2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship: Picks and Predictions

The PGA Tour returns to Bermuda this week for the 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship, the penultimate event of the FedEx Cup Fall.

Following a week at Tiger Woods’ El Cardonal in Mexico, the tour returns to Bermuda for the penultimate event of the FedEx Cup Fall series.

The 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Bermuda, presents one of the final opportunities for players to collect crucial FedEx Cup points before the 2022-23 season officially draws to a close following next week’s RSM Classic.

Those who made the journey to beautiful Bermuda for this week’s championship will be jostling for both Signature event places, courtesy of the ‘Next 10’, and a vital spot in the Top 125 in the FedEx Fall Standings, which will determine who earns exempt status on tour heading into 2024.

This year’s edition of the tournament will be the fifth edition of the Bermuda Championship, and the fourth as a non-alternate field event.

Port Royal Golf Course, a public course in Southampton, Bermuda, is a Robert Trent Jones Par 71 design that plays to 6,828 yards. It is one of the shortest courses on the PGA Tour schedule. As is the case at similar locales with similar climes, the weather and wind forecast will go a long way toward determining scoring for the week.

For the second week in a row, the previous winner of the event won’t be back to defend his title as last year’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship winner, Seamus Power, has elected to skip this week’s event as he continues to recover from a hip injury that forced him to withdraw from the Horizon Irish Open on the DP World Tour in September. 

Previous winners of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship

• 2022: Seamus Power (-19)
• 2021: Lucas Herbert (-15)
• 2020: Brian Gay (-15)
• 2019: Brendon Todd (-24)

The 2023 edition of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship has attracted a stronger field than previous years as a result of the new FedEx Cup Fall series and all that it entails.

2013 Masters champion, Adam Scott, and Lucas Glover, who won consecutive weeks on tour in August, headline a field that includes nine players from the OWGR Top 100. The aforementioned Scott leads the way atop oddsboards this week, here is how the rest of the favorites for this week’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship shake out.

2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship Favorites

Note: All listed odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook. Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. For more betting content for all sports check out Betsided.

• Adam Scott (+1600)
• Thomas Detry (+2000)
• Brendon Todd (+2000)
• Alex Noren (+2000)
• Taylor Pendrith (+2200)
• Lucas Herbert (+2200)
• Lucas Glover (+2200)
• Alex Smalley (+2200)
• Akshay Bhatia (+2200)
• Ben Griffin (+2500)
• Mark Hubbard (+2800)
• Luke List (+2800)
• Doug Ghim (+3000)

Pick to Top 20:  Peter Malnati (+260)

Peter Malnati has made three of four cuts during the FedEx Cup Fall and comes into this week’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship just inside the Top 125 in the fall standings. A big week this week could go a long toward helping the 36-year-old secure his PGA status for 2024.

Good news for Malnati. He has an excellent track record at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship with finishes of T-21 in 2020 and T-7 at Port Royal in 2021.

Peter has a terrific short game and he excels in one of the key stats for success at Port Royal, putts per round.  Per Adam Stanley of pgatour.com, only one of the last four champions of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship has ranked outside of the top 5 in that statistic. Malnati ranks 7th in putts per round this season.

Pick to Top 10:  Taylor Pendrith (+240)

Taylor Pendrith will not only look to add a fourth Top 10 finish to his 2023 tally this week, but he will also be looking to claim his first PGA Tour win.

After missing a cut to begin the FedEx Cup Fall, the Canadian tied for third at the Shriners Children’s Open and added a T-15 finish at last week’s World Wide Technology Championship. Now, he returns to Port Royal after sharing the 54-hole lead here in 2021 before eventually tying for 5th in his only previous start at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

The 32-year-old is rounding into form at the perfect time as he returns to Bermuda for the penultimate event of the season.

Pick to Win:  Ben Griffin (+2500)

Speaking of success at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship previously, Ben Griffin can certainly claim that, albeit in one previous start.

Last year, the 27-year-old held the 54-hole lead at Port Royal before some costly mistakes on the back nine on Sunday saw the win slip out of his grasp. Griffin had another chance for that breakthrough win on tour last month at the Sanderson Farms Championship, but yet again, the win eluded him and he had to settle for a T-2 finish instead.

Ben struggled a bit in his next two starts after the Sanderson before showing some form once again at last week’s World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico where he ended up tying for 23rd.

A solid short game, 14th in SG: Around the Green and 34th in putts per round this season, combined with his experience of contending of late should serve him well moving forward.

It wouldn’t be surprising at all if that breakthrough were to happen this week at a locale he came ever so close at last year.