Barracuda Championship 2015: Tee Times, Dates, TV Schedule and Prize Money

The Barracuda Championship is the last chance golfers have to qualify for the year's final major. This week's winner qualifies for the PGA Championship if he isn't already in the field.

Montreux Golf and Country Club in Reno, Nevada, will be the site of a unique PGA Tour event. A Modified Stableford scoring system will be used in this tournament, as opposed to the typical stroke-play format.

Check out how the scoring works in the table below:

Score Type	Points
Double Eagle	+8
Eagle	+5
Birdie	+2
Par	0
Bogey	-1
Double Bogey or worse	-3

So instead of shooting for lower scores as is customary, those teeing it up in Reno will be trying to put plus-scores on the board, which are the rewards for birdies and better.

The tournament's official Twitter account has another interesting anecdote to suggest low numbers may be hard to come by:

Held opposite the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, the Barracuda Championship lacks most of the elite players but is nevertheless a refreshing style of golf that can't be seen anywhere else this season.

Past U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy is back in the field to defend the trophy. Several other notables will be in action as well to give Ogilvy a run for his money. Below is a glimpse at the basic tournament information and a closer look at featured stars.

2015 Barracuda Championship

Dates: Thursday, Aug. 6, through Sunday, Aug. 9

Where: Montreux Golf and Country Club in Reno, Nevada

Tee Times: For a complete list of tee times for the opening two rounds, visit PGATour.com.

Purse: $3,100,000; Winner's Share: $558,000

FedEx Cup Points: 300 to champion

Date	Time (ET)	Station
Thursday, Aug. 6	6:30-9:30 p.m.	Golf Channel
Friday, Aug. 7	6:30-8:30 p.m.	Golf Channel
Saturday, Aug. 8	6-9 p.m.	Golf Channel
Sunday, Aug. 9	6-9 p.m.	Golf Channel

Time (PT)	Group
7 a.m.	Matt Bettencourt, Tim Petrovic, Ricky Barnes
7:22 a.m.	Ben Curtis, Robert Garrigus, Michael Putnam
7:55 a.m.	Alex Cejka, David Toms, Retief Goosen
8:06 a.m.	Bryce Molder, Jhonattan Vegas, Patrick Rodgers
8:39 a.m.	Max Homa, Oscar Fraustro, Ollie Schniederjans
12 p.m.	J.J. Henry, Trevor Immelman, Blayne Barber
12:44 p.m.	John Rollins, David Duval, Roberto Castro
12:44 p.m.	Aaron Baddeley, Shaun Micheel, Tom Gillis
12:55 p.m.	Geoff Ogilvy, Tim Clark, K.J. Choi

Stars to Watch

Jeff Haynes/Getty Images

The tougher scoring conditions referenced before may play into Ogilvy's hands. His over-par total to win the 2006 U.S. Open is proof he can grind around tougher courses.

Stableford also tends to reward aggressive golfing tactics, because it's not as damaging to drop a shot under this format. Birdies carry greater value than double bogeys or worse do. Ogilvy has won the WGC Match Play event twice in his career, so he can thrive when there's a greater margin for error.

Ogilvy hadn't had a top 10 until his Barracuda Championship win in 2014, which helped propel him into the exclusive field at the Tour Championship during the FedEx Cup playoffs. The Aussie has endured similar struggles this season and will hope to use his impending title defense as a springboard.

Speaking of fearless players, one dark horse to watch is Ollie Schniederjans. The three-time All-American at Georgia Tech just turned pro and is essentially playing with house money given how late in the year he's joined the tour.

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Schniederjans is on a sponsor's exemption and seems to have the game to hang tough on the big circuit. His final start as an amateur was The Open Championship, where he finished in a tie for 12th.

After tying for 22nd in the Canadian Open, Schniederjans was tied for 15th at last week's Quicken Loans National. Not bad at all for a rookie.

Tournament director Chris Hoff expressed his excitement at welcoming Schniederjans to Reno in a statement, per the Reno Gazette-Journal's Jim Krajewski:

"

We are thrilled to have Ollie Schniederjans participating in the 2015 Barracuda Championship. Part of the same graduating class as rising stars like Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Daniel Berger, he's going to be an exciting player to watch at the tournament and as he continues his professional golf career.

"

Another decorated recent collegian and former No. 1 amateur is Stanford product Patrick Rodgers.

Rodgers has struggled since tying second at the Wells Fargo Championship in May, but he may be revitalized playing Stableford. The 23-year-old certainly has the talent to get the job done, with tremendous driving distance and solid play from tee to green. What Rodgers needs is a hot putter to turn things around.

Notable veterans in the field include two-time U.S. Open winner Retief Goosen and former world No. 1 David Duval.

A five-under 67 in the third round of the British Open for Duval showed he still has some serious game. Goosen tied for 20th at St. Andrews and is playing better since missing six of eight cuts prior to then. He even grabbed the first-round co-lead at the Quicken Loans National.

One more lesser-known player to keep an eye on is Will Wilcox. Still in search of his first PGA Tour victory, Wilcox came in second at the Barbasol Championship and was tied for 21st at the Quicken Loans National.

Srixon builds a pretty compelling case to take a flier on Wilcox:

The tidy all-around game of Wilcox and his undeniably consistent scoring average translates well to a tougher venue like Montreux. Without any true superstars to deal with, the time is ripe for Wilcox to break through.

But this is also a golden opportunity for others such as Schniederjans and seasoned pros who have struggled to regain confidence. 

The blend of course difficulty and relatively caution-free course management creates a fascinating dynamic about the Barracuda Championship. A less lucrative purse also won't have so much financial significance on every stroke, only adding to the overall entertainment value of an event sure to attract a solid audience even opposite the marquee World Golf Championship.