The PGA Golf Tour continues to take in the most scenic locations outside of the United States. Since the start of the new season, it has been to Japan and Mexico. Now it’s the turn of Bermuda to host: The 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship represents one more chance for many of the 132 golfers on show to secure their Tour cards for 2024. This does mean that many of the world’s best continue to take an extended rest, so we have a mixed quality field descending on the Port Royal Golf Course.
Leading into this preview, with predictions and picks, we take a look at the favorites first. At the head of the outright winner betting with the American oddsmakers this week, Australia’s Adam Scott leads the way at best industry odds of 16/1. The 2013 US Masters champion is making his debut in this event and, while he is the most experienced golfer here, his form is inconsistent coming into Thursday.
Just behind Scott at a top price of 18/1 is Brendon Todd, who won the first edition of the Bermuda Championship in 2019. This is his first outing since a promising start to the season produced a solo sixth at the Fortinet Championship.
Behind the favorites, Thomas Detry and Akshay Bhatia are at a best of 22/1, followed by Ben Griffin, Alex Smalley, Taylor Pendrith and Lucas Herbert who are all listed at top prices of 25/1. Herbert is another former winner, having claimed the Bermuda Championship by one shot in 2021, while Detry was the solo runner-up behind Seamus Power last year.
Herbert finished last season strongly and won earlier this year at the ISPS Handa Championship. Bhatia is a name that interests us and he leads the Power Rankings this week, which could be significant.
Moving through this section, Luke List and Mark Hubbard are both on offer at 30/1. List was a winner at the Sanderson Farms Championship last month, and has produced consistent form through 2023. Others of interest include Doug Ghim and Nick Hardy at 33/1, followed by Davis Riley at 40/1. Hardy and Riley won the Zurich Classic team event last season.
We begin the underdog section with Ryan Palmer, Dylan Wu and Brandon Wu, who are all quoted at best odds of 50/1. Further back among a clutch of players at 66/1 is Matti Schmid who was a runner-up in Spain on the DP World Tour last month.
Troy Merritt, who is also available at a top price of 66/1, may be worth considering after delivering two top 10 finishes in his last five starts. Other outsiders attracting interest include Camilo Villegas, who is listed at 100/1 after his tie for second on Sunday. The Colombian has also made the cut in three previous visits to the Bermuda Championship.
Others to mention before we look at the course include Ryan Moore at 80/1, Ben Martin at 80/1, Scott Piercy at 100/1, Charley Hoffman at 100/1 and Kevin Chappell at 150/1.
Our Preview’s Bermuda Championship 2023 Course & Betting Trends with Predictions & Betting Picks
The Bermuda Championship was a new addition to the circuit in 2019. The first editions have produced four different winners with Brendon Todd, Brian Gay, Lucas Herbert and Seamus Power lifting the trophy.
The Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton Parish is the venue and this is a short par-71 measuring at just over 6,800 yards. Exposure to the Bermudan coastline means that the wind may be the biggest challenge to the players over the four days. As a counter to that wind, greens are slow at Port Royal, measuring up to just 10.5 on the Stimpmeter. Primary rough of up to two inches is a concern, so there will be rewards for accuracy, and Greens in Regulation will be a key stat. Having hit the surface in that regulation, it could all come down to a putting contest.
A player that continues to interest this preview is Akshay Bhatia. Following his breakthrough win at the Barracuda Championship in July, he has enjoyed a consistent few months, and tied for tenth on Sunday. A year ago, Bhatia tied for 17th at the Bermuda Championship after ranking fourth for greens hit.
In this type of field, he has the quality to back up that win earlier this year. Akshay Bhatia for the win is our main pick this week, while there are three additional suggestions for the top 10 finish markets. Included in those names is Luke List, who is another strong contender for the outright win, and he could be the man to push Bhatia on Sunday. So the betting predictions and picks for this Bermuda Championship 2023 preview are:
- Akshay Bhatia to win at best odds of +2200 (22/1) with BetOnline.
- Top 10 Finish Picks (all odds, at best prices available, are from BetOnline): Akshay Bhatia (+250), Luke List (+300), Ryan Palmer (+550) and Charley Hoffman (+1200).
Matt Harris is a golf and soccer expert for USA Betting. His other area of specialist knowledge is cricket. He is well known in sports journalism and contributes articles to a plethora of big-name websites and media outlets. Titles that he writes or has written for include: Betfair, BetVictor, Unibet & Just Bookies.