Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship

2023 Butterfield Bermuda Championship Fantasy Sleeper Report

Golf never ceases to amaze. Tournaments played over 72 holes and four days, and yet the winner can be decided by just one or two moments of madness or inspiration.

The World Wide Tech Championship last week was no different. On Saturday, it appeared as if Matt Kuchar was strolling to the title, finding himself six shots clear of the rest of the field. Yet, one hooked drive and two duffed chips later, Kuchar was the proud owner of a quadruple bogey. Game on.

And then, come the 72nd and final hole, the three leaders – Kuchar, Erik van Rooyen and Camilo Villegas – all had a chance to land the trophy. So when EVR clutched an eagle putt, that was all she wrote.

One hole of madness. One hole of inspiration. And Van Rooyen was a two-time PGA TOUR champion.

Time is running out for those wanting to finish in the ‘Next 10’ of the Fall Series, which ensures entry into some of the money-spinning Signature tournaments next year, as well as those whose sole ambition is to simply play on the PGA TOUR next year. 

The Bermuda Championship, followed by the RSM Classic next week, are the swansongs of the 2022-23 season. Those that finish outside the top-125 of the FedEx Cup will find their invitations to play on the TOUR next season hard to come by.

So time is of the essence, and like Van Rooyen on Sunday now is the time to grasp the nettle at a Royal Port Golf Club course that – weather permitting – can be taken apart.

A super-short 6,898 yards for its Par 71, being consistently good with wedges and putter can be enough to win this week, with fairways tough to hold for all given the strong winds – the field could see the breeze hit 18mph on Sunday, which is not inconsiderable at local level and given the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean.

But before you go rushing out to back the bombers on such a short layout, remember this: the TOUR average proximity to the hole when approaching from the fairway 125-120 yards away is 23ft to the pin. Inside 100 yards from the rough, it’s 27ft.

So finding the fairway is an advantage at courses like this, which explains why metronomic, accurate types like Seamus Power, Brian Gay and Brendon Todd have won this event in the past four years.

Power, the defending champion, took advantage of some liberal bogey-making from Ben Griffin 12 months ago – he played a five-hole stretch on the back nine on Sunday in +6 to confirm what we already knew: TOUR maidens can find it damn difficult to close out their first win.

Will we have a maiden or a multiple-time winner doing the business in Bermuda on Sunday?  As far as we’re concerned, here’s five to back at juicy prices for the 2023 Bermuda Championship:

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Dylan Wu – 50/1 – According to DataGolf, Dylan Wu has been performing like a top-50 player in the world on approach and putting over the past six months ago.

Amongst this field, that’s eye-catching form indeed, and his poor tee work won’t be as inconvenienced this week as it is normally.

Still learning his craft as a relative rookie, Wu has plenty of upside – and if he putts like he did in his T5 at the 3M Open or T14 at the Fortinet Championship, he may just realize that potential this week.

Kramer Hickok – 80/1 – A rather impressive 91% of fairways found and 89% GIR at El Cardonal sets the scene for Kramer Hickok’s week ahead.

It has been a tough time for Hickok of late, but he will take plenty of heart from his T15 finish in Mexico, which saw him make just one bogey all tournament long. 

Historically, Hickok’s best PGA TOUR performances have come at this track (his formline reads MC-30-8-15) and at the likes of the Sony Open and the Corales Puntacana, which have clear correlations with the conditions expected at Royal Port GC.

Peter Malnati – 100/1 – T7 at this track in 2021, Peter Malnati’s resumé is packed with eye-catching performances at similar layouts.

T4 at Pebble Beach, T6 at Kapalua and T12 at Waialae are proof positive that Malnati enjoys the sea breeze at his back, and while concerns over his errant driving remain, there are those who have enjoyed success at Royal Port by scrambling and putting their way to a competitive score.

We know that there’s a strong chance that Malnati will putt well – that’s evidenced by the long-term stats, and on his day he’s a more than capable iron and wedge player too.

Scott Piercy – 120/1 – What you’ll find this week is that the players will dump a high percentage of their drives into the rough, between 75-150 yards from the pin depending on the hole.

Curiously, that’s an area of strength for Scott Piercy, who has the grinding qualities to knock his approaches close from the rough – a player ranking on the fringes of the PGA TOUR’s top-50 for Putts Per Round is also no mug with the flat stick.

Incredibly, he didn’t make a bogey last week until the tenth hole of his third round, so it’s fair to say that Piercy’s game is in ideal shape right now. As somebody that thrives in the wind, we should be taking note this week.

Camilo Villegas – 150/1 – At the time of writing, sportsbooks were offering 150/1 about Camilo Villegas this week, which seems more than fair given what we say from him in Mexico.

Expected by many to fall away after hitting the front, Villegas was there or thereabouts at the very end at El Cardonal – only missing out on the trophy due to a poor shot here and there.

The Colombian has made three consecutive cuts at Royal Port despite the issues previously in his game, but last week he looked closer to the player that was once ranked 7th in the world and who also once finished T2 at the correlating RSM Classic.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the Butterfield Bermuda Championship here.

Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2023-2024)

Cover photo via Instagram