Port Royal Golf Course is the host for this week’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship, and it is one of the most unique golf courses on the PGA Tour for a variety of reasons. The course layout is tiny at only 6,828 yards as a par 71. It’s the shortest course on the Tour’s schedule, which means that even the shortest hitters are viable options this week. The length makes sense considering the available real estate on the island. Port Royal is one of just seven golf courses in Bermuda.

From a statistical standpoint, Port Royal is unique in how “sticky” the results have been. The venue ranks third in “Stickiness Score,” which means that players have consistent results year over year. There are only two other courses on the schedule where the results are more consistent. There are 14 different players who have gained at least one stroke per round at Port Royal across three or more starts. That list is led by Vince Whaley, who is currently in the midst of four straight top-eight finishes at this event.

Finally, Mother Nature is going to have just as much say in the outcome of this event as anyone else. The Butterfield Bermuda has been the windiest event over the past half-decade. The average sustained winds of 15.2 mph are stronger than those at any other event with at least three years of data since 2018. That’s going to be another set of variables to consider when rounding out our betting cards for this week.

Seamus Power gets up-and-down from 98 yards for birdie on No. 12 at Biltmore Championship

After three straight missed cuts, Power’s game is starting to round into form. He was impressive in Asheville, where he gained +4.7 strokes on approach and finished T7. His ball-striking wasn’t nearly as sharp in Utah a few weeks back, but the rest of his game picked up the slack. He finished T21, which means he’s gained more than 15 strokes on the field in his last eight rounds entering this week. There are plenty of concerns around consistency for Power, but not enough to move me off of his top-20 number, which can currently be found at +106 at DraftKings Sportsbook.

In terms of raw pedigree, Corey Conners might be the best player in the field. He’s a two-time PGA Tour winner who is bearing down on 300 career starts, and he just wrapped up a solid performance at the Presidents Cup. Very few, if any, in the field can boast a resume like that. This will be Conners’ first trip to Bermuda, but I can easily see how his skills will translate to a new venue.

He lacks distance off the tee, but he’s incredibly accurate. His lack of “pop” won’t matter at Port Royal. His ball-striking will be valuable, especially in windy conditions. Conners has gained strokes on approach in seven of his last nine starts, which covers his run of golf from the U.S. Open until the Presidents Cup. He’s made the weekend in all of those events, and his best result was a T7 at the Travelers Championship. That event was played at TPC River Highlands, which just happens to be the second-shortest golf course on the schedule. I have high expectations for Conners in his debut, which is why I’ll be deploying him in the top-10 market at +215.

Corey Conners makes birdie on No. 10 at Sunday Singles

There are only a handful of courses on the PGA Tour schedule that give Zac Blair a legitimate chance to contend, and this is one of them. At only an average of 285 yards off the tee, Blair is one of the shortest hitters on the circuit. That puts him at a significant disadvantage most weeks — but not this one!

Once he advances to the second shot, Blair becomes significantly better than his peers in nearly every facet of his game. He’s gained strokes on approach in nine of his last 10 starts, and he’s gained strokes putting in 10 of his last 13.

He’s been bouncing back and forth between the Korn Ferry Tour and the PGA Tour with strong results on both. He made the cut in Asheville and finished T21 in Utah before earning a T24 at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. He’s played this event three times, with his best finish coming last year, a T9. I’m taking advantage of this rare opportunity and clicked Blair’s name to finish inside the top 10 at +320.

While Ben James has garnered much of the attention this fall, and rightfully so, it’s Kevin Roy who has quietly produced one of the better runs of golf from anyone in this field. Since the Genesis Scottish Open, eight starts ago, Roy has made the cut in every single start. During that run, he’s only finished outside the top 35 once, and he has four top 25s to boast.

His stat profile is a thing of beauty. He’s destroying his peers from tee to green, earning +34.93 strokes during that 32-round stretch. The putter has also started to cooperate, and he’s beaten the field by another +8.11 strokes in his last 20 rounds. That’s consistent, high-level play over an extended period of time. Now he returns to Port Royal for the third time, highlighted by his T8 finish here in 2023. It’s nothing but positives for Kevin Roy, which is why he is my pick to win the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at +3400.

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