Let’s be real. If you’re a pro golfer and you aren’t in the field at The Open Championship, you’re usually grinding for points at the Barracuda Championship. It’s the "opposite field" event. It’s the tournament where the Modified Stableford scoring makes things weird and exciting. But lately, when you see a headline about barracuda championship golfers withdraw, it usually isn’t because of a standard sore back or a family emergency.
Something much weirder has been happening in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
The 2025 edition of the tournament saw one of the most bizarre "withdrawals" in the history of the PGA Tour. It didn't involve a Top 50 player. It involved a YouTuber. Specifically, Grant Horvat.
The Grant Horvat Fiasco: Can You Play if You Can't Film?
It’s kind of wild when you think about it. Grant Horvat, a guy who has built a massive empire on YouTube with millions of subscribers, was actually given a sponsor exemption to play in a real-deal PGA Tour event. The fans were stoked. The "YouTube Golf" world was ready to see if one of their own could actually hold a candle to the grinders on the Tour.
Then, 48 hours before the first tee time, he backed out.
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Why? Because the PGA Tour wouldn't let him bring his own camera crew. Seriously.
The Tour has these incredibly strict media rights deals. They’re worth hundreds of millions of dollars. They basically told Grant, "You can play, but you can't film your own content for your channel." For a guy whose entire business is based on showing people his rounds, that was a dealbreaker. He withdrew because he couldn't monetize the experience the way he wanted to.
Some people called him "soulless" for it. Others said the PGA Tour is stuck in the 1950s. Either way, it was a withdrawal that nobody saw coming and one that changed the conversation about how professional golf actually works in the digital age. Honestly, it made the tournament look a little silly, and it made Grant look like he cared more about views than the trophy.
Why Do Golfers Actually Withdraw From This Specific Event?
Most of the time, the reason for barracuda championship golfers withdraw is way more boring than YouTube drama.
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- The Last Minute Major Call-up: This is the most common one. Since the Barracuda is played the same week as The Open, the alternate list is constantly moving. If a guy in the British Open field catches a cold or tweaks a wrist, the next man up on the alternate list gets a flight to Scotland. They "withdraw" from the Barracuda to chase the Claret Jug. No-brainer, right?
- The Points Game: Some guys look at the FedEx Cup standings and realize they’re safe. Or, they realize they’re so far back that playing a 7,000-foot elevation course in Truckee, California, isn't going to save their season.
- Injury and Fatigue: Tahoe Mt. Club is beautiful, but the air is thin. Walking that course is a beast. If you've been playing five weeks in a row, the Barracuda is often the first event to get chopped from the schedule.
The Impact of the "Strategic Alliance"
You've probably noticed more European names on the leaderboard lately. That’s because of the deal between the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.
Because of this alliance, the Barracuda field is a mix of both tours. When a DP World Tour player withdraws, it’s often because they’ve secured their status back home or they’ve suddenly qualified for a bigger event in Europe. It’s a literal game of musical chairs played across two continents.
What Most People Get Wrong About Withdrawals
People think a "WD" is a sign of weakness or a "rage quit." It's almost never that.
For a pro, withdrawing is a business decision. If you play and you're hurt, you might miss two months. If you withdraw now, you might be back in ten days. At the Barracuda, where the scoring system rewards "going for it" (you get 5 points for an eagle but only lose 3 for a double bogey), playing while injured is a recipe for disaster.
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The Future of the Barracuda Championship
There’s some dark clouds on the horizon for this event. Reports from late 2025 suggest that Barracuda Networks might not renew their sponsorship.
If that happens, the tournament might move to June. It might change names. It might even disappear. If the sponsorship dies, the "withdrawal" we’ll be talking about won't be a single player—it’ll be the entire tournament withdrawing from the PGA Tour schedule.
What You Should Do Next
If you’re following a specific player and they’ve pulled out of the field, don't panic. Check the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) or the FedEx Cup standings. Usually, a withdrawal at this stage of the season is a tactical move to prep for the Playoffs or a response to a late entry into a Major.
- Keep an eye on the alternate list. Guys like James Hahn and Matt NeSmith are often the first to jump in when a spot opens up.
- Follow the social media accounts of the players directly. They usually give the "real" reason for a WD long before the Tour's official PR account does.
- Look at the Modified Stableford leaderboard early. Even with big names withdrawing, the scoring system makes the first two rounds wildly unpredictable.
The Barracuda Championship remains the quirky, high-altitude outlier of the PGA Tour. Whether it's a YouTuber fighting for his right to film or a veteran saving his knees for one last run at the FedEx Cup, a withdrawal here is rarely just a "no-show." It's a symptom of a pro golf landscape that is changing faster than the flight of a ball in the thin Tahoe air.