Horses for Courses: Look to a Power play at Butterfield Bermuda Championship

Reigning champion Camilo Villegas (+30000) returns to Port Royal Golf Club in Southampton, Bermuda, to defend his title. Making his fifth consecutive appearance, the Colombian matched the tournament scoring record of 24-under 260 in 2023. Winning for the first time on TOUR in nine years, the 41-year-old led the field with 27 birdies and posted 11 of his last 12 rounds in the 60s.

The common theme of the FedExCup Fall is producing winning totals of 20-under or better. Mother Nature will influence the event this week as sea breezes and thunderstorms could slow the usual birdie barrage. Three of the five winners led the field in circles on the card when the weather was calm. The 8,000 square-foot putting surfaces, blanketed in TifEagle Bermudagrass, are not slick and speedy due to the classic winds blowing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Taylor Pendrith and Alex Noren share the course record 61 (10-under), but neither are in the field this week.

Seamus Power (+1400) set the tournament record with 28 birdies when he won in 2022 and has been inserted as the favorite this week by the bookmakers at BetMGM. The Irishman is 29-under over his last two visits and cashed T12 in 2021. Returning for the first time since his victory, the all-time money leader posted 14 of 16 rounds in red figures, including a current streak of 10 straight.

Birdie Average

Players listed are in the field this week; 2024 season stats.

With only 21 acres of fairway, Port Royal Golf Club provides one of the tightest driving tests annually. The 6,828 yards on the scorecard is the shortest track used on the PGA TOUR and affords a risk-reward strategy benefiting accurate players and those who bomb and gouge. Narrow landing areas, framed by two inches of rough, make recovery shots possible. Previously, the four events ranked in the top half in toughest fairways to find on TOUR. (ShotLink is not in use for this event).

The first man to win this event in the fall of 2019, Brendon Todd (+5000), will never be labeled as a bomber from tee to green. Setting the tournament scoring mark of 24-under 260, which included 27 birdies to lead the field, the notorious fairway finder, currently 12th on TOUR in Driving Accuracy, finished the week ranked fourth in Fairways. After missing the cut in defense, he returned for the 2023 edition, posted four more rounds of par or better, added 22 more birdies, and collected a share of T20.

SG: Off-the-Tee

Besides the ocean breezes swirling, the par 3s provide the biggest challenge on the shortest course on TOUR. The signature hole, No. 16, extends 235 yards and borders the Atlantic Ocean to the player's left. Power is the only player in tournament history to birdie this hole three times in one event. The four three-shot holes ramp up over the round. The first challenge measures only 148 yards, but the next three stretch easily over 200 yards, including a pair on the inward nine measuring 235 yards. Make a par and get out!

Par-3 Scoring

Oddsmaker’s Extras

Patrick Rodgers (+2500): Looking for his first win on TOUR, the Stanford man makes his 280th start this week on a track where he’s cashed T3 (2022) and solo fourth (2021) on his last two visits. Posting six of his last eight rounds in the 60s, he’s 30-under on aggregate.

Vince Whaley (+5500): After cashing T7 in the 2021 edition, the super putter returned for 2023, opened with 63, and added his second top-10 result (T8) in as many starts. Over his last eight rounds, he signed for 67 or better four times.

Matti Schmid (+2800) only squared three bogeys last year and cashed solo third, his co-best career result on TOUR. … Ben Griffin (+1800) shared the 54-hole lead and played with Power in the final group in 2022 before cashing T3. He has posted four of eight rounds of 66 or better. … Justin Lower (+2500) has posted 11 of 12 rounds in the red and never cashed worse than T20. … Alex Smalley (+4500) has never finished worse than T30 in three visits, and all 12 rounds are 70 or better, including 11 in the 60s.

-Odds courtesy of BetMGM-

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