DraftKings preview: Butterfield Bermuda Championship

The PGA TOUR heads to Bermuda for the fourth running of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship this week. We are back to having a Friday cut line and the full-field event will feature mostly players ranked outside the top 50 in the OWGR, making this one of the most wide-open events on the schedule.

Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $300K Pitch + Putt [$100K to 1st]

STRATEGY

The Butterfield Bermuda Championship will again be held at Port Royal GC on the tiny island of Bermuda. With such little land space to work with the venue only stretches out to 6,828 yards, despite playing as a par 71. This makes it the polar opposite of what the players saw last week in South Carolina at Congaree, which also played as a par 71 but stretched out past 7,600 yards.

Port Royal is a Robert Trent Jones design that features smallish greens and limited amounts of penalty areas. Sand is a factor, though, as there are 88 bunkers strewn around the course and good around-the-green play has been essential for those who have had success at this venue in the past. With the venue being short, power off the tee certainly isn’t necessary, although it’s still very helpful and the big hitters will essentially be playing a pitch and putt in many aspects this week. Lucas Herbert was top 10 in driving distance and around-the-green play en route to victory last year, so the bomb-and-gouge kind of strategy certainly worked for him.

Stats-wise, players with strong scrambling and around-the-green numbers should be emphasized but also those with good proximity with their shorter irons. Wind is always a factor at Port Royal given how open the course is and its proximity to the sea (four holes run along the ocean). Controlling ball flight and getting up and down on missed shots will be the main factors in a successful week. Winners at Port Royal have also putted extremely well, which isn’t a shock given that the off-the-tee aspect will be on the easy side for all the pros. Putting can be volatile, but players trending well in long- and short-term Strokes Gained: Putting stats will have a better chance of spiking for a big week at this sort of venue.

GOLFERS TO CONSIDER

Patrick Rodgers ($9,700)

In terms of setup, Rodgers is the type of player I don’t mind backing for this week’s event. He’s a veteran who has seen many different types of courses on the PGA TOUR and has played at this event three times, including finishing T4 here last season. In many ways, Rodgers has a lot of the same attributes as Herbert in that he’s a strong off-the-tee player who has elite putting upside.

Ranked 11th in the field in longer-term Strokes Gained: Putting stats, Rodgers at under $10,000 on DraftKings feels like a player capable of giving us a solid week, no matter what the conditions. He’s put together a couple of solid starts in a row during the fall and, after having last week off, should be fresh and ready to chase his elusive first PGA TOUR victory. He looks solid as an anchor play for daily fantasy lineups or as a second man in a stars-and-scrubs kind of build.

Stephan Jaeger ($9,300)

The course this week sets up well for a player like Jaeger, whose elite short game should be allowed to shine through. The constant winds and open-style venue means everyone at Port Royal will be scrambling at some point and Jaeger comes into this event ranked second in Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green stats over the past 50 rounds. Jaeger’s shown a more well-rounded game of late, as the German ranks fifth in this field in Strokes Gained: Approach stats in long-term form.

A six-time winner on the Korn Ferry Tour, Jaeger is arguably playing some of the best golf of his career as he’s made the cut in five straight full-field events and posted top 15s in back-to-back events in late summer. He played well here last year, posting rounds of 66-67 on his way to a T20 finish. Look for him to compete for the win this year.

Scott Piercy ($7,300)

For value, it’s completely fine to look to a veteran like Piercy to give us a solid week in fantasy. While he’s not as consistent as he was in his prime, Piercy has posted top-30 finishes in three of his past six PGA TOUR starts and is only five starts removed from a T4 finish in Minnesota, where he held a multiple-shot lead heading into the back nine on Sunday.

The four-time PGA TOUR winner has gained strokes around the green in five of his past six starts and took an immediate liking to this venue back in 2020 when he finished T14 and shot rounds of 66-67 for the week. He’s great value for daily fantasy purposes at this price tag.

Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $300K Pitch + Putt [$100K to 1st]

Put your knowledge to the test.Sign up for DraftKingsand experience the game inside the game.

Place your golf bets at DraftKings Sportsbookand bet online by downloading the DraftKings Sportsbook app.

I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is wavegoodbye) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.