Joel Dahmen rides eight birdies to first-round lead at Barracuda Championship

TRUCKEE, California — The afternoon wind didn’t bother Joel Dahmen too much as he blew past the field to take the first-round lead at the Barracuda Championship.

Dahmen, 33, from Clarkston, Washington, scored 16 points in Thursday’s round on the PGA Tour stop at Old Greenwood golf course.

Stephan Jaeger is in second with 14 points and Scott Harrington, who had an eagle on hole No. 8, is in third with 13 points. Michael Thompson and Emiliano Grillo are tied for fourth with 12 points.

Dahmen said it was the best could have played and that his putter made the difference.

Barracuda Championship: Leaderboard

“It’s tough at altitude sometimes. You don’t really know what you’re doing out here. It’s all guess,” Dahmen said. “With the wind blowing the way it was, I didn’t have a number in mind or anything, but I hit some bad shots that turned out great, hit some good shots that turned out good, and my ball just found the hole today.”

He said Old Greenwood is a perfect fit for the Modified Stableford scoring system.

“You can make plenty of birdies and eagles, but there’s doubles out there, as well,” he said.

Thompson said he was trying to stay focused and not get too far ahead of himself. This is his first time playing at Old Greenwood. He played in the Barracuda at Montreux Golf & Country Club in 2018 when he finished in the top 25.

He said Old Greenwood has dried out since the start of the week, likely due to the wind that comes up every afternoon.

“It’s an easier walk than Montreux, which is nice,” Thompson, 36, said. “But this is a beautiful, beautiful part of the country. I’ve never been to Truckee. I didn’t even know this town existed. It’s kind of a treat for me to be out here. And being an Arizona boy at heart, I grew up in dry heat.”

Thompson, who lives in Tucson, figured it will take at least 40 points to win the Barracuda. Richey Werenski won with 39 last year.

Grillo had an eagle on No. 12 to go with four birdies, and three bogeys. He said he’d like to see more tournaments use the Modified Stableford scoring system, saying it seems more like match play.

Roger Sloan is also among the early leaders with 11 points. He said playing at Old Greenwood reminds him of his home courses in Alberta, Canada.

He is turning this week into a mini vacation as his family is staying with him at Northstar-At-Tahoe. They planned to go sightseeing at Lake Tahoe later Thursday.

Spectators make a difference

Mark Anderson is also among the leaders with 10 points going into Friday’s second round. He said the golfers like having spectators back on the course, adding that golfers are also in the entertainment business.

“That’s why we play really,” he said. “It kind of makes it exciting for us to see everybody else. We’ve gotten back to that this year. It’s exciting to see people come out and be enthusiastic about the golf. It’s a really nice, positive change.

“That’s really what we’re doing out here is entertaining. And it’s no fun when I’m struggling or not playing well, when I can’t get anybody to even be too excited about. But hitting great shots and seeing people appreciate that is fun.”

John Daly’s partner makes an ace

Shawn Stefani played in the same group Thursday with John Daly, who tends to draw the largest galleries of the Barracuda each year. Daly did not play at Old Greenwood in 2020.

The grouping paid off as Stefani made a hole-in-one on hole No. 7. The five points he earned there brought him to even for the day.

Stefani, 39, from Bayton, Texas, finished the round with four points and is tied for 54th place. He is ranked No. 241 in the FedEx Cup standings.

Daly finished with minus-nine points.

The format

At the Barracuda, players earn eight points for a double eagle, five points for an eagle, two points for a birdie, no points for a par, minus-one point for a bogey and minus- three points for a double bogey or worse.