RADIO
The PGA Tour has made its way to the tiny island of Bermuda for their penultimate tournament of 2024, where Port Royal Golf Course will once again host the Butterfield Bermuda Championship to wind down their season.
It may go overlooked, but this is a massive week for those players looking to secure their spot on the top 125 for next season. We have a few familiar names from previous years at this event, as well as some players which I think make great statistical fits for Port Royal.
As always, my primary goal with this article is to give you a place to start your research and preparation for the upcoming week. I have carefully evaluated the field-to-project proper course fits and looked heavily into how players' incoming form has been in the categories that matter the most here. Without further ado, Here are my top 10 Power Rankings for the 2024 Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
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No. 10 - Daniel Berger
Sitting at #124 in the FedEx Cup points, Daniel Berger knows that he needs a good week in Bermuda. Port Royal should be the type of golf course that is right up his alley. Berger historically has played his best often on coastal golf courses that reward his accuracy and precision off the tee.
Berger ranks #1 in my stat model for good drives gained over the last 24 rounds which will suit him particularly well at Port Royal on these narrow fairways. He's also a great wind player, ranking #2 in the field strokes gained tee to green in windy conditions, which includes all shotracker-recorded rounds with winds over 20 mph. It's Berger-time in Bermuda!
Daniel Berger (T20) is the only other player to move inside the top 125 with two events remaining in the FedExCup Fall (No. 129 to No. 124).
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) November 10, 2024
No. 9 - Patrick Rodgers
Back-to-back top-4 results in Bermuda made it too problematic for me to leave perennial loser Patrick Rodgers off my power rankings list. He's had an underwhelming Fall swing thus far, and he's certainly broken the mold on player profiles at Port Royal as he's been one of the only inaccurate players off the tee who have had success at this event.
If I sound a bit sour on Rodgers, it's only because I have been burned a number of times when backing him to win. He possesses enough talent to win a PGA Tour event, particularly one with a field like the one this week. Rodgers will need to add some control to his Driver and short irons, but he has the tools to potentially dominate if he can keep it in the short grass and off of the cliffs.
No. 8 - Andrew Putnam
This is the kind of golf course where you want highly accurate players who possess great short game and a reliable putter inside of 20 feet. I essentially just described Andrew Putnam. He's one of the best in the field at chipping on tight Bermudagrass and he has always been an above-average putter.
Putnam comes into this week in decent form, recording a T27 at the ZOZO Championship and a T16 at the Shriners. He hit his irons great in both of those starts but ended up losing strokes off the tee to the field. He won't be penalized for his lack of driving distance this week and this remains one of the best course fits on Tour for a player like Putnam.
No. 7 - Mackenzie Hughes
He will undoubtedly tee it up this week as one of the favorites to win, but I have some serious concerns about backing Mackenzie Hughes in Bermuda. It comes down his unreliability and inconsistency with the driver which can get him in serious trouble here. Hughes ranks outside the top 100 players in the field in terms of Good Drives gained.
That all said, he is magic with the short game and putter which can cover up a ton of deficiencies elsewhere. Hughes has a real winning upside when he is in contention and he is one of the few players in the field with a proven winning pedigree which carries a ton of weight. I worry that the short game has to do a bit too much of the heavy lifted at this course in particular for Hughes to capture another victory this week.
No. 6. Matti Schmid
Matti Schmid checks multiple boxes this week when diving into the player profiles. His incoming form has been exceptional this fall. Schmid finished 5th at the Black Desert Championship in Utah and then followed that up with a T3 at the Shriners. The Shriners Open performance is a great indicator for success here as I believe it shares multiple course correlations with Port Royal.
He also checks the box of course history as Schmid finished in solo-3rd place at this tournament in 2023. At the time, it was his best-ever finish on the PGA Tour. He's been very well rounded week-to-week and his ability to have control over his driver coming into this week should be a huge confidence boost for Schmid who sets up great as he attempts to secure his first win.
No. 5 - Doug Ghim
The incoming form has been trending toward victory for Doug Ghim as he has been one of the best iron players on the PGA Tour over the last six months. If it weren't for consecutive missed cuts at this event, he'd be one of the most popular picks to win this week. His proximity numbers are fantastic, and Ghim has been hitting more greens in regulation than any other player in the field.
On paper, his 67% driving accuracy and elite iron play would make him an ideal player for Port Royal Golf Course. It's honestly strange that he hasn't been able to achieve success yet in Bermuda, but new year, new Ghim. He nearly won the Shriners Open a few weeks ago but fell short by one shot, and Ghim seems primed to break the wall down soon. Just keep knocking!
No. 4 - Maverick McNealy
There were some concerns about Maverick McNealy before the WWT Championship last week after he recently withdrew himself from the ZOZO Championship a few weeks prior. Consider those questions answered, as McNealy recorded a T6 in Mexico and he drove the ball exceptionally well all week long.
We're all still patiently waiting on McNealy to pick up a trophy at the end of a PGA Tour event, and this could finally be his week. He's got a real chance as one of the favorites to win, and with the heightened importance of short game and putting in Bermuda, McNealy sets up as a great fit for this course. This is a thinking-mans golf course, and McNealy has always been a thinker.
ICYMI, the PGA Tour announced changes that, if approved at next week’s board vote, will adjust the FedEx Cup point distribution starting next season. Here’s the back story on how Mav McNealy solved the point inequity: https://t.co/a5yJPrH6xL
— Adam Schupak (@AdamSchupak) November 11, 2024
No. 3 - Ben Griffin
As soon as the sportsbooks posted the odds to win the Butterfield Bermuda Championship on Monday morning, I was ready to pounce on a Ben Griffin ticket. Yes, we are at that stage of the Fall swing in case you were wondering. Griffin finished T3 at the vent in 2022 when he frankly blew a lead on the back nine. Here's to hoping he learned from those mistakes he made and is ready to play aggressively this week.
Griffin has statistically been one of the best players in the field in high-wind conditions and he raises his baseline in tournaments with easier scoring conditions. He also has an elite short game and ranks as the best putter in the field on Bermuda grass from five to fifteen feet. If you can still get him at 20/1 to win or higher...I like that number!
No. 2 - Lucas Glover
I mentioned earlier how well Doug Ghim has been with his recent approach play. There is only one player in the field who has been hitting his irons better than Ghim and that man is Lucas Glover. It wasn't too long ago when a sweatstained Glover was winning multiple events on the PGA Tour.
Now, he's in form and playing against a subpar field in which he is the most accomplished player who is teeing it up in Bermuda. He's frankly been mediocre in the past two seasons at this tournament, but all the major signs that I am pinpointing for this week are centered around what Glover has been doing so well this fall. You can never disregard elite-level ball-striking, as it's usually the most correlated stat to winning.
Lucas Glover is ready to take the field by storm with his red-hot irons. 🔥https://t.co/7dN4HYwBxT pic.twitter.com/tYUtxyGn5Y
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) November 6, 2024
No. 1 - Seamus Power
The 2022 Champion at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship waited two years to make his return to the island, but Seamus Power is ready and roaring this week to win again. Power comes into this week in great form and in control of his golf ball. He ranks #1 in the field in bogey avoidance and has recorded multiple Top-15 finishes throughout the fall swing thus far.
Power unsurprisingly ranks #1 in strokes gained total at Port Royal Golf Course since the tournament was first hosted here in 2019. It's clearly a great fit for his game and his ability to reliably place the ball in the fairways opens up the doors to scoring opportunities. When Power gets them, he's proficient at cashing in on those chances. He's number one this week for a reason and could very well dominate in Bermuda
Enjoy the Butterfield Bermuda Championship and thanks for reading! Good luck, RotoBaller family!
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