Out of the Rough: Butterfield Bermuda Championship (2026)

The PGA Tour heads to Southampton, Bermuda for this week’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

This is the fourth-of-eight stops of the FedExCup Fall as we hit the half way mark for those outside of the top 100 of the FedEx Cup Standings to secure themselves a card for the upcoming 2026 PGA Tour season.

This event has been played since 2019 and has been held each year at Port Royal Golf Course in which this year will also be held.

This is one of those events where the weather has a big say in who will win, more so than almost every other course on the PGA Tour schedule. This course can play completely different from round-to-round depending on what Mother Nature has in store. 

The Field

There isn’t a single golfer ranked within the top 50 of the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) to be playing this week.

Instead, World No. 60 Corey Conners comes in as the highest ranked golfer within the OWGR to be playing this week. 

He’ll be joined by Austin Smotherman (No. 66,) Rasmus Hojgaard (No. 81,) Eric Cole (No. 82,) Ben James (No. 84,) Andrew Novak (No. 86,) Ben Kohles (No. 92) and Max Greyserman (No. 96) as those ranked within the top 100 of the OWGR to be playing this week.

Adam Schenk comes in as the defending champion, having topped Chandler Phillips by a stroke a season ago. Phillips will also be teeing it up this week.

Other former winners of this event playing this week include Rafael Campos (2024,) Camilo Villegas (2023,) Seamus Power (2022) and Brendon Todd (2019.) 

The Course

Port Royal Golf Course is a par-71 that plays at just 6,828 yards. This makes it the shortest par-71 on the PGA Tour schedule and the second shortest course overall to just TPC River Highlands.

It is a Robert Trent Jones design and is a public course in Southampton, Bermuda.

Overall, this course is tree-lined with water in play on several holes. It too features a lot of bunkers and is made for low scoring.

Playing at such a short distance, fairway finders have had their turns at success here over the years but this course too in turn plays to the likes of long-bombers off-the-tee if weather is to become a factor.

Port Royal Golf Course is rather forgiving off-the-tee as long as the weather remains at bay.

Being a coast-lined venue, intermittent wind changes play a big factor on every shot and the regular elevation changes this course features offers a challenge to players on their approaches.

Golfers who are talented ball strikers will see an advantage this week, especially those who are experienced in playing approach shots in windy conditions.

The greens, of course, are Bermuda and this event has been won and then in turn, lost on these greens. Golfers who are good on Bermuda greens will see an advantage this week.

Port Royal Golf Course consists of three par-fives, 11 par-fours and four par-threes.

Among the 11 par-fours featured this week, none of them measure over 460 yards. Therefore, short iron and wedge-play will be important for any hopeful winner.

As I previously mentioned countless times already, the weather is the biggest line of defense this course has to offer. 

In all, golfers who are strong on their approach, especially in windy conditions as well as those able to navigate steep elevation changes will see an advantage overall this week.

The Weather

As of the time of writing this, Thursday is calling for a 45-percent chance of showers. Friday is calling for a 25-percent chance of precipitation, Saturday a 50-percent chance of showers and Sunday a 40-percent chance of showers. Temperatures are currently set for a high of 80-degrees for both Thursday and Friday before settling to 78-degrees on Saturday and 77-degrees on Sunday. As previously mentioned, the weather, specifically the wind, has a lot to do with the way this event unfolds. As of the time of writing this, Thursday is calling for winds upwards of 17 miles-per-hour coming out of the southwest. Winds will drop to 15 miles-per-hour on Friday but will be coming out of the north. From there, winds will remain at 15 miles-per-hour on Saturday coming out of the northeast and will continue out of the northeast on Sunday at 16 miles-per-hour.

Key Stats

• Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (SG: OTT) / Driving Accuracy

• Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)

• Ball Striking

• Strokes Gained: Around the Green (SG: ATG)

• Par Three Average Scoring

• Strokes Gained: Putting on Bermuda (SG: PUTT Bermuda)

• Birdie or Better Percentage

• Proximity to the Hole from less than 125-yards

• Sand Saves Percentage

• Scrambling

Betting Card

Ben Kohles (+3700)

Anyone and everyone has held at least one Ben Kohles ticket across the last three tournaments. Now, we head to a golf course that fits his game to a tee. This was an easy first click for me. Kohles is currently first on Tour in both driving accuracy percentage and SG: APP. He is also third in par-three average scoring, fifth in scrambling, eighth in birdie-or-better percentage, 21st in proximity to the hole from less than 125-yards, 27th in ball striking, 40th in SG: PUTT Bermuda, 44th in sand saves percentage, 49th in SG: OTT and 62nd in SG: ATG. Also, as previously mentioned, the weather can and will have a major impact on this golf course, namely the wind. Kohles has the lowest ball flight on the entire PGA Tour. This will without a doubt be beneficial without needing to battle the high winds off-the-tee and on long approach shots. On top of all of the statistical data I presented already, Kohles is also in great form. He placed 17th at the Baycurrent Classic, 13th at the Bank of Utah Championship and 15th at the Biltmore Championship to open the FedEx Cup Fall. Prior to that he placed 29th at the Wyndham Championship, 26th at the Rocket Classic and ninth at the 3M Open. He’s played this event three times prior, making the cut in each of them. He placed 61st last season, 57th in 2024 and 39th in 2021. 

Zac Blair (+4700)

I had three names circled when creating my short list for this week and after Kohles, Blair was next in line. This is another guy who’s game fits this golf course rather well and is in some decent form across his last five outings. Blair is currently first on the entire PGA Tour in proximity to the hole from less than 125-yards. He is also second in sand saves percentage, third in both driving accuracy percentage and scrambling, sixth in SG: APP, 23rd in par-three average scoring, 42nd in birdie-or-better percentage, 46th in SG: ATG, 67th in ball striking, 151st in SG: OTT and 158th in SG: PUTT Bermuda. I’m not too concerned with the off-the-tee number as that is largely hindered by his lack of distance. Taking a look at the putting however, he spiked with the flat stick in his latest outing at the Bank of Utah Championship. He gained 0.624 strokes-per-round on the greens. Across his last five outings on the PGA Tour, Blair placed 21st at the Bank of Utah Championship, 53rd at the Biltmore Championship Asheville, missed the cut at the Wyndham Championship, placed 50th at the Rocket Classic and 13th at the 3M Open. Blair also placed ninth at this event a season ago. He also played this event in 2024 where he missed the cut and placed 57th in 2019. 

A.J. Ewart (+7500)

If you’ve followed this series throughout the season, you know I’ve favored Ewart multiple times. I’m back on him this week with his excellent short game. Ewart is currently seventh on Tour in SG: PUTT Bermuda, 19th in scrambling, 25th in sand saves percentage, 32nd in proximity to the hole from less than 125-yards, 39th in par-three average scoring, 46th in birdie-or-better percentage, 82nd in SG: ATG, 88th in SG: APP, 89th in ball striking, 102nd in driving accuracy percentage and 134th in SG: OTT. Following three straight missed cuts between the Rocket Classic, Wyndham Championship and Biltmore Championship Asheville, Ewart found some form in his latest outing with a 19th place finish at the Bank out Utah Championship. He’ll be making his Butterfield Bermuda Championship debut this week. 

Kevin Streelman (+7500)

In my aforementioned trio of first clicks from my shortlist, Streelman is that third name. He placed fifth at the Bank of Utah Championship in his latest outing. Prior to that he missed the cut at the Biltmore Championship Asheville, placed 38th at the Wyndham Championship, missed the cut at the Rocket Classic, placed 24th at the 3M Open and 39th at the ISCO Championship. He’s played this event each of the last two seasons, placing 61st a season ago and missed the cut in 2024. Streelman is currently tenth on Tour in scrambling, 11th in par-three average scoring, 12th in proximity to the hole from less than 125-yards, 21st in sand saves percentage, 25th in SG: PUTT Bermuda, 32nd in driving accuracy percentage, 50th in ball striking, 73rd in birdie-or-better percentage, 78th in SG: ATG, 96th in SG: OTT and 100th in SG: APP. Of the 11 statistical categories I took into consideration this week, Streelman is just about average in all of them with an elite short game. He too spiked with the irons in his latest outing at the Bank of Utah Championship where he gained 0.507 strokes-per-round on approach. If the irons remain hot, I believe he has a chance to win this week. 

John VanDerLaan (+10000)

This is the first time I’ve ever backed VanDerLaan. He started the FedEx Cup Fall series hot, placing 40th at the Bank of Utah Championship and tenth at the Biltmore Championship Asheville. He last played this event in 2022 where he placed 35th. On Tour, he is currently sixth in sand saves percentage, ninth in ball striking, 44th in driving accuracy percentage, 53rd in proximity to the hole from less than 125 yards, 74th in SG: ATG, 75th in SG: OTT, 80th in scrambling, 82nd in par-three average scoring, 100th in SG: PUTT Bermuda, 102nd in birdie-or-better percentage and 138th in SG: APP. VanDerLaan had one of his best iron performances in his latest outing at the Bank of Utah Championship, gaining 1.225 strokes-per-round on approach. He also gained 0.432 strokes-per-round on approach at the Biltmore Championship Asheville. VanDerLaan is also currently 151st in the FedEx Cup Standings. He’s far off the pace for not only a PGA Tour Card but also a Conditional PGA Tour Card. He’ll inevitably need a victory if he is to retain Tour status.

2025 Betting Card

• Thorbjorn Olesen (+2200) - T29th

• Pierceson Coody (+2800) - T22nd

• Seamus Power (+6000) - T11th

• Takumi Kanaya (+6000) - T3rd

• Max McGreevy (+6600) - T3rd

• Brandt Snedeker (+15000) - T42nd

2024 Betting Card

• Maverick McNealy (+1800) - T17th

• Carson Young (+4000) - T62nd

• Greyson Sigg (+4500) - T9th

2023 Betting Card

• Brendon Todd (+1800) - T20th

• Lucas Glover (+2200) - T45th

• Doug Ghim (+3000) - MC

• Dylan Wu (+4500) - T30th

• Kevin Yu (+5500) - T30th

• Satoshi Kodaira (+25000) - T13th

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