Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions – 2024 Butterfield Bermuda Championship

Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the 2024 Butterfield Bermuda Championship

Butterfield Bermuda Championship Fantasy Preview

In the context of what it meant to him and his 2025 playing schedule, Austin Eckroat’s closing round of 63 at the World Wide Technology Championship surely has to be the best of his career.

He was one of eight players within two shots of the lead heading into the final round, but none of those around him on the leaderboard could match the exploits of Eckroat: he played his opening 12 holes in -8, and would go on to record eleven birdies in all.

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It followed his triumph at the Cognizant Classic earlier this year, where Eckroat once again showed his final round chops by coming out on top of a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard heading into Sunday.

All of which means that he’s one of just seven players, so far, to have won twice or more on the PGA TOUR in 2024.

Next stop: Bermuda.

Last Week’s Fantasy Results

What a week!  Not only did we pick the outright winner, Austin Eckroat, we also had a bunch of our roster picks finish in the Top 10! 

Having the 1-2 bunch is always a good thing on DFS roster and it doesn’t come too often. But to have 1,2,2,5, and 6th place picks on your roster, now that’s a PAY DAY!

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Butterfield Bermuda Championship Field

If you thought the field strength was weak throughout the FedEx Fall so far, get ready for another paradigm shift for the Bermuda Championship.

Just one member of the OWGR top-50, Lucas Glover, will tee it up, alongside a handful of those ranked in the bracket 51-75: Nick Taylor, MacKenzie Hughes, Ben Griffin, Maverick McNealy, and Kevin Yu.

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As far as the FedEx Fall standings are concerned, those ranked 51-60 qualify for the AT&T Pebble Beach and Genesis Invitational next year. Nico Echavarria (61), Doug Ghim (68), Brendon Todd (69), and Jhonattan Vegas (70) are amongst those looking to break in, while Seamus Power (54) and Patrick Rodgers (55) are in a group looking to defend their position.

Only those ranked 125 or higher will retain their PGA TOUR cards for 2025. As it stands, the likes of Joel Dahmen (121), Daniel Berger (124), Dylan Wu (126), and Wesley Bryan (128) still have work to do.

This Week’s Course Preview

While Tiger’s El Cardonal was a simple coastal assignment last week, Royal Port GC – home of the Bermuda Championship – will at least require the players to engage their brains.

It’s a short and somewhat squally 6,828 yards for its Par 71, with four Par 3s and three Par 5s to work with.

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Perhaps the most challenging aspect of Royal Port comes off the tee, with the fairways far thinner than those seen in Mexico last week; if the wind blows, flighting down your ball or clubbing down is key.

Otherwise, the challenge is still on the easier side, with more than 20 players recording 75% or more GIR here 12 months ago.

That’s due in part to the sheer size of the Bermuda greens, which – while protected by a smattering of bunkers (and water is in play on seven holes) – aren’t particularly fast or contoured. 

The unique aspect of Royal Port GC is its routing, with considerable undulations and elevation changes – similar in that sense to El Cardonal – across two contrasting nines: one half of the course is exposed on the coast, the other with more tree coverage in a landscape that looks almost parklands in comparison.

The trick at Royal Port GC is to make mincemeat of the Par 5 holes. These range in size from just 507 yards to 553 yards, which of course means that eagle is very much on the table, let alone birdie.

On the other hand, three of the Par 3s – all on the longer side of 200 yards – act as the track’s stiffest tests. In fact, the Par 3s at eight, thirteen, and sixteen were three of just four holes that averaged under par here in 2023.

Weather Forecast for Southampton, Bermuda

Hold onto your hats: the players could be in for a bumpy ride this week.

The temperatures are so-so, with the mercury topping out at around 70 degrees, while the early forecast of cloud and the potential for some rain on Friday and Saturday won’t really warm the cockles.

But it’s the wind that most catches the eye. According to the early predictions, the wind speeds from Thursday through Sunday read 23mph, 16mph, 21mph, and 22mph. Remember, on the coastal holes, the gusts could be even stronger than that!

SOUTHAMPTON, BERMUDA WEATHER

Last Year’s Results from the Butterfield Bermuda Championship

There was an extraordinary career renaissance for Camilo Villegas here 12 months ago, with the Colombian following up a T2 turn at the WWT Championship with a win in Bermuda.

Villegas went around the houses – he was T33 after round one, but as the weather conditions took a nasty turn over the weekend, his experience and schooling in the cross-winds of Florida no doubt helped him to secure the trophy.

Alex Noren held the outright lead after rounds two and three, but the Swede fumbled on Sunday, making a pair of bogeys around the turn to effectively end his chances.

Villegas, on the other hand, enjoyed the conditions: on Sunday, he delivered the perfect bogey-free round of 65 to win by two from Noren. It was his first PGA TOUR win in more than nine years!

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Where to Play Fantasy Golf for this Week’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship

With no historic event stats, no clear profile of player that thrives at Royal Port GC, and the possibility of weather-related chaos, discretion is key this week.

As such, here’s two contests to target:

• PGA $10k Birdie: If there is a draw bias, you’ll want to take full advantage with a couple of lineup variations. So here’s a $3 game with multi-entry, headlined by a $1k top prize. 

• PGA $6k Caddie: If you do want to increase your element of risk – in the hope of a greater reward, here’s a $5 single entry contest. Get on the right side of the draw and you could be on to a winner.

This Week’s Fantasy Notes for the Butterfield Bermuda Championship

If the wind really does blow in Bermuda this week, it’s going to test the fortitude of those that have little to gain from such an adventure.

Instead, our focus has to be on those with motivation to perform; be it because they want to break into the top-60 of the FedEx Fall, or because they need to lock up their tour card for 2025. 

We should also be looking to those players with plenty of class in the wind. Of the five winners of the Bermuda Championship, we have Villegas (Florida resident, won the Honda Classic), Seamus Power (grew up on the Link courses of Ireland), Lucas Herbert (a former winner of the Irish Open), and also Brian Gay and Brendon Todd; both former winners at Mayakoba, who have also prevailed in events in a breeze in Texas.

This really is of no coincidence.

Controlling your ball in tough winds is going to be vital this week, so accuracy off the tee and on approach will be crucial, as will a reliable hand putting on Bermuda greens.

There’s no shortage of coastal tracks on the PGA TOUR that can be used for inspiration when drawing up a shortlist of players, while the Sony Open and the aforementioned El Camaleon track at Mayakoba, which hosted TOUR events for a number of years before jumping ship to LIV, are also on the radar.

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Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the Butterfield Bermuda Championship   

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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the Butterfield Bermuda Championship  

Top Tier Pick # 1

Maverick McNealy (Odds: 20/1, FPPG: 65.6, Salary: $9,900)

Although his position in the FedEx Fall standings is nice and comfy, Maverick McNealy still has plenty of motivation this week: quite simply, winning a PGA TOUR event.

The Californian won’t get many better opportunities than in these weak field events, and he’s shown enough chops in tough, wind-affected tournaments: from solo second at AT&T Pebble Beach, T4 at the RBC Heritage, T7 at the Sony Open, T9 at the PLAYERS Championship, T11 at Mayakoba….the list goes on.

Although his approach play is far from elite, McNealy does seem to bring out his best play for exactly these kinds of conditions….and the fact that he’s an outstanding putter on Bermuda greens has to help, too.

Key Stats:

• Birdie Average – 28th
• SG: Tee-to-Green – 29th
• SG: Putting – 36th

Top Tier Pick #2

Lucas Glover (Odds: 25/1, FPPG: 63.0, Salary: $9,400)

Five of the top-seven on the leaderboard at last year’s Bermuda Championship were aged 40 or older. And former winners, like Brendon Todd and Bryan Gay, were not exactly spring chickens at the time of their victory either – Gay a sprightly 48.

That’s pretty unique for a PGA TOUR event these days, it has to be said, but reminds us that experience and patience count for plenty at events where the weather conditions are tough.

At 44, Lucas Glover has been there and done it; can you believe it’s 15 years since he won the U.S. Open?

This is a far better assignment for him than last week’s birdie-fest, at which he performed pretty well it should be said. Glover has fired three rounds of 66 or better at Royal Port, and has also performed admirably at the Sony Open, Mayakoba, and a host of other correlating courses.

Key Stats:

• SG: Approach – 5th
• Driving Accuracy – 9th
• Approaches from 200+ yards – 51st

Mid-Tier Pick #1

Carson Young (Odds: 45/1, FPPG: 58.4, Salary: $7,800)

The sportsbooks have slashed Carson Young’s betting odds by about half this week – reflected in his increased DFS salary, but that’s okay when you consider that he did so much right in Mexico.

There or thereabouts at the top of the leaderboard heading into the final, Young actually posted his best 18 holes of the week….it’s just that Eckroat played them even better.

But that final round of 65 shows that Young can handle the pressure of scoring low when in contention, and at a windy Royal Port GC that should offer reward to his naturally accurate game, we can hope that he finds himself in the mix come Sunday once again.

Key Stats:

• Driving Accuracy – 7th
• Proximity to Hole – 11th
• Approaches from 200+ Yards – 44th

Mid-Tier Pick #2

Joel Dahmen (Odds: 70/1, FPPG: 54.4, Salary: $7,500)

There’s a nice interview with Joel Dahmen on the PGA TOUR site right now, in which he speaks eloquently about the pressures of playing for his future and retaining his card.

The good news for his sizable fanbase is that Dahmen is owning the pressure, finishing T12 last week at an El Cardonal track that really doesn’t play to his strengths.

Royal Port, meanwhile, arguably does. We don’t know for sure because he’s never played there, but Dahmen – with a win in the Corales Puntacana, T3 at Mayakoba (where former Bermuda Championship winners Brian Gay and Brendon Todd have previously won), and Florida Swing form in the wind – will hopefully take to it.

Key Stats:

• Fairway Proximity – 1st
• SG: Approach – 18th
• Driving Accuracy – 19th

Low-Tier Pick

David Lipsky (Odds: 80/1, FPPG: 45.1, Salary: $7,300)

What an effort it was from David Lipsky at El Cardonal, where he shook off an opening round of 71 to post 67-66-67 and finish T6.

It’s particularly eye-catching in the context of a T13 finish at Royal Port last year, which suggests the track is to his liking.

Solo second at the Procore Championship, Lipsky has been knocking on the door during this FedEx Fall series, and having finished T4 at the correlating Sony Open and T10 at Mayakoba, we can expect good things from him once again in Bermuda.

Key Stats:

• SG: Approach – 51st
• SG: Around-the-Green – 59th
• Driving Accuracy – 67th

Sleeper Pick for the Butterfield Bermuda Championship

Kevin Chappell (Odds: 100/1, FPPG: 56.3, Salary: $7,000)

If you consider these things in isolation, you could argue that Kevin Chappell was one of the most impressive performers at El Cardonal.

He opened with a round of 75, and so his chances of lifting the trophy were toast at that point, but to round out shooting 65-66-66, finishing T12, shows how good a shape his game was in.

It hasn’t been a good few years for the 38-year-old, but his best form has come on tracks that we could argue correlate with Royal Port – the windy Florida Swing assignments of TPC Sawgrass and Bay Hill, plus T2 turns at the similarly breezy RSM Classic and Texas Open.

Key Stats:

• Par 5 Birdie or Better Leaders – 17th
• Approaches from 200+ yards – 36th
• SG: Putting – 55th

Alternative Sleeper Pick for the Butterfield Bermuda Championship

Josh Teater (Odds: 500/1, FPPG: 34.2, Salary: $6,200)

With more missed cuts than anything else in 2024, it’s been a tough year for Josh Teater.

But he can still sign off on a high at Royal Port, where he’s posted two rounds of 66 or better, with a best finish of T11.

Teater struck the ball very nicely at the Procore Championship, and made the cut in Mexico last week, where he compiled rounds of 67 and 69. We can’t ask for much from a player this disregarded, but a cut made from Teater would help our lineup massively.

Key Stats:

• Approaches from 225-250 yards – 40th
• Driving Accuracy – 49th
• Greens in Regulation – 62nd

This Week’s Sample Fantasy Lineup

Note: Sample lineups provided as examples only.  Be sure to mix-and-match to best fit individual contests.

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Fantasy Golf Predictions – This Season 

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Cover Photo via Instagram