Nick Dunlap returns to defend at Barracuda Championship, where Max Homa is also playing
A year ago, Nick Dunlap won the tournament. It was his second PGA Tour but first as a pro. The year before that, Akshay Bhatia won his maiden tournament at the Barracuda. In 2021, it was Erik van Rooyen winning for the first time.
Because of the tournament's opposite-field status, however, many times the defending champion doesn't return by virtue of having gained access into the British Open. That's not true this year, as Dunlap will return to defend.
Two golfers who were originally scheduled to play – Chris Gotterup and Matti Schmid – withdrew Sunday night after earning spots on the tee sheet at Royal Portrush. There were three spots left open to the British for the top three finishers at the Scottis Open who were not already in the British field. Gotterup won the Scottish and Schmid was also top three.
"It's great. I'm happy to be playing my first Open next week. It's great," Gotterup said after winning in Scotland on Sunday. "There's nothing other to say than I'm excited to go up to Portrush and get back to playing some tournament golf next week. But I'm happy I'm not flying from here to California, that's for sure."
Notables in the Barracuda Championship field
Adam Hadwin was added to the Barracuda field Friday. On Saturday, more changers were announced: Jake Knapp WD / Trace Crowe IN; David Ford WD / Ben Martin IN. On Sunday, along with Gotterup and Schmid changing their plans, the PGA Tour announced Henrik Norlander WD / Zac Blair IN and Trace Crowe WD / Austin Cook IN.
Max Homa is in the tournament this year for the first time since 2017. He's 98th in the latest FedEx Cup standings. Hadwin is 129th. Both are among the many working to improve their status as the cutoff for making the FedEx Cup Playoffs in 2025 is top 70.
The Barracuda field will be 156 and there are 50 golfers from the DP World Tour playing. Other notables include Hayden Buckley, Rafael Campos, Cameron Champ, Joel Dahmen, Austin Eckroat, Emiliano Grillo, Kurt Kitayama and William Mouw, who is fresh off his first PGA Tour win at the ISCO Championship.
Barracuda Championship format uses Modified Stableford scoring
It's the lone event on the PGA Tour schedule to deploy this scoring method and it rewards aggressive play.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Schauffele determined to win Claret Jug back
Reigning champion Xander Schauffele said on Tuesday he is "looking forward" to winning back the Claret Jug at this week's British Open in Northern Ireland, after enjoying his title celebrations last year. The American landed the trophy 12 months ago at Royal Troon with a superb final-round performance to secure his second major title, celebrating accordingly. Advertisement "The lid, it barely opens. I had a little tequila there in Portugal," he said of the famous British Open trophy. "I've had wine out of it, but not too much. I don't drink a whole lot. I definitely drank more after a few championships last year. "It's a bummer to give up the trophy this year. Looking forward to trying to get it back." Schauffele has struggled for his best so far this year but showed signs of a return to form with a top-10 finish at the Scottish Open last weekend. But he has made a habit of peaking at the majors, making 14 successive cuts in golf's biggest events and winning the PGA Championship as well as the British Open in 2024. Advertisement "If I can get myself in the mix is when I think I would have an advantage," said the 31-year-old, who was also an Open runner-up behind Francesco Molinari at Carnoustie in 2018. "That's where my biggest edge would be. I can lean on experience at other points in time, but I think the most fun and the biggest advantage I would have is coming down the stretch if I can get close to that lead." Despite only posting two top-10 finishes this year, Schauffele is still ranked number three in the world and has not missed a cut in a professional tournament since 2022. He will tee off in his first round at Royal Portrush at 9:58 am local time (0858 GMT) on Thursday alongside newly-crowned US Open champion J.J. Spaun and Spanish star Jon Rahm. jc/iwd
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Scottie Scheffler Makes Personal Confession Ahead of 2025 Open Championship
Scottie Scheffler Makes Personal Confession Ahead of 2025 Open Championship originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Open Championship — the fourth and final major of the PGA Tour season — is set to begin Thursday at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, marking its first return to the venue since 2019. Advertisement As players begin arriving throughout the week, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler spoke to the media Tuesday, looking to capture his first Open Championship title. Scheffler has put together another dominant campaign in 2025 and continues to hold the No. 1 ranking — a spot he's now occupied for well over a year. But during his press conference, he was asked a seemingly simple question that prompted a deep, introspective response. "What would be the longest you've ever celebrated something, and what was your most crushing loss?" a reporter asked. Instead of listing career highlights or regrets, Scheffler used the moment to open up. Advertisement "I think it's kind of funny," he began. "I think I said something after the Byron [Nelson] this year — which I won in a playoff in May — about how it feels like you work your whole life to celebrate winning a tournament for just a few minutes. That kind of euphoric feeling only lasts a few minutes. "To win the Byron Nelson at home, I literally worked my entire life to become good at golf, to have an opportunity to win that tournament. And you win it, you celebrate, you get to hug your family — my sister was there — it's such an amazing moment. And then it's like, 'OK… what are we going to eat for dinner?'' But Scheffler didn't stop there. His response quickly turned into something more personal. "This is not a fulfilling life. It's fulfilling from a sense of accomplishment, but it's not fulfilling from the deepest places of your heart. Advertisement "There are a lot of people who make it to what they thought was going to fulfill them in life, and then they get there and ask, 'What's the point?' You get to No. 1 in the world and suddenly wonder — why do I want this so badly? "That's something I wrestle with on a daily basis. Like showing up at the Masters every year — why do I want to win this golf tournament so badly? Why do I want to win the Open Championship so badly?' "I don't know," he added, "because if I win, it's going to be awesome for two minutes." Related: Tiger Woods Sends Strong Message Ahead of 2025 Open Championship This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
News on Grant Horvat and PGA Tour's Disagreement Emerges This Week
News on Grant Horvat and PGA Tour's Disagreement Emerges This Week originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Grant Horvat has made a name for himself in the golf community by producing engaging content around the sport. He often invites celebrities to join him in golf challenges, and fans love his videos—so much so that he earned a sponsor invite to play in this week's Barracuda Championship. Advertisement But on Tuesday, news emerged that Horvat declined to participate in the event due to a disagreement with the PGA Tour. As an influencer, he wanted to bring a crew to record content during the tournament, but they wouldn't allow it. "I will not be playing in a PGA TOUR event is due to the rules and regulations around media rights and filming during tournament play of a PGA TOUR event. And basically that means I was not going to be allowed to film my round during tournament play." Horvat said in a video. Grant Horvat, a YouTube influencer and former member of the Palm Beach Atlantic University golf team.© DAMON HIGGINS/THE PALM BEACH DAILY NEWS / USA TODAY NETWORK "And for me personally, doing YouTube for a living and wanting to document everything I do, and this is the reason we got the invite in the first place, was because of YouTube and because of the amazing experiences I get to share with you guys," he continued. Advertisement "But I am hopeful that sometime in the future we will be able to play in a PGA TOUR event. I don't know which one it will be, maybe the Barracuda next year, and document and film," he added. Fans have supported his stance on the matter. Several eminent individuals declared their support, including even Phil Mickelson. "The thing is something like this doesn't really benefit Grant as much as the tour benefits. So why not have some sort of clause or something in rules where the tour can allow a non-member to create content around an event? It only elevates the tour and the tournament." Bryan Bros Golf wrote on X. Advertisement Mickelson responded to that joking, "🙋♂️I'd like to take a crack at this 😂😂". Related: PGA Tour Makes Scottie Scheffler Announcement Before Open Championship This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
