This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
Butterfield Bermuda Championship
Southampton, Bermuda
Port Royal Golf Course - Par 71 - 6,828 yards
Field - 132 entrants
Purse - $6.5M
The Preview
When Seamus Power is the big man on campus, your campus probably isn't very prestigious. He's the lone representative from the top-50 in the Official World Golf Ranking this week in Bermuda, while a good chunk of the 132-man field is littered with names that would likely struggle to win a Korn Ferry Tour event in a full season. Nonetheless, the Butterfield Bermuda Championship is a real event with legitimate rewards on the PGA Tour. The extremely short Port Royal Golf Course has served as the host venue since 2019, and its primary defenses include a trio of difficult par-3s that each measure at least 213 yards, but a concerning weather forecast that predicts high winds and plenty of rain could invite even more bogeys throughout the tournament. However, scorable par-5s and slow bermuda greens work in the favor of the players.
Recent Champions
2021 - Lucas Herbert
2020 - Brian Gay
2019 - Brendon Todd
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach
SG: Putting (bermuda)
Par-3 scoring
Birdie or Better percentage
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Thomas Detry - $42
On the heels of a T5 at the DP World Tour's BMW PGA Championship in early September, Detry opened his 2022-23 PGA Tour campaign with back-to-back top-12 finishes at the Fortinet Championship and the Sanderson Farms Championship before making another cut at the Shriners Children's Open. Throughout these first 12 rounds of his season, the Belgian is second to none in par-4 efficiency among this week's field, gaining north of 10 strokes from tee to green along the way. He tied for 22nd here in Bermuda last year when he paced the tournament in driving distance.
Nick Hardy - $40
Hardy made the cut in each of his first three starts to begin the season, highlighted by a T5 at the Sanderson Farms Championship where his iron play shined. In fact, he's No. 3 in both SG: Approach and Prox: 200-plus yards over his last 12 rounds. Hardy is a candidate to benefit from positive regression on the greens after he lost a career-worst 3.2 strokes with the flat stick in his most recent outing at TPC Summerlin, where he placed just T44 despite gaining a collective 5.1 strokes with his ball striking.
Glue Guys
Justin Lower - $34
Lower tied for 17th during his Port Royal debut last year when he ranked T6 among the field in GIR percentage in Bermuda. His fall series is off to a great start with finishes of T4-T45-T20 since the Fortinet Championship, while ranking third in SG: Putting, seventh in Opportunities Gained, ninth in overall proximity and ninth in driving accuracy during this stretch. The putter has been especially hot for Lower, gaining an average of 3.6 strokes on the greens per event throughout his last eight starts on Tour.
Adam Schenk - $32
Schenk's 15 par-breakers at the ZOZO Championship included a pair of eagles en route to his T16 finish, which came just one week after he posted a T12 at the Shriners Children's Open. Over his last 24 rounds, nobody in this week's field has been better from a SG: Approach perspective, and he tied for 26th here at Port Royal in 2020.
Bargain Bin
Robby Shelton - $29
Shelton's combination of a straight tee ball with a stout short game has allowed him to avoid a single missed cut through his first three starts of the new season, notably notching top-25s in Napa and Vegas. Across his past 12 rounds, the University of Alabama product ranks fourth in par-4 scoring, seventh in P5: 500-550 efficiency, ninth in driving accuracy and 11th in proximity.
Sam Ryder - $26
Ryder has yet to collect a top-25 result through four starts this season, but over his last 24 measured rounds, he comes in at fifth in proximity and sixth in putting from 5-10 feet. From the Fortinet Championship through the Shriners Children's Open, he gained at least two strokes with his irons and no less than 1.2 strokes with the flat stick in each event.
