You can read Liam Williams’ Power Rankings for the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at bet365 News.
Course Guide: The tiny island of Bermuda has the biggest concentration of golf courses on the planet, with 7 courses packed into 21 square miles. The Bermuda Championship takes places at Port Royal Golf Course which, up until recently, has seen high-level professional golf played upon it. This course hosted the PGA Grand Slam of Golf from 2009-2014, organised by the PGA of America, where the 4 reigning Major champions came here to compete in October. And the PGA Tour now visits annually, with the 2025 Butterfield Bermuda Championship offering a full 2 year exemption through 2027 for winners.
Port Royal Golf Course, Southampton, Bermuda: Designer: Robert Trent Jones 1970, with Roger Rulewich renovation 2009; Course Type: Coastal, Resort, Short; Par: 71; Length: 6,828 yards; Holes with Water Hazards In-Play: 7; Acres of Fairway: 21; Fairways: Front 9 – 419 Bermudagrass, Back 9 – 419 Bermudagrass with Zoysiagrass; Rough: Bermuda with Zoysiagrass 2″; Greens: 8,000 sq.ft average TifEagle Bermudagrass; Tournament Stimpmeter 11ft.
Course Scoring Average + PGA Tour Difficulty Rank:
- 2024: 69.97 (-1.70), Rank 22 of 51 courses
- 2023: 68.99 (-1.70), Rank 56 of 58 courses
- 2022: 69.16 (-1.84), Rank 40 of 50 courses
- 2021: 70.76 (-0.24), Rank 17 of 50 courses
- 2020: 71.15 (+0.15), Rank 19 of 51 courses
- 2019: 69.83 (-1.17), Rank 28 of 41 courses
Course Overview: Port Royal Golf Course is a short Par 71 set on the Atlantic coastline of Bermuda. It has a 36/35 split, with the front 9 featuring a couple of reachable par-5s. The course reminds me a little of El Camaleon in Mexico, where they used to play the WWT Championship / Mayakoba event, in the respect that both are short and have contrasting elements to the course. Other players mention the Plantation Course on Maui as a correlating course, not for length but purely for the undulations involved across the course. A tree-less Harbour Town has been quoted as well.
Here at Port Royal the first 6 holes are played away from the coastline, protected partially against the wind and set in a low point. Most of the holes are guarded by trees earlier on, and it gives the appearance of a tropical inland golf course. With a genuine par-5 (2nd hole) and what in effect is a long par-4 (517 yards) playing as a par-5 (7th hole), this is the section of the course where scoring is essential, especially as there are 3 attackable par-4s as well. From the 7th green onwards through the 10th hole the course opens out onto the coast, with no protection from the wind. This again is the case across the closing 5-hole stretch of the 14th through the 18th.
The back 9 has a couple of stretching par-3s (13th and 16th) both measuring 235 yards, with the 17th par-5 at 501 yards being a huge eagle opportunity if you can avoid the fairway bunkers and water all the way down the left-hand side. From an overall perspective, players here mention huge elevation changes across the course and a number of isolated tee boxes. The course itself features Bermudagrass throughout and TifEagle Bermudagrass greens. When the PGA Grand Slam of Golf came here the course also featured rough which was described as penal enough to cause problems with approach shots in terms of distance control. Jim Furyk describes this course back at the 2014 Grand Slam as not being about power. Instead it’s a test where both course and wind management are critical.
Fact is all shapes and sizes can compete here. As ever with coastal golf, winning score will be based on whether the wind blows. If the wind blows here, the track gets tougher, with Herbert’s and Gay’s winning total some 9 shots higher than both Brandon Todd and Camilo Villegas winning totals of -24/260.
Bermuda Championship Winners: 2024: Rafael Campos (-19); 2023: Camilo Villegas (-24); 2022: Seamus Power (-19); 2021: Lucas Herbert (-15); 2020: Brian Gay (-15); 2019: Brendon Todd (-24).
- 2024: Rafael Campos 70-65-62-68 -19/265 PM/AM Split
- 2023: Camilo Villegas 67-63-65-65 -24/260 AM/PM Split
- 2022: Seamus Power 65-65-65-70 -19/265 PM/AM Split
- 2021: Lucas Herbert 70-65-65-69 -15/269 PM/AM Split
- 2020: Brian Gay 70-68-67-64 -15/269 PM/AM Split
- 2019: Brendon Todd 68-63-67-62 -20/264 AM/PM Split
OWGR of Bermuda Championship Winners: 2024: Campos 317; 2023: Villegas 318; 2022: Power 48; 2021: Herbert 57; 2020: Gay 328; 2019: Todd 525.
Cut Line: 2024: -2; 2023: -5; 2022: -6; 2021: E; 2020: +1; 2019: -2
Lead Score Progression:
- 2024: Round 1 -6; Round 2 -12; Round 3 -16; Round 4 19-.
- 2023: Round 1 -10; Round 2 -15; Round 3 -19; Round 4 -24.
- 2022: Round 1 -9; Round 2 -14; Round 3 -18; Round 4 -19.
- 2021: Round 1 -6; Round 2 -11; Round 3 -17; Round 4 -15.
- 2020: Round 1 -8; Round 2 -8; Round 3 -10; Round 4 -15.
- 2019: Round 1 -9; Round 2 -11; Round 3 -17; Round 4 -24.
Path to Victory: Below are the end-of-round positions for the winners of the Bermuda Championship since 2019:
- 2024 – Rafael Campos: Round 1: 40th, Round 2: 10th, Round 3: 1st.
- 2023 – Camilo Villegas: Round 1: 33rd, Round 2: 5th, Round 3: 2nd.
- 2022 – Seamus Power: Round 1: 16th, Round 2: 17th, Round 3: 1st.
- 2021 – Lucas Herbert: Round 1: 26th, Round 2: 6th, Round 3: 3rd.
- 2020 – Brian Gay: Round 1: 64th, Round 2: 12th, Round 3: 5th.
- 2019 – Brendon Todd: Round 1: 25th, Round 2: 1st, Round 3: 2nd.
Shots From the Lead: Below are the shots from the lead during the tournament of Bermuda Championship winners since 2019:
- 2024 – Rafael Campos: Round 1: 5 back, Round 2: 5 back, Round 3: level.
- 2023 – Camilo Villegas: Round 1: 6 back, Round 2: 3 back, Round 3: 1 back.
- 2022 – Seamus Power: Round 1: 3 back, Round 2: 2 back, Round 3: level.
- 2021 – Lucas Herbert: Round 1: 5 back, Round 2: 4 back, Round 3: 4 back.
- 2020 – Brian Gay: Round 1: 7 back, Round 2: 4 back, Round 3: 2 back.
- 2019 – Brendon Todd: Round 1: 6 back, Round 2: level, Round 3: 2 back.
Incoming Form of Bermuda Championship winners since 2019:
- Rafael Campos: MC WWT/MC Shriners/MC Black Desert/ MC Sanderson.
- Camilo Villegas: 2nd WWT/MC Sanderson/37th Nationwide Children’s Hospital/MC Simmons.
- Seamus Power: 49th CJ Cup/MC Shriners/30th Sanderson Farms/65th BMW Championship.
- Lucas Herbert: MC Sanderson Farms/MC Fortinet/45th Korn Ferry Tour Champ/4th Boise.
- Brian Gay: MC Shriners/MC Safeway/MC Northern Trust / MC Wyndham.
- Brendon Todd: 28th Houston/MC Shriners/MC Safeway/MC Sanderson Farms
Tournament Stats: We’ve published some key player statistics for this week’s event that are well worth a look. Naturally they’ll help to shape a view on players who could go well this week: Current Form | Tournament Form | First Round Leader | Combined Stats.
My published predictor is available here. Top 10 of my published predictor are: 1) Andrew Putnam; 2) Sam Ryder; 3) Nicolas Echavarria; 4) Vince Whaley; 5) Matt Kuchar; 6) Alex Smalley; 7) Seamus Power; 8) Rico Hoey; 9) Beau Hossler; 10) Greyson Sigg.
Our brand new predictor model is running alongside, where you can build your own rankings in live time, using the variables listed on the left hand side.
Bermuda Championship Winning Prices: 2024: Campos 300/1; 2023: Villegas 150/1; 2022: Power 22/1; 2021: Herbert 80/1; 2020: Gay 200/1; 2019: Todd 100/1. Past 5 Renewals Average: 150/1; Overall Average: 142/1.
Historical Weather:
- 2024: Thursday: Mostly cloudy with occasional showers. High of 67. Wind NNW 18-22 mph, gusting to 32 mph. Round one was suspended due to darkness at 5:19 p.m. local time with 21 players to finish. Friday: Cloudy with intermittent showers. High of 71. Wind NW 25-35 mph, gusting to 50 mph. Saturday: Cloudy with intermittent showers. High of 71. Wind NW 25-35 mph, gusting to 50 mph. Sunday: Partly cloudy. High of 71. Wind NW 15-25, with gusts to 35 mph.
- 2023: Thursday: Mostly sunny. High of 75. Wind WSW 7-13 mph. Friday: Partly cloudy. High of 77. Wind WSW 10-15 mph, gusting to 20 mph. Saturday: Cloudy. High of 76. Wind W 15-20 mph, gusting to 28 mph. Sunday: Cloudy and breezy. High of 73. Wind E 15-20 mph, gusting to 25 mph.
- 2022: Thursday: Overcast with occasional light showers. High of 79. Wind SSE 6-12 mph, gusting to 15 mph. Friday: Overcast with occasional light showers. High of 79. Wind SSE 6-12 mph, gusting to 20 mph. Saturday: Partly sunny with occasional showers. High of 79. Wind SSW 15-20 mph, gusting to 25 mph. Sunday: Sunny. High of 79. Wind W 20-25 mph, gusting to 30 mph.
- 2021: Thursday: Partly cloudy and scattered showers. High of 79. Wind W 20-25 mph, gusting to 35 mph. Due to high winds and a rainstorm, play was suspended at 12:38 p.m. and players were held in place before resuming at 12:43 p.m. The first round was suspended due to darkness at 6:34 p.m. with 13 players remaining. Friday: Wind WNW 10-15 mph, gusting to 20 mph. Saturday: Partly sunny with scattered showers. High of 80. Wind S 10-15 mph, gusting to 20 mph. Sunday: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers. High of 79. Wind SW 15-20 mph, gusting to 30 mph. Due to inclement weather, play was suspended at 12:07 p.m. and players were held in place before resuming at 12:18 p.m.
- 2020: Thursday: Partly cloudy, with a high of 80. Wind SW 8-12 mph. Friday: Partly cloudy, with a high of 73. Wind NNW at 12-18 mph. Saturday: Partly cloudy, with a high of 73. Wind NNW at 15-20 mph, with gusts to 25 mph. Sunday: Wind ESE at 10-15 mph, with gusts to 20 mph.
- 2019: Thursday: Mostly cloudy, with a high of 77. Wind E 12-22 mph. Friday: Partly cloudy, with a high of 78. Wind SE 10-18 mph. Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high of 79. Wind ESE 10-16 mph. Sunday: Mostly cloudy, with a high of 78. Wind NW 5-10 mph.
Weather Forecast: The latest weather forecast for Southampton, Bermuda is here.
As you would expect with an island perched in the north Atlantic, precipitation can be a feature here in Bermuda with tropical storms. There has been plenty of precipitation in the build-up to the tournament with Hurricanes Imelda and Melissa depositing 3,502 mm (137 inches) across October. Add another 35mm (1.38 inches) in November and that looks likely (95% chance) to be topped-up by a thunderstorm on tournament Tuesday.
Significant wind looks likely to affect scoring as well. Friday looks the calmest at gusting 20mph, but Thursday, Saturday and Sunday see winds approaching gusting 25-30 mph. All winds are from the west and north-west. 2020 and last year may well be worth a look with a similar wind direction for large parts.
Temperatures will be the norm for Bermuda at 20-22 degrees Celsius, 68-72 Fahrenheit.
Strokes Gained Rankings: These top 25 in the field rankings are based on an 8-tournament window that stretches back to the Irish Open which includes both PGA Tour and DP World Tour events, where recorded. Player rankings are based on performance relative to the rest of the field:
- Top 25 SG Total: 1) Matt Kuchar; 2) Pierceson Coody; 3) Jonathan Byrd; 4) Thorbjorn Olesen; 5) Justin Hastings / Greyson Sigg; 7) Eric Cole; 8) Michael Brennan / Rico Hoey / Chad Ramey; 11) Sahith Theegala / Vince Whaley; 13) Kevin Yu; 14) Brandt Snedeker; 15) Takumi Kanaya; 16) Nico Echavarria / David Ford; 18) Victor Perez; 19) Steven Fisk / Lee Hodges / Adam Schenk / Matti Schmid; 23) Jeremy Paul; 24) Kris Ventura; 25) Thomas Rosenmueller.
Tournament Trends & Key Factors: Analysing the final stats of the Bermuda winners since 2019 gives us a little more insight into the requirements for this test:
- 2024, Rafael Campos (-19). 285 yards (26th), 60.7% fairways (21st), 66.7% greens in regulation (49th), 83.3% scrambling (1st), 1.67 putts per GIR (7th).
- 2023, Camilo Villegas (-24). 276 yards (74th), 67.9% fairways (16th), 81.9% greens in regulation (1st), 76.9% scrambling (16th), 1.63 putts per GIR (11th).
- 2022, Seamus Power (-19). 302 yards (22nd), 55.4% fairways (43rd), 75.0% greens in regulation (9th), 61.1% scrambling (46th), 1.56 putts per GIR (3rd).
- 2021, Lucas Herbert (-15). 286 yards (7th), 51.8% fairways (53rd), 62.5% greens in regulation (58th), 77.8% scrambling (4th), 1.67 putts per GIR (10th).
- 2020, Brian Gay (-15). 288 yards (38th), 58.9% fairways (4th), 69.4% greens in regulation (15th), 72.7% scrambling (16th), 1.66 putts per GIR (6th).
- 2019, Brendon Todd (-24). 303 yards (51st), 69.6% fairways (4th), 76.4% greens in regulation (10th), 82.4 % scrambling (4th), 1.55 putts per GIR (3rd).
- Driving Distance: 36th, Driving Accuracy: 24th, Greens in Regulation: 24th, Scrambling: 15th, Putting Average 7th.
So let’s take a view from players as to how the Port Royal Golf Course sets up and what skill sets the course favours:
Rafael Campos (2024): “I was really fortunate the short game was really on point today. It’s been quite some time I haven’t felt as comfortable chipping, but I had a couple chip-ins today and the putter rolled really well, So I think that started giving me a lot more confidence in just understanding and knowing that let’s just try to give ourselves some looks, don’t do anything kind of stupid, give yourself chances and I started seeing a lot of them fall in. It was a great day, to tell the truth. It was really fun to battle out there like the course, the elements and really happy it turned out the way it did.
To tell the truth, the first thing that came to my mind was like, hey, you know what, Abaco when I won on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019 was extremely windy and I remember the last day waking up sitting down outside and just looking at the wind and all I kept on telling me is man, I don’t want to go out there and play, it’s just too mentally draining, and I ended up winning. All I thought about was like, hey, you’ve played in the wind. It was very windy today, especially at the end, but it does give me confidence. The harder it gets, the better it is for me, I believe. I have to admit I’m not the best ball-striker, but I can move my way around the course trying to keep trajectories down and all those things.
Yes, with the direction the wind is here (north-westerly), front nine definitely plays a lot easier. There’s a couple holes, 4 is one of them into the wind. No. 2 is just a little bit, it’s a par 5. So you kind of had in the back of your mind, OK, let’s try to put the ball in play, nothing spectacular, give ourselves some looks, try to make some putts on the front nine because we know that the back nine, especially the last five holes, they’re a beast with this type of wind. I was just fortunate I made a good putt on 2. It was like a 15-foot putt that I hadn’t seen many of them go in this week. It was nice, like OK, we got one. Then all of a sudden we go to 7 and we make a pretty good eight-footer. Like I said, I haven’t really been making many putts, but it just felt different today. I just felt like we know it’s going to be a tough day, especially coming in.
There are changes you make. I know I was on the front nine, although you have some helping wind that you want to make sure you hit the ball up in the air, I was trying to practice the low shots because I knew once I got to the back nine I was going to have to hit a lot of very low shots. So I was — little things like that I think really helped me, especially yesterday and today, just knowing that OK, you know, like OK, we can hit the ball really high here, but let’s start chipping balls trying to keep the ball under the wind even if it’s helping just so we can get ready for the back nine. ”
Camilo Villegas (2023): Sunday – “I think the shot on 11 was very important for me. It was a tough shot where anything could happen. I hit a pure 6-iron. I almost drove that green on Friday and today I hit driver, 6-iron, that’s how different it was playing. That was very important: Then I made a great par save on the next hole, on 12. Missing some opportunities on 13, 14, good birdie 15 and then missing another opportunity on 16. I thought I made that putt on 16, and trust me, having a two-shot lead is very different than having a one-shot lead. So when I saw Alex hit a bad chip on No. 17, I didn’t have the best lie in that bunker but I looked at my caddie and I said, OK, brother, let’s hit a good shot here. Came out a little better than I expected, nice tap-in birdie, gave me a little cushion, a little freedom going to the next hole.”
Seamus Power (2022): Friday: “Yeah, I mean, 9, so 9 yesterday I just ship it over both bunkers and have like a three-quarter lob wedge to the back pin. Today, one, you can’t take the bunkers out of play and it’s dead into the wind. I hit a very good tee shot, just caught the bunker. And 2 then you’ve got a shot where it’s into the wind, into the rain on a green where you can’t really spin it, so you’re worried about that because it can come back down, it can come 50 yards back down that fairway. So you have guys hit 9 and 8-irons in there where it was like lob wedges yesterday. The difficulty with the pin and all that, it’s going to make it very different.
And then 17 is the other one, 17 yesterday was a driver, mid-iron for most guys, par 5, where today I don’t even know if you can carry the bunkers. It’s going to be a three-shotter, especially in the afternoon with that rain unless it kind of eases off. You take away a couple of very good birdie chances just like that and that’s adding probably a stroke between the two to the stroke average for the day.”
Saturday: “The greens are softer this year so you do have a chance, but even still, like you don’t have much margin for error. I made some nice putts. You had to get the par5s. I got two out of the three and then add in a few putts. But 6 under, you knew it was going to be tough because as I said, once you get to 13, 13 through 16 there’s just very, very difficult. I mean, I hit some good shots. Even on 13 I thought I hit a very good 4-iron, but like the ball’s in the air off the elevated tee and just keeps moving and moving and misses on the short side and you make a double.
Even on I think 15 I had a pitch shot that kind of summed it up. I ended up in a funny spot off the tee, I had like 50 yards for a pitch shot and I aimed my pitch shot about 10 yards left of the pin and ended up right of the pin. It was just one of those kind of days, your imagination had to keep working. Your focus and trust had to be there and mine was for the most part.”
Lucas Herbert (2021): “Yeah, it wasn’t looking like the best day on the planet there on the 8th walking off the tee when we were all like huddled under umbrellas on the ground because I don’t think I’ve ever seen any sort of weather or rain or whatever you want to call that coming in, that was brutal. Yeah, to survive all that, I’m very proud.
Yeah, I felt like I grinded really well early and I had the right attitude going into the day that it wasn’t going to be easy. Obviously on the range it was, I don’t think we even hit drivers on the range because just couldn’t hit it, it was just pointless, so you just knew it was going to be one of those days where you had to battle really, really hard. Under par was going to be a great score. I couldn’t go and expect to finish at 20 under par or anything like that, you just had to grind through. Yeah, there was going to be some holes where it was going to die down a little bit and give you a chance, just had to kind of take your chances on those when you did get them.”
Matt Fitzpatrick (2021): “Yeah, it’s tough. The elevation is a lot around this golf course. Me and my caddie definitely noticed it this morning walking up and down the hills, it was tiring. I think it’s one that you’ve got to, certainly the second shots that are up the hill that are pretty blind, you’ve really got to know where you’re hitting it. You’ve got to pick good targets and got to be very disciplined, you can’t get too aggressive. I think in terms of the elevation, you’ve got to be in control of your ball flight and know your numbers and distances, where to hit and where not to. I think there’s a lot of mental stuff involved and you’ve really got to think your way around. I think for me, I enjoy that part of the game, it’s a challenge. And you’ve got to be on it for 72 holes, so I’m looking forward to that.”
Taylor Pendrith (2021): “It was two different days, for sure. You know, yesterday was some of the worst weather I’ve ever played in and just almost like surviving out there. Didn’t really matter how you hit it, you just have to hit shots. Today was a completely different story. I knew I was putting good. I hit a close one on 1 and then I think every other putt after that was, you know, 10-plus footers and a couple 20-footers, which was nice to see go in. I feel like I’ve been putting pretty well leading up to this event and just haven’t really been making many, so to see some longer ones go in gave me a lot of confidence.
On 17 I hit driver. Yesterday was straight downwind and blowing a lot. I hit driver and a sand wedge to a foot. I figured I’m going to hit driver; if I pull it in the water, I’m going to drop it at 120 yards and hit a wedge on the green and can still make birdie that way. But it sets up good for me with the wind slightly off the right. Hit driver again today and hit pitching wedge to eight feet, was in the right rough. And yeah, I don’t know, I thought about hitting iron there, but it’s pretty wide where my drive lands, so like I said, if I do tug it and it goes in the water, I’ve got a wedge for my third anyways.”
Brian Gay (2020): “It reminds me actually, walking around, kind of walking around Maui is what it reminds me of Yeah, I played good here last year, tied for third, so coming back had good thoughts and memories of last year. Love playing on bermudagrass, grew up on it, live in Florida, so that’s good, I love putting on Bermuda. Just good thoughts here.
It’s not a long golf course. It’s a golf course where I get a lot of short clubs and you can’t really overpower the golf course. It keeps the shorter hitters in the game, everybody has a chance here.”
Brendon Todd (2019): “I mean, this golf course is good for me. It’s one of the shorter ones we play on the Tour and it forces everybody to hit the ball with the same clubs off the tee because there’s cross bunkers in certain places. The good thing about that for me is, I’m hitting the same clubs into the greens as everybody else and for some reason that tends to work out well in my favour. So the course is good for me, for my game, and I’ve been swinging well. These greens are grainy, they’re a little bit slow, so you’re always kind of guessing whether it’s two balls or three balls, how hard to hit it. I think everybody’s battling it a little bit, but it’s also why the scores are low, it helps the ball stop close to the hole and you can ram a few in.”
Rob Oppenheim (2019): “A lot of hills, for sure. You know, the wind makes this course, completely changes the course. I got here Monday, played and it was a complete different wind, so this course is very dictated by the wind direction and how much wind. So today it was, I think, the easier wind. It wasn’t up as much as it was the last two days, so you can see there’s some pretty good scores out there. And the greens are in great shape, so I think it’s definitely, they’re receptive as well, so if you’re in the fairway, you can attack it.”
Martin Kaymer: “There are a couple very difficult holes where you can really screw up, where you can make big numbers. When you take 16, for example. But I think when you play on that grass, that Bermuda grass, it’s very important to hit good tee shots. It’s very difficult to judge distances from the first cut, from the rough, so I think the key is really to hit as many fairways as possible. But again, tee shots and then give yourself as many chances as possible. The wind, we all know, is going to be a factor. Playing on an island, it’s not a big surprise. We all have done that in the past, we all know how that works.
Yeah, when you’re standing on that 10th tee box, you know the next four or five holes are going to be difficult, because there are some tricky tee shots, a lot of elevations as well, especially when you’re standing on the 11th fairway and you have to hit it down to the green. It’s very difficult to judge the yardage or to judge the wind more and therefore to judge the yardage. So the back nine, that’s definitely more challenging than the front nine. The first six, seven holes, they’re important that you take advantage of them, that you make at least two or three birdies. That helps for the back nine.”
Jim Furyk: “Not at all. 17th is very reachable for me. The 7th is an iron shot for me in for a second shot. The only hole that I might give up ground on, is No. 2. But, I just played the fives really poorly. I drove it bad on 7, I did hit a bad drive there. A bad second shot on 17. I hit a good bunker shot, missed the putt. Hit a bad wedge into No. 2. I had it laid up perfect. No, I didn’t take advantage of the 5’s, but it’s not really the yardage. Two of them are very, very short. They’re long par-4s, really. Then the second hole is not going to be reachable for me unless it gets real downwind. But, I need to do a little better job with my wedge game. It’s not a power, this golf course, power has nothing to do with playing well on this golf course. I realized those three are all very long, but they’re also very good at scoring. Bubba can hit a lot of shots and work it into the wind. Rory’s obviously able to do that, being the No. 1 player in the world. And Martin is a good ball-striker. So, the power isn’t part of it, but they can move the ball better than I did today.”
First Round Leader Analysis: First round leader(s), their wave and winning score since 2023. Full First Round Leader stats are here.
- 2024 – Dougherty/Lower/Springer -6/65 – 1 AM/2 PM – 160/1, 40/1 & 75/1.
- 2023 – Noren -10/61 – AM Wave – 40/1
- 2022 – Endycott/Smotherman -9/62 – AM/PM Split – 100/1 & 80/1.
- 2021 – Hagy/Ramey -6/65 – Both PM Wave – 70/1 & 50/1.
- 2020 – Malnati -8/63 – AM Wave – 66/1
- 2019 – Scheffler -9/62 – AM Wave – 35/1
For the record, here’s the breakdown of Bermudagrass PGA Tour victors in the field since 2008:
- 4 – Ryan Palmer, Camilo Villegas.
- 3 – Matt Kuchar, Brandt Snedeker.
- 2 – Robert Streb.
- 1 – Jonathan Byrd, Austin Cook, Rafael Campos, Cameron Champ, Tyler Duncan, Steven Fisk, Lanto Griffin, Adam Hadwin, Patton Kizzire, Martin Laird, Luke List, Francesco Molinari, Taylor Moore, Seamus Power, Kevin Streelman, Adam Svensson, Kevin Yu.
We have 6 renewals of the Bermuda Championship to work from and I’m no closer to understanding where the winner is coming from! Two (2019 & 2024) featured scoring-friendly conditions, the other four (2020, 2021, 2022 & 2024) featured plenty of wind – hence the winning totals were 5-9 shots apart.
What is apparent is that Port Royal does not discriminate. Longer sorts such as Wyndham Clark, Harry Higgs, Taylor Pendrith, Matti Schmid, Patrick Rodgers, Scottie Scheffler and Adam Scott have all contended and in the case of Lucas Herbert plus Rafael Campos won here. Seamus Power is middle of the road off the tee, whilst short game specialists Brian Gay, Brendon Todd and Camilo Villegas have also won here. All shapes and sizes can compete.
Trends change, but to this point Brendon Todd won this at 100/1 in 2019, Brian Gay was even more left field at 200/1 in 2020. Since then Lucas Herbert was an 80/1 chance in 2021, Seamus Power was as short as 22/1. Camilo Villegas – despite finishing 2nd the week before – was 150/1, and our defending champion won off 4 straight Missed Cuts at 300/1.
Todd in 2019 was ranked 525th in the OWGR and his last top-10 finish on the PGA Tour had been at the 2015 Greenbrier Classic. Brian Gay was ranked 328th in the OWGR and his previous top 10 has been 3rd here in Bermuda, 12 months earlier. “Rookie” Lucas Herbert was ranked 57th in the OWGR and was playing only his 3rd event on the PGA Tour as a genuine member. He had missed both previous cuts at the Fortinet and Sanderson Farms Championship. Seamus Power backed up his first PGA Tour win at the Barbasol Championship 16 months prior with his second here – he was ranked 48th in the OWGR.
Camilo Villegas was 318th in the OWGR and 147th in the FedEx Cup Fall Series list. The Colombian had not won on Tour for 9 years, but was T2 the week before in Mexico, so had both form and the need to perform in Bermuda to improve his playing privileges for 2024. Rafael Campos also bizarrely ranked 147th in the FedEx Cup Fall Series list, but had 4 Fall Series MCs. He had finished 16th (2019) at Port Royal within 2 previous appearances.
