2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship: Top 10 Power Rankings at Port Royal GC

The PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Fall season is down to its penultimate event.

We go from the beaches of Mexico to the beaches of Bermuda for the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

This event debuted in 2019 and has annually been held in the fall.

Port Royal Golf Course is the host. It’s one of the shorter courses on the PGA Tour schedule measuring 6,828 yards for a par 71. This Robert Trent Jones design opened in 1969 and is located on Bermuda’s west coast in Southampton.

Unsurprisingly, Bermuda is the grass type in play from tee to green.

PRGC’s difficulty is largely based on if the wind is up. That’s usually the case and is in the forecast this week with sustained double-digit mile-per-hour winds.

There’s no rain forecasted for tournament days with temperatures in the 50s-70s Fahrenheit. It could get firm and fast out there if PGA Tour officials want it to be.

They likely don’t want the setup to get too out of control considering the type of talent teeing it up this week.

There are no players ranked inside the top 30 in the Oct. 29 Official World Golf Ranking. Only two from last year’s top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings are present this week.

It’s hard to blame them given how Bermuda is a tough place to fly in and out of. There are also a lot more enticing stops on the fall circuit like Napa, Las Vegas or guaranteed money events like the ZOZO.

Next week’s RSM Classic is a fairly central spot for southeastern-U.S.-based players to go.

So, we’ll work with what we’ve got this week and enjoy the beautiful Bermudan views.

Unfortunately for bettors and daily fantasy players, this is one of those tough weeks to predict given there is no ShotLink data at this event.

Nevertheless, I’m giving it my best shot for this week’s top 10.

Luke List picked up a big win during the FedEx Cup Fall that’s got him very close to cracking the top 60 in the standings to qualify for the first two Signature Events of 2024.

He finished 119th in the 2022-23 FedEx Cup standings and has worked his way up to No. 61 thanks largely to a victory at the Sanderson Farms Championship.

List opened with three rounds in the 60s and closed in 70 to make it into a five-man playoff that he won with a birdie bomb on the first extra hole.

That made him a two-time career winner on the PGA Tour.

List has made all four cuts this fall and has three top-25s with T-25th at the Fortinet Championship and T-18th a couple starts ago at the Shriners Children’s Open.

The 38-year-old out of Vanderbilt isn’t the best course fit given he’s a big hitter, though List can still find some spots at Port Royal where he can have shorter clubs into the greens than others.

He ranks eighth on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (.617 per round) and 30th in SG: Tee-to-Green (.761). Pulling driver out less can also help his fairway accuracy, which is just outside the top 100.

List is a former winner at a big ballpark like Torrey Pines. With that said, NBC Sports ranks him 13th in strokes gained on short courses over the past two years.

List is making his second appearance at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. His debut in 2020 resulted in T-53rd (68-72-72-72).