The Biggest Little Tournament in Pro Golf

Once upon a time, some mini tours provided reliable and consistent pathways to the next level. Today, a mini tour offering an exemption into a tournament on a top tour is rare. That’s one reason why the leaderboard at the Asher Tour’s Reno Open is filled with a who’s who from the Monday Q Info universe – not only does the winner receive $40,000, he will also win an exemption into “golf's fifth major,” the Barracuda Championship. 

If you’ve been following Monday Q Info for a while, you’ll recognize many of the names that populate the Reno Open leaderboard. There’s Bryan Bigly, Dylan Healy, Vince India, Michael McGowan, Christian DiMarco, RJ Manke, Tommy Kuhl, Danny Ochoa, Michael Feagles, Jimmy Jones, Chris Korte, and the list goes on. If these names mean nothing to you, congratulations: you’re not a professional golf sicko!

Reno dubs itself “The Biggest Little City in the World,” so it’s fitting that the biggest little tournament in professional golf is played here. Reno is a hub for people hoping to leave town with more money than they brought, and with the $2,250 tournament entry fee, the stakes for the Reno Open are high.

At 4,505 feet above sea level, golf balls soar at courses around this city. It can be unsettling to stand over an 8-iron from 213 yards, as I did today (we were also 15 mph downwind), or a 7 iron from 190-yards into a similar wind. Shooting low numbers can be as much about handling nerves as about swinging the club well. 

It’s been six months since I have played in a proper golf tournament, so I had to get reacquainted with tournament feels. Every golfer has, at some point, felt exactly what I was feeling on the first tee today – shortness of breath, racing heart, a wrestling match between confident and undermining thoughts – a spike of adrenaline. Through a lot of competitive golf, I’ve learned that to a certain extent, everyone else is feeling it too. If you can learn to harness that energy, it’s a powerful force.  

I played with Vince India and Michael McGowan in Round 1. 36-year-old India was a staple on the Korn Ferry Tour not so long ago and nearly earned his PGA Tour card. India made it to the final stage of Q school for seven consecutive years. No one wants to have to go back to Q school that frequently, but India’s streak tells you something about his game. India hits a draw as reliably as most people show up to work. He hits it long and spends a lot of time on the short grass. When you watch the shots he chooses and the way he plays them, it’s obvious why he’s had success. 

McGowan grew up down the street from Pinehurst Resort and qualified for last year’s U.S. Open on Pinehurst’s No. 2 course. You can imagine what a dream it would be to play the biggest tournament of your life in your hometown. I imagine It also added a significant amount of pressure. McGowan didn’t make the cut at Pinehurst, but will head back to local qualifying in the coming weeks for this year’s U.S. Open knowing he’s done it before.

Wolf Run Golf Club, site of the Reno Open, is child’s play compared to what McGowan faced at Pinehurst. Today, gusty winds around the 7100 yard public course challenged our group. Scoring for the Reno Open isn’t Medal Play, as is common for mini tour events. In the spirit of The ‘Cuda, it’s a Modified Stableford format that awards two points for a birdie, five points for an eagle, nothing for par, a bogey costs a point, and double bogey or worse (golf gods forbid) costs three points. For a competitor skilled and lucky enough to make the rarest of birds, an albatross, they win the grand prize: eight points. Rhein Gibson made a double eagle on the 18th hole at the 2016 Barracuda Championship, which came with a $100,000 bonus for charity. Make one of these in the Reno Open, and there’s a good chance you’ll be in contention.

An enviable scorecard for a player hanging around par would be one that trades birdies and bogeys. If a player makes two pars, they don’t add any points to their card. If they make one birdie and one bogey, however, they net one point (gain two, lose one). The player who wins the tournament may not actually have the best cumulative total score, but they will most certainly have an eagle or two on their cards. 

Today, McGowan shot 1-under for four points, I shot 1-under for six points, and India shot 2-under for seven. 23-year-old UC Davis alum Lucas Carpenter leads the tournament after Round 1 with 13 points. 

In the 2022 ‘Cuda, I was just shy of the cut line playing my second hole of the day in Round 2. I hit my second shot on the long par-5 near the green in heavy rough. I was short-sided, playing a flop shot over a bunker to a firm green that sloped away from me. The ball came off my lob wedge high and soft, landed like a medicine ball, and rolled in the hole. Eagle. Five points. Inside the cut line. One eagle can change the momentum of the entire tournament. I hope to make one tomorrow.   

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