The PGA Tour continues on this week as it visits Port Royal Golf Course for the 2024 Butterfield Bermuda Championship. Port Royal was designed by legendary golf course architect Robert Trent Jones and will play as a Par 71, 6,828 yard layout as it hosts the PGA Tour for the sixth consecutive year.
An event like this sets up perfectly for elite ball strikers. Length isn’t a factor this week, but keeping the ball in play and knowing where to miss will be extra important, especially if the winds pick up. Scoring has always been low in this event, with every winner finishing at least -15 for the week, but it’ll hinge on that wind, which can wreak havoc on the field if the gusts are up. Regardless of the wind, being a solid putter certainly won’t hurt your odds this week. With scoring traditionally low, I want someone who can make birdies in bunches and isn’t afraid to be aggressive on their approach shots. This week’s event serves as the penultimate stop on the FedEx Cup Fall portion of the schedule, which means the studs are looking to improve their positions for next season, the young guns are looking for a career-changing week and the journeymen are looking to keep their dreams alive for another season. With plenty of storylines on tap, expect another dramatic finish come Sunday.
The Butterfield Bermuda Championship was first held in 2019 and has produced a variety of winners, with Brendon Todd, Brian Gay, Lucas Herbert, Séamus Power and Camilo Villegas all finding victory in this event once.
The 18-hole scoring record is 61, which was shot by Taylor Pendrith in the second round in 2021 and later matched by Alex Norén in the first round last year. The 72-hole scoring record is 260 (-24), which was first achieved by Brendon Todd during his victory in 2019 and matched by Camilo Villegas last year.
Last year’s edition was won by Camilo Villegas, who birdied two of his final four holes to end a nine year winless streak on tour and pick up his first win since losing his two-year-old daughter to cancer in 2020. Alex Norén finished in second place, two strokes off the pace, while Matti Schmid finished in third place, three strokes back. Carl Yuan finished in fourth place, four strokes behind, while Adam Scott and Ryan Moore finished T-5, five strokes back.
Erik Barnes came out and nearly shocked the world earlier this season, finishing runner-up at the Puerto Rico Open after losing on the fourth playoff hole to Brice Garnett. Since then, Barnes has been trying to get that feeling again, but has not had much luck, with just one other top 20 finish in his 18 starts since, not to mention a dozen missed cuts over that stretch. Erik Barnes has missed the cut in both of his previous starts in this event and I have no doubt he will make it a trifecta this week.
A perennial bubble boy, Chesson Hadley comes into this week’s event ranked 142nd in the FedEx Fall Standings thanks to two top 10’s and five top 25’s in 26 starts, not to mention an even 13 made cuts and 13 missed cuts. Hadley hasn’t really been lighting up the leaderboards of late, but he has fared very well in Bermuda in the past, finishing in the top 20 in both of his previous starts here. The stats don’t really indicate a potentially great week for Hadley, but some players just fare well very at certain courses year after year. Could it be magic for Chesson Hadley once again in Bermuda? I think it will be, and I predict that Hadley will log another top 25 finish.
The winner of this tournament in 2022, Séamus Power may be the hottest player in the field this week, logging four top 15 finishes in his last five starts, including a T-10 finish at the FedEx St. Jude Championship against the best of the best during the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Power is four for four in this event, making the cut in all of his previous starts, with one win, two top 20’s and four top 40 finishes. Power’s game is solid through the bag, but his success this season can be attributed to a hot putter, gaining strokes on the greens in 11 of his last 13 worldwide starts. Even now, Power realizes he still has a chance to defend his title in this event, as he was unable to defend his title in 2023 due to a hip injury. Séamus Power will most definitely be in the mix as the week goes on, but I predict another top 10 finish is in the cards for Power.
2024 has been a solid year for Patrick Rodgers, earning four top 10’s and nine top 25 finishes in 28 starts on tour. Rodgers has quietly been rounding into form as the season draws to a close, earning a pair of top 25’s in his last three starts. More importantly, Rodgers is a stud in this event, finishing in the top 5 here in both 2021 and 2022. Rodgers’ game doesn’t particularly jump off the page in any one area, but much like Power, his more recent successes can be attributed to his putting, gaining strokes on the greens in eight of his last 12 starts. Rodgers rides at daybreak today, going out in the first group off of the 10th hole at a crisp 6 AM EST, but don’t let the early tee time fool you. Patrick Rodgers is primed for a great event and will be hovering around the lead all four days before finally closing out his maiden PGA Tour victory in Bermuda!
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