Rory McIlroy takes home the CJ Cup and moves to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. This is the first time he’s held this spot since July 2020. He also joins Tiger Woods as the only reigning FedEx Cup Champion to win his season debut.
The PGA Tour heads to Bermuda this week for the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course. This is the first of two consecutive events held outside the United States. Next week, the World Wide Technology Championship will be held in Mexico.
- Dates: October 27th, 2022 – October 30th, 2022
- Location: Southhampton, Bermuda
- Course: Port Royal Golf Course
- Course Type: Coastal
- Par: 71 (4x 3’s / 11x 4’s / 3x 5’s)
- Length: 6,828 yards
- Format: 72-hole stroke play
- Greens: TifEagle bermudagrass .130”
- Fairways: 419 bermudagrass .500”
- Rough: 419 / St. Augustine / zoysia 2”
- Bunkers: 88
- Water Hazards: 4 (In-Play 5)
- Average Green Size: 6,000 sq. ft.
- Stimpmeter: 11 ft.
- Purse/ Winner: $6,500,000 / $1,170,000
- FedEx Cup Points: 500
- Field/ Cut: 127 Players | Top 65 and Ties – 36 Holes
- Course Scoring Average:
- 2021: 70.76 (-0.24), Rank 17 of 50
- 2020: 71.15 (+0.15), Rank 19 of 51
- 2019: 69.83 (-1.17), Rank 28 of 41
- Historic Cut Line:
- 2021: E
- 2020: +1
- 2019: -2
Course Architect:
- Course Architect: Robert Trent Jones (1970)
- Renovations: Robert Trent Jones (1995), Roger Rulewich (2008)
Comparable Courses & Greens:
- Comparable Courses:
- Comparable Greens (TifEagle bermudagrass):
- Kapalua Golf (Plantation Course) – TifEagle bermudagrass – Sentry ToC
- Sea Island Golf Club – TifEagle bermudagrass – RSM Classic
- PGA WEST (Nicklaus Course) – TifEagle bermudagrass – The American Express
- Comparable Average Green Size (6,000 sq. ft.):
- Corales Golf Course – 6,000 sq. ft. – Corales Puntacana Championship
- Torey Pines (North Course) – 6,000 sq. ft. – Farmers Insurance Open
- Keene Trace Golf Club (Champions Course) – 6,000 sq. ft. – Barbasol Championship
TV Information:
- Round 1: Thursday, October 27th, 2022
- Golf Channel – 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM
- Round 2: Friday, October 28th, 2022
- Golf Channel – 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM
- Round 3: Saturday, October 29th, 2022
- Golf Channel – 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM
- Round 4: Sunday, October 30th, 2022
- Golf Channel – 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM
- Thursday: Thunderstorms 77 F, 11 mp/h SSE, 86% Humidity, 70% Chance of Rain
- Friday: Thunderstorms 77 F, 14 mp/h SE, 88% Humidity, 80% Chance of Rain
- Saturday: Scattered Thunderstorms 77 F, 15 mp/h SSE, 86% Humidity, 60% Chance of Rain
- Sunday: Scattered Thunderstorms 76 F, 17 mp/h ENE, 79% Humidity, 50% Chance of Rain
Course/ Tournament History:
The inaugural Butterfield Bermuda Championship was held in 2019, however, it was an alternate event back then. In 2020, this event started to offer 500 FedEx Cup points and became an official event on the Tour.
Port Royal Golf Course has played host to this event since its inauguration. It was founded in 1965 but didn’t open until 1970 under the design of Robert Trent Jones. Through the years, the course had underwent several renovations but, the last major renovation was by Roger Rulewich in 2008 in preparation for hosting the 2009 PGA Grand Slam of Golf.
72-Hole Record: 260, Brendon Todd (2019)
18-Hole Record: 61, Taylor Pendrith (Round 2, 2021)
Course Guide/ Scorecard:
Port Royal Golf Course is a Par 71 that plays 6,828 yards. The layout features four Par 3’s, eleven Par 4’s, and three Par 5’s. It’s one of the shortest courses on Tour with the main defense being the wind. This week, accuracy is more important than distance off the tee given the narrow fairways and punishing rough.
The four Par 3’s range between 148 yards and 235 yards. At the 2021 Butterfield Bermuda Championship, only one (No. 3), had a scoring average under par.
No. 16, is one of the most spectacular holes in world golf. Players will have to hit a solid tee shot across the ocean to an elevated green on its own peninsular. The green itself is surrounded by numerous bunkers. As if the hole wasn’t difficult enough the wind coming off the ocean is a major factor to consider.
Only four of the eleven Par 4’s are over 450 yards. No. 10 is the shortest Par 4’s listed at 350 yards with the longest being No. 4, at 458 yards.
No. 18, is a long straight uphill par 4 requiring a precise tee shot onto a tiered fairway littered with bunkers. On their approach. players will have to hit into a raised green that slopes back to front.
The three Par 5’s are No. 2, 7, and 17. None of the Par 5’s are listed over 600 yards. All of the Par 5’s had a scoring average below par at the 2021 Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
No. 14, is a challenging Par 4 that emphasizes accuracy over distance off the tee. It’s a slight dogleg left where players will want to try and position themselves along the right side of the fairway to have an easier approach shot in. If players are along the left side, the green may not be completely visible. The green’s slightly elevated providing an additional challenge and slopes severely off the right side towards a bunker.
Featured/ Signature Hole(s): 16
For a hole-by-hole overview of the course, you can click the following link.
Key Statistics:
- Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Strokes Gained: Around the Green
- Driving Accuracy
- Par 3 Scoring: 200-250 Yards
- Par 4 Scoring: 350-400 Yards
- Par 5 Scoring: 500-550 Yards
- Strokes Gained: Putting (Bermudagrass)
- Scrambling
- Comparable Courses and Event History
The Field/ Odds:
- Denny McCarthy (+1400), has played in this event three times before finishing T15/ T4/ T39. He’s been pretty active to start the 2022-23 PGA Tour season playing in four events. During that span, he has three top-40 finishes and has only missed one cut (Shriners).
- Thomas Detry (+1800), made his debut at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship last year finishing T22. He’s been in great form recently to start the season with two top-12 finishes in three events.
- Adrian Meronk (+1800), is 61st in the OWGR and normally plays on the DP (European) Tour where he’s 8th in the rankings. Last year, he played in two PGA Tour events finishing T42 at the Open and missing the cut at the Genesis Scottish Open. This will be his first PGA Tour event of the 2022-23 season.
- Mark Hubbard (+2500), has played in this event twice before finishing T41 and T22. Last week at the ZoZo Championship, he struggled finishing 66th in a 78-player field. However, before that he finished T28/ T5/ T21 in the three other events he competed in during the 2022-23 PGA Tour season.
- Seamus Power (+2500), as played in this event three times before finishing T31/ T37/ T12. He’s played in three events to start the season, missing the cut once and finishing T30 and T49 in the other two events.
Previous Winners in the field: Brian Gay (2020)
Notable Withdraws: Vince Whaley, Anders Albertson, Davis Thompson, Boo Weekley, Peter Malnati
To see the most up-to-date odds, you can click the following link.
To see the full field for this event, you can click the following link.
Horses for Courses (’19/ ’20/ ’21):
- Brian Gay: T3/ 1/ T12
- Russell Knox: T11/ T16/ T12
- David Hearn: T8/ T8/ T30
- Kramer Hickok: T15/ T8/ T30
- Denny McCarthy: T15/ T4/ T39
- Peter Malnati: T21/ T21/ T7
- Scott Piercy: T14/ T14/ –
- Chesson Hadley: T16/ T16/ –
Donkeys for Courses (’19/ ’20/ ’21):
“Horses for Courses” is a phrase that is widely used and describes the best course/tournament fits. These are the players that have had success at the particular course/event. “Donkeys for Courses” is something I came up with that highlights the players who have struggled at a particular course/tournament.
- Michael Kim: MC/ MC/ MC
- Tommy Gainey: MC/ MC/ MC
- Michael Sims: MC/ MC/ MC
- Charley Hoffman: MC/ MC/ –
Previous Winners Scores & Prices:
- 2021: Lucas Herbert (-15)
- Price: 80-1
- 2020: Brian Gay (-15)
- Price: 200-1
- 2019: Brendon Todd (-24)
- Price: 100-1
Picks (Outrights):
- Patrick Rodgers (+3000) – DraftKings
- Risk 0.27 to win 8.10 Units
- Callum Tarren (+5500) – Bet365
- Risk 0.15 to win 8.25 Units
- Chesson Hadley (+6000) – DraftKings
- Risk 0.14 to win 8.40 Units
- Sam Ryder (+7000) – DraftKings
- Risk 0.12 to win 8.40 Units
- Kevin Yu (+8000) – DraftKings
- Risk 0.10 to win 8.00 Units
- Scott Piercy (+8000) – DraftKings
- Risk 0.10 to win 8.00 Units
- Austin Smotherman (+10000) – DraftKings
- Risk 0.08 to win 8.00 Units
- Chad Ramey (+13000) – DraftKings
- Risk 0.07 to win 9.10 Units
Total Risk on Outright Placements: 1.03 Units
Picks (Top 20):
- Mark Hubbard (+140) – DraftKings
- Risk 1.00 to win 1.40 Units
- Justin Lower (+160) – DraftKings
- Risk 1.00 to win 1.60 Units
- Nick Hardy (+170) – DraftKings
- Risk 1.00 to win 1.70 Units
Total Risk on Top 20 Placements: 3.00 Units
Picks (Top 40):
- C.T. Pan (+125) – DraftKings
- Risk 1.00 to win 1.25 Units
Total Risk on Top 40 Placements: 1.00 Units
Total Risk on the Butterfield Bermuda Championship: 5.03 Units
Best of luck, and as always you can find me on Twitter @GatorBetting and Instagram @Gator_Sports_Betting. Any feedback whether positive or negative is always encouraged.
