This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.
Butterfield Bermuda Championship
Port Royal GC
Southampton Parish, Bermuda
The PGA Tour heads to Bermuda for --fittingly -- the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
Before we get to that, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the performance from Erik van Rooyen last week. If you follow golf and maybe if you don't, you probably heard about this story, but it's worth a quick retelling. van Rooyen has been a decent player on the PGA Tour for several years, occasionally showing some really high upside but like most grinders struggling to find consistency. He's a native South African, but he played collegiately at the University of Minnesota.
There he met his now former teammate and friend Jon Trasamar, who was diagnosed with melanoma a while back. For a while he was in remission, but this past week he learned that the cancer had returned and spread throughout his body. As van Rooyen put it in a post-match interview, "he's not going to make it." This was the news that van Rooyen received as he was preparing for the event in Mexico. I don't want to make van Rooyen out to be some sort of hero here. After all, it's Trasamar's life we're talking about and it's impossible to imagine what he's going through, but what van Rooyen was able to do was extraordinary. To somehow play some of the best golf of your life with that weight on your shoulders is amazing. He mentioned that he used Jon as motivation and perhaps that's what got him across the finish line. Whatever the case, it's an amazing accomplishment under such terrible circumstances.
van Rooyen was scheduled to play this week but decided to withdraw. I think we can all understand and even applaud that move as he attempts to spend whatever time with his dear friend he can.
All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook as of 8:30 PM ET Tuesday.
LAST YEAR
Seamus Power shot a final-round 70 on his way to a one-stroke victory over Thomas Detry.
FAVORITES
Adam Scott (14-1)
Scott is a big name for sure, but he's well past his prime and it says a lot about this field that he's the favorite. Luckily the oddsmakers gave him two numbers on the left side of his odds rather than one. This is Scott's first attempt here, so he's got no familiarity with this course; and since he's not on a heater right now there's really no reason to take him at this price.
Akshay Bhatia (20-1)
Bhatia finished T17 here this past year and he's coming off a T10 in his most recent performance at the World Wide Technology Championship. That would normally make him a decent sleeper pick, but in such a weak field he finds himself among the favorite. Like Scott, the value is just not there with Bhatia.
Thomas Detry (20-1)
Detry has been a cut-making machine this year. He enters this week having played the weekend in nine straight appearances, which is great but has not led to a PGA Tour win. Detry has a leg up on a lot of his competition having played -- and played well -- here this past year. Although he has some familiarity with the course, these odds don't seem like enough in this spot.
THE NEXT TIER
Lucas Herbert (22-1)
Herbert possesses maybe the best combination of course history and current form. He won this event in 2021 but did not defend his title this past year. He also fared fine last week in Mexico. He finished T31, but that was due largely to a ho-hum round of 70 to close. Prior to that he posted three rounds in the 60s, including a Saturday 66.
Mark Hubbard (28-1)
I'm going back to the well with Hubbard with the hope that he can flash some of his form from this past summer. We haven't seen a lot from Hubbard this fall, but he did post a T6 at the Sanderson Farms last month. He doesn't have much of a track record here, so he will have to find his top form to be a factor.
Doug Ghim (30-1)
A lot of the golfers who played well this past week aren't teeing it up in this event, and in a field loaded with long shots it's tough to find good value with few players coming in hot. Ghim finished T15 in Mexico, which was one of the top results among those who also made the trek to Bermuda. Ghim's track record here isn't great, but he did post a top-15 a few years back.
LONG SHOTS
Nico Echavarria (120-1)
Echavarria is never a guy you are going to take in a OAD format, but he's worth a look at times on win tickets. He doesn't appear to be playing great golf right now, but he broke a string of missed cuts this past week and perhaps he's rounding into form. It's hard to tell, honestly, because this is the same guy that missed four consecutive cuts prior to winning in Puerto Rico earlier this season.
Camilo Villegas (150-1)
Outside of the van Rooyen story, Villegas' performance was the second best thing to come out of the Worldwide Technology Championship. Villegas was once a regular near the top of leaderboards, but those days have long since passed. It was nice to see him contend again, and while the odds of him doing it again are long, I've seen stranger things happen in the fall.
ONE-AND-DONE LEAGUES
Highly-Chosen Pick: Adam Scott - I'm not exactly sure why Scott is playing this week, as he's comfortably inside the top 125 and has never played this event before. Still, I have to assume he is focused on the task at hand. Scott has a big edge on the field when it comes to closing out victories, and I have to imagine that if he's in one of the final groups he will have a mental advantage.
Moderately-Chosen Pick: Lucas Herbert - As mentioned previously, Herbert has a couple things going for him. The question is, will it matter? The fall events are always so unpredictable, as you never know who is going to show up in a given week. However, it looks like Herbert is trying to get something accomplished before the campaign comes to a close.
Lightly-Chosen Pick: Camilo Villegas - There was a time when Villegas was one of the better players on the PGA Tour, and while he's no longer that player he just showed he can be from time to time. Can he do it two weeks in a row? Against a field like this, perhaps he can.
Buyer Beware: Really no one stands out here this week. Scott would be a candidate as the only big name in the field, but it seems likely he will be dialed in. Outside of that, expectations aren't very high for anyone, so there's really no one to be weary of.
This Week: Lucas Herbert - Herbert seems like the safest pick -- if there is such a thing. Course history gives us a clue about which players are here to play and which are here for a vacation. Now, this time of year I think most players are here because they need some results, but you still never know. Herbert's form is good enough and he knows how to get around this track.
FANDUEL PICKS
Upper Range: Lucas Herbert ($10,500)
Middle Range: Mark Hubbard ($10,300)
Lower Range: Ryan Moore ($8,600)
SURVIVOR LEAGUES
This Week: Brian Gay - This is a bit of a curveball here, as Gay is not someone you'd normally see in this spot. However, he's the only player in the field that has played this event four times and made the cut in each attempt. Not only has he made the cut, he has finished top-15 every time! His form might not be great, but I can guarantee you that wasn't a factor before, either.
