick McNealy has certainly been trending of late and this week’s Barracuda Championship might just be where he finally gets his breakthrough win.

A rarity in this field, across my 8-week Strokes Gained trackers Maverick ranks in the top 6 for Tee to Green, top 17 for Putting and 1st for Strokes Gained Current Form. He’s clearly playing some well rounded golf of late and that shows with his results. 5 consecutive top-30 finishes include 20th at Colonial, 21st in Detroit, 18th at TPC Deere Run and 16th last time out at TPC Twin Cities. And there’s no doubt that McNealy has had real opportunities within those with Sunday starting positions of 9th at Colonial, 8th at TPC Deere Run and 2nd at TPC Twin Cities.

But one thing’s certain with Maverick. He tends to save his very best performances for his home Golden State. Indeed 4 of McNealy’s last 6 top-10 finishes have come in California. 3rd at the 2019 Ellie Mae Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour has been followed by 5th at the 2020 AT&T Pebble Beach, 7th here at Old Greenwood last term and 2nd at the 2021 AT&T Pebble Beach. Clearly he loves the feel of Poa Annua greens and another of his top-10s came at Detroit Golf Club which again feature Poa Annua with Bentgrass putting surfaces.

Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, Maverick is well suited to this week’s high altitude, test and I’ve teamed him with Mito Pereira at the very top of this week’s betting market. RESULT: T18

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Mito Pereira 2pts Win 20/1 with Unibet

2019 saw 12/1 betting favourite Collin Morikawa use the Barracuda Championship as a launchpad to grab his maiden PGA Tour event. He hasn’t done too badly since I think you’ll agree! Indeed, since 2018, Cameron Champ, Viktor Hovland and Seamus Power have all used ‘alternate’ events to capture their first main Tour victories and, in the case of Hovland and Power, they came at 12/1 and 20/1 prices respectively.

Now I tipped up Mito Pereira at the recent 3M Open at 80/1 and the Chilean played well for me, securing a part each-way place. My reasoning was based on the fact that he’d landed 3 Korn Ferry wins across the past 17 months, the last 2 of which came across consecutive weeks in June.

An undoubted talent, since his promotion to the PGA Tour in the first week of July, Pereira’s last 3 tournament outings have now produced 5th at the Barbasol Championship, 6th at the 3M Open and 3rd across regulation 72-hole play at the Olympics last week in Japan. Undoubtedly the 26 year-old is a talent and maybe his compatriot and house mate Joaquin Niemann wasn’t joking when he mentioned in a recent interview that Pereira is better than he is!

Born and raised in Santiago, the agronomy and altitude at Old Greenwood should feel like home, and if he can produce a similar 2 eagles and 19 birdies as he did last week at Kasumigaseki Country Club in the close leaderboard proximity of some of the world’s best players in the form of Schauffele, Morikawa, Matsuyama, McIlroy and Casey, then it will take a huge performance to beat him. RESULT: T39

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Gary Woodland 2pts EW 28/1 (6EW, 1/5) with Unibet

Next up is Gary Woodland who as we know is a true ‘desert rat’ and west coast specialist.

2nd at the 2011 Bob Hope Classic played at PGA West in California was a real PGA Tour breakout for Gary and since then he has won this in 2013 when played at Montreux (Nevada) and won the 2018 Waste Management Open at TPC Scottsdale (Arizona). His 2019 U.S. Open triumph was of course on Poa Annua greens at Pebble Beach, again in California.

And despite a low-key 2020/21 season, there are definite signs that Gary is on the road to his 5th PGA Tour title. 6th at the Texas Open in April was followed by 5th at the Wells Fargo Championship in May. 38th at the PGA Championship doesn’t tell the whole story as Gary was right in the mix on the front 9 on Sunday and 14th at the Charles Schwab Challenge was also encouraging.

But at 127th in the FedEx Cup standings going into the 3M Open a fortnight ago, Gary must have been in no doubt that strong results were needed to the make this month’s Playoffs. So Friday/Saturday rounds of 66 and 67 were just what the doctor ordered as Woodland went into Sunday tied 2nd. He eventually finished 11th after bogeying the 18th on Sunday and therefore finds himself only 6 places above the top 125 Playoff trapdoor, which I think will motivate him this week.

1st (2013) and 2nd (2016) at Montreux so has a real affinity with the Barracuda tournament and the Modified Stableford format. RESULT: T7

Brendan Steele 1pt EW 66/1 (7EW, 1/5) with Paddy Power

Born and raised in Idyllwild, California, which sits at 5,400 feet above sea-level, Brendan Steele is well accustomed to both these atmospheric conditions and the golf course agronomy this week.

And in Steele we get a player who actually targets the Barracuda Championship. 8th (2012), 4th (2013), 25th (2014) 7th (2015) and 5th (2016) across 7 attempts, Brendan clearly wants to win this tournament in his home Golden State. Think Zach Johnson at the John Deere Classic – the Barracuda matters to Brendan Steele. California form includes a couple of wins at Silverado – 2016 and 2017 – allied to 2nd at PGA West in 2015 and 7th at CordeValle in 2011. Arizona and TPC Scottsdale in particular is also a venue where Steele excels. 5th (2012), 6th (2013), 6th (2014), and 3rd (2018).

Made the cut last time out at the Open Championship and his last outing in the United States was interesting on the basis he ranked 8th for Strokes Gained on Approach and 10th for Strokes Gained Tee to Green when missing the cut on the number. RESULT: MC

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Brandon Hagy 1pt EW 60/1 (7EW, 1/5) with Paddy Power

Brandon Hagy has undoubtedly had the best year of his career. Up 242 spots in the Official Golf World Rankings, the 30 year-old from Santa Monica in California has earned his PGA Tour card for next season as he sits 77th in the FedEx Cup standings.

21st at The American Express, 2nd at the Honda Classic, 17th at the Valero Texas Open, July also saw Hagy finish 6th at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and 18th at the John Deere Classic. In the mix throughout in Detroit, Brandon recorded 20 Birdies across the week and ranked 8th for Strokes Gained Tee to Green and 21st for Strokes Gained Putting.

He also carried that forward the next week at the John Deere Classic where he finished 18th. Brandon though went out in the final Sunday Group with Sebastian Munoz, following on from the Rocket Mortgage where he was in the 3rd last Sunday grouping with Jason Kokrak.

Clearly playing great golf, Hagy who resides in Scottsdale, Arizona was 12th here last year, finishing with +11 on Sunday. Playing much better golf 12 months on, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the World Number 154 in contention again this week, especially as he seemingly has a liking for Jack Nicklaus designs. 5th at the 2017 RBC Canadian Open played at Glen Abbey, he was also runner-up to Matt Jones at PGA National back in March. RESULT: 5th

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Odds and bookmaker offers correct at 07:45BST 3.8.21 but naturally subject to fluctuation.