Padraig Harrington to play at Reno-Tahoe Open
There would have been some disappointment among the fans and organisers after the withdrawal of the defending champion Scott Piercy, from Reno-Tahoe Open. However, the field is still very competitive.
The big news is that Irishman Padraig Harrington will be playing at Reno-Tahoe Open, along with the likes of Troy Matteson, J.B Holmes and JJ Henry.
The tournament is a unique one, as a totally different scoring format is used to pick a winner. The Stableford scoring system is used in which the score of a player on each hole decides who is leading, not the overall score.
This is a very tricky form of scoring because even if one has a four point lead going in the last hole, one might still blow it off.
The system is designed so that players play an aggressive game. The players are awarded 8 points for a double eagle, 5 points for an eagle, 2 for a birdie, zero for par, minus 1 for a bogey and minus 3 for a double bogey or worse.
Padraig Harrington is looking to get back in some form. He has not won a major PGA Tournament since 2008. He is currently ranked 62nd in the world and as a result of that, he missed a chance to play in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
Harrington will have to do numerous calculations this time around to keep a check on his score. “It is a little bit like changing from stroke play to match play. You’ve got to be a bit more aggressive,” said Harrington.
This format is very unpredictable, as you never what happens next. Players are never guaranteed a victory until and unless everybody has completed their course.
“The difference between going from say a par to a birdie is two points. The difference from par to bogey is effectively one point. It’s like a shot and a half. Missing birdie putts is a lot worse than missing par putts this week,” said the Irishman.
Although it is an alternate event but still, the scoring of the even makes it very interesting.
Mike Weir, John Daly, and Stuart Appleby are also heading to the field, at 7,472-yard Montreux Golf & Country Club.
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