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2021 Bermuda Championship: Top 10 power rankings at Port Royal GC

By Mike Randleman

Sep 26, 2021; Haven, Wisconsin, USA; Team Europe player Matt Fitzpatrick lines up his putt on the 17th green during day three singles rounds for the 43rd Ryder Cup golf competition at Whistling Straits. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 26, 2021; Haven, Wisconsin, USA; Team Europe player Matt Fitzpatrick lines up his putt on the 17th green during day three singles rounds for the 43rd Ryder Cup golf competition at Whistling Straits. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aug 13, 2021; Greensboro, North Carolina, USA; Brian Gay hits his tee shot on the second hole during the second round of the Wyndham Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 13, 2021; Greensboro, North Carolina, USA; Brian Gay hits his tee shot on the second hole during the second round of the Wyndham Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports /

This is a pure horse for the course move here. Brain Gay is closer to the senior tour than his prime on the younger tour. Alas, something about Port Royal helps him turn back the clock.

The former Florida Gator fired 69-65-65-67 to finish T-3rd at the 2019 Bermuda Championship. Last year, Gay picked up his fifth PGA Tour win and first since 2013. He posted 70-68-67-64 and beat Wyndham Clark in a playoff.

Gay has never been a long hitter. He relied on his precision to finish T-8th in the 2020 field in driving accuracy (33/56, 58.93%). Gay also hit nearly 70% greens in regulation.

The victory appeared to be a flash in the pan as a T-34 is his best result since the win.

The 49-year-old simply can’t hang on the big ballparks that predominate the schedule. Here at a shorter track like Port Royal, Gay and players of his ilk are brought back into the fold.

“I grew up on the south on bermudagrass, I love bermuda greens,” Gay was quoted by Tee Scripts in 2020. “Living in Florida, the wind doesn’t bother me. I think it’s familiarity with the bermudagrass. It’s not a long golf course. It’s a golf course where I get a lot of short clubs and you can’t really overpower the golf course. It keeps the shorter hitters in the game, everybody has a chance here.”

Gay’s strength is his putting. He was 62nd on the PGA Tour last season in strokes gained (.203) and 33rd in one-putt percentage (41.43%).

Can lightning strike three times for Gay at the Bermuda Championship? It seems unlikely, but that was the case the last two years. Returns are diminishing, but I see him mustering one more top-10.

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