Damien Kayat previews the 2022 edition of the PGA Tour’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship taking place at the Port Royal Golf Course.
2022/2023 US PGA Tour
Butterfield Bermuda Championship
Port Royal Golf Course, Southampton, Bermuda
27th-30th October
Rory McIlroy returned to the top of the World Rankings last week for the ninth time in his illustrious career. The Northern Irish superstar may not have added to his Major Championship count this year.
But his relentless consistency is enhancing his legacy ahead of his inevitable Major resurgence. The tour moves to Bermuda this week for just the fourth edition of the Bermuda Championship.
This event started life as an opposite event (with top billing formerly going to the WGC-HSBC Champions event). But the event was elevated to full FedEx Cup points status in 2020 (due to the covid-induced cancellation of the WGC-HSBC Champions).
This will once again be the case, with this week’s winner securing a spot at Augusta next year. This may not be a stellar field, but there is certainly plenty to play for this week. Every single renewal of this event has been hosted at Port Royal Golf Course.
Port Royal Golf Course
This course is the antithesis of your regular PGA Tour behemoth. The Robert Trent Jones Sr. design measures just a tick over 6,800 yards. This course is not at the behest of the bombers. The first two winners- Brendon Todd and Brian Gay- fall firmly into the Kevin Na category of surgical operators.
The Bermuda/Zoyisa mixed rough can be quite tricky to navigate. The Bermuda greens will run at around 10 on the stimp due to the courses greatest defence: wind.
Honestly, this course can feature some of the most brutal gusts in all of golf. Scot Russell Knox- who should know a thing or two about windy conditions- said he had never experienced wind as strong as last year’s first-round gusts.
Look for players who can play in wind and perhaps utilize a lower ball flight. The piece de resistance of this course is the intimidating par 3 16th. The 235-yard par 3 has nothing but the Atlantic Ocean between the tee and pin.
This makes the 17th at Sawgrass look like a putt-putt course. Scrambling and putting stats must always come to the fore on these slightly abbreviated layouts.
The Contenders
Given the sheer magnitude of golf being played these days- and it’s only getting more by the minute- the top players are less than thrilled with adding this trip to Bermuda to their end-of-year schedule.
Denny McCarthy enjoyed an excellent mid-season, and he currently leads the markets. But he only has one top-20 in his last eight starts (that’s what we are dealing with this week).
Two other favourites- Thomas Detry and Mark Hubbard- are yet to break their respective ducks on the DP World Tour and US PGA Tour. So, this is an event where you can afford to get creative and perhaps back players who are considered somewhat unfashionable (such as wily old campaigners and hot young rookies).
Past Winners
2021: Lucas Herbert (-15)
2020: Brian Gay (-15)
2019: Brendon Todd (-24)
To Win Outright:
Denny McCarthy 16/1 | Thomas Detry 18/1 | Seamus Power 22/1 | Mark Hubbard 25/1 | Aaron Rai 25/1
Value Bet
Russell Knox- To Win 33/1
Two-time US PGA Tour champ Russell Knox is exactly the sort of veteran performer who could shine in this pretty decimated line-up. He has finished inside the top 20 in all three of his visits to Port Royal Golf Course. And he also comes into this event in decent shape, picking up three top-25 finishes in his last six events. As I alluded to earlier in the article, Knox is an accomplished wind player who knows how to avoid trouble when it gets gusty. He can also putt the lights out, making sense at 35/1.
Chesson Hadley- To Win 50/1
This is purely a move based on instinct. Chesson Hadley is one of those boom-or-bust players that will get a top 10 and then miss three cuts. It’s how he rolls. But he has recorded four top-10 finishes since July in probably his most consistent period in some time? Sure, there have been a fair smattering of missed cuts in the mix. But Hadley has the ability to go clutch with the putter and he could be worth your attention in the place markets this week.
The Man to Beat- S.H Kim- To Win 25/1
The South Korean men have always lagged behind their dominant female counterparts. But all of a sudden, they have a whole plethora of players who can challenge at every turn. Sungjae Im, Tony Kim and Lee Kyoung-hoon have become regular fixtures atop leaderboards. That’s drawing my eye towards tour rookie S.H Kim. Kim has been turning heads since the start of the 2022/2023 campaign. Sure, he finished low down the field at last week’s stellar CJ Cup. But before that, he was trending upwards, with finishes of T36, T13 leading into a T4 at the Shriners. He has been gaining plenty of strokes with his short game and I expect him to make a great run at this title (rookie or not).
