A week ago, Trey Mullinax was a PGA Tour maiden staring at a return to Korn Ferry Tour Finals. Ranked 140th in the FedEx Cup standings, he headed to the Barbasol seemingly out of sorts, but knowing he could sort out a lot of things with four good rounds. Now, he's in Scotland, preparing to tee off in the 150th Open Championship, safe in the knowledge that whatever happens at St Andrews, he'll be back contesting the lucrative Playoffs next month.
While there are no major spots up for grabs this time, opportunity is what these tournaments are all about, and another hopeful field heads to Tahoe Mountain Club (Old Greenwood among friends) for the Barracuda Championship, similar in all ways but one. Last week's Barbasol was played in the traditional tour format of 72-hole stroke play, but here it's points rather than pars which are added up – eight for an albatross, five for an eagle, two for a birdie, minus one for a bogey, and minus three for anything worse – in the only stableford event on the schedule.
The winner come Sunday will be one of those to have shot among the best 72-hole scores, of course, but that doesn't mean the format has no effect on the outcome. Far from it in fact – the knowledge that the balance of reward and punishment is tilted towards the former will alter shot choice as players are compelled to go for greens whether with their approaches to the par-fives, or off the tee on a series of short par-fours.
Power you'd think would be advantageous but that's not necessarily true when you look at leaderboards since the event moved here in 2020, with Richy Werenski succeeded by Erik van Rooyen. Without strokes-gained data the most reliable metrics have been greens in regulation and birdie average, a category in which both these players ranked highly, and don't forget we're at altitude to ensure even the shortest of hitters can top 300 yards off the tee in this thin air.
Laird went to college and has lived for a long time in Colorado, so playing at altitude is something he's had to deal with throughout his entire career. It's surely why he's been so effective over in Las Vegas where he's twice won the Shriners, and why his record in this event when held at Montreux included second, fourth, sixth and seventh.
That form should transfer over to Old Greenwood, also designed by Jack Nicklaus, for all it's a tighter course than the former host venue. Laird hasn't yet played here which has to be the biggest negative, but there will certainly be no excuses when it comes to conditions and he should pick it up quickly.
In terms of how he's playing at the moment, a fine start saw him finish 13th in a high-class Travelers Championship three weeks ago, his best result in that event having played it nine times now, and from there he added 30th place in the John Deere Classic. Throughout both of these his rock-solid approach play remained exactly that, his driving improved, and at Deere Run the putter behaved at last.
The Austrian actually shot the best stroke play score but had to settle for third place under stableford conditions, having been the man to aim for at halfway. It was a serious effort despite ultimately ending in disappointment, especially as it was just his third start following the pandemic whereas the two players in front of him were in their seventh and eighth respectively.
Since then, Schwab has earned his PGA Tour card via Korn Ferry Tour Finals last year so unlike the likes of Schmid, he isn't playing for membership. That in fact looks just about guaranteed for next season from 111th in the FedEx Cup standings, though as with Laird he'll surely appreciate that this is a golden opportunity to remove all doubt and potentially vault himself up towards the top 50, at which point a place in the Masters would become a realistic ambition.
At his best, Schwab is a neat and tidy golfer in a similar mould to Werenski and, as has been necessary here, he pounds greens. His strokes-gained approach numbers have improved throughout his last three starts to a very good level at the John Deere Classic, where he was in the mix at the weekend, and we've also seen an upturn in his putting during this run.
Unlike every other appearance this season bar the very first event in Mississippi, Schwab now gets to play a course he already knows and it's one which so obviously suits his game. That's clear not just from his performance two years ago but from his bank of DP World Tour form, with eighth in Crans, second in Turkey and Germany, fourth in Italy, seventh in Austria and 12th at Wentworth all underlining his fondness for tree-lined golf.
That's surely to do with his upbringing in Austria and there will clearly be no excuses on the altitude front, so on the back of an improved display a fortnight ago it'll be disappointing if he can't confirm himself one of the most capable players in this field with a good run at the title.
At the very head of the betting, Maverick McNealy is a Californian with obvious appeal. He makes birdies for fun, loves tree-lined courses, is putting beautifully and played well in far better company last week, but he does have to fly over from Scotland and at 12/1, he's a maiden who can be left alone purely on the basis that he might not be sharp enough from the off.
Alex Noren faces the same problem and it's Cameron Davis who makes by far the most appeal of those priced under 20/1, but at more than twice those odds I'd rather take a chance on VINCE WHALEY.
Like McNealy, here we have a big-hitter who putts really well and makes a load of birdies – in fact, Whaley leads this field in birdie average for the season and is right there among some of the best players in the sport at 14th overall, and he was 23rd before picking up some cheap ones in the low-scoring Barbasol Championship.
His performance in finishing fifth there was a nice step forward following a month of promise and with his approach play finally beginning to come to the party, complementing his dynamite short-game, this very capable youngster is on track to complete his best season yet on the PGA Tour.
Ninth here last year and returning this time with his status secured and off the back of his best ever PGA Tour finish, he has a lovely profile with genuine similarities to Werenski only with an added layer of explosiveness, and at 33/1 and bigger rates a bet.
Greyson Sigg could go well if building on some better putting in Kentucky, especially with last year's top-15 finish here behind him, but next on my list is AUSTIN COOK.
Popular last week and on the fringes of contention at halfway, Cook's third round proved costly but there was plenty to like about his fightback to finish 27th. That means he's bagged three top-30 finishes in four starts, two of them in much stronger company, and the exception still provided positives as he recovered from an awful start to make the cut.
Encouragingly he kept doing the things we need him to do, hitting solid approaches and doing some good work around the greens, and if he can just hit a few more fairways here I'm convinced he's very close to contending for a low-key title like this one.
To repeat some of the arguments made last week, he's got winning form in low-scoring events, his long-game has clearly turned a corner, and at 154th in FedEx Cup points he needs to put all this to use soon if he's to avoid a trip to Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
On my radar last week, Kohles played well for 13th place in Kentucky and that's despite the fact his typically assured putting left him.
He was excellent from tee-to-green, gaining strokes every day both off the tee and with his approach shots, eventually ranking sixth in the latter category as well as third for greens in regulation. This all came on the back of a tidy run of ball-striking form and he simply looks like he's putting together some of the best golf of his PGA Tour career without necessarily being rewarded for it.
Kohles played pretty well on his sole previous try in this tournament, finishing 32nd when out of sorts in his rookie season back in 2013, and he has some eye-catching form at altitude having been in the final group entering the weekend of the TPC Colorado Championship a couple of summers ago.
Once a player of considerable promise and absolutely suited to a challenge like this one, he's worth backing to keep moving forward and can reward us each-way at 150/1.
Posted at 1415 BST on 12/07/22
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