PGA Tour preview: Bermuda Championship TV times and betting tips
The PGA Tour ventures out into the Atlantic for the Bermuda Championship. Here’s everything you need to know…
Bermuda Championship: The details
Venue: Port Royal Golf Course, Bermuda
Date: October 28-31, 2021
Course stats: Par 71; 6,828 yards
Course summary: This is a short, intricate track with generous fairways and huge Bermuda grass greens. Wind is the course’s primary defence and, similarly to Sherwood last week, this is a shot maker’s dream with GIR and wedge play expected to be the key to success here.
Purse: $6.5 million
Defending champion: Brian Gay (-15)
Bermuda Championship TV coverage
Thursday: Sky Sports Golf and Main Event from 7pm
Friday: Sky Sports Golf from 6.30pm
Saturday: Sky Sports Golf from 6pm
Sunday: Sky Sports Golf from 5pm
Bermuda Championship betting tips
The Banker: Danny Willett @ 40/1 with Bet365
Give it a day and you might be able to sling some clubs on a flight and tee it up at Port Royal. The field is going deep this week thanks to Covid restrictions, plane problems, and general disinterest from the PGA Tour’s finest.
Danny Willett should be licking his chops at this and I admit I’m a little curious as to why he’s at 40/1.
Matt Fitzpatrick’s claims are obvious given his heroics at Valderrama but the two Englishmen, in my opinion at least, come here with similar profiles and Willett is three times the price.
Danny turned out here 12 months ago and shot 67 in the first round before fading away to tied-55th but the player that arrived in Port Royal then was in the middle of one of his sporadic funks and scratching for form.
This time, he’s fresh off winning the Dunhill Links Championship and a tied-21st in Vegas that looks very solid given the commitments that come with victory in St Andrews and the time gap.
Willett’s CV is hugely impressive – Masters, BMW PGA Championship, DP World Tour Championship and Dubai Desert Classic to name another quartet of those eight European Tour successes – and maybe he struggles to motivate himself to excel in the rank-and-file.
But having gone through coronavirus, appendicitis, a hernia, and various other issues over the past few months, a finally healthy Willett has proved in the past he’s a very dangerous player.
The Each-Way Play: Hank Lebioda @ 66/1 with Bet365
Third on his first appearance here – thanks in part to a scorching final round 63 – Hank backed that up with a very solid 16th 12 months ago and looks worth considering. Missing his last four cuts either side of the start of this season and last is a concern but Lebioda showed his potential in the middle of the previous campaign when racking up consecutive top 10s at the Travelers Championship, Rocket Mortgage Classic and John Deere Classic.
The Long Shot: Brian Gay @ 100/1 with Bet365
Brian Gay was 3rd at Port Royal in 2019 before winning 12 months ago and even though he comes off the back of a slew of missed cuts that’s hardly unusual for the American. The major concern would be over preparation after he was bumped off his Monday flight in Charlotte because it was “too heavy”.
That said, this course really seems to suit his eye and, at these odds, a small stake might once again yield big rewards.
Others to consider
Any bits of recent form should appeal in this field and Adam Hadwin’s (33/1) top 10 at the Shriners Children’s Open shines out like a lighthouse beacon.
You don’t have to go too far back to find other patches of good stuff – tied 10th at the Wyndham in August and tied 6th at the 3M Open in July.
If you’re not required to be the longest hitter to succeed here – look at Brian Gay and Brendon Todd for proof of that – it does help to be proficient with the flatstick and Hadwin’s 2020 figures of .471 strokes gained putting had him just inside the top 20 on tour.
Elsewhere, Denny McCarthy (4th last year and 15th in 2019) and Ryan Armour (a par of 8th placed finishes) have both showed form round here.
For more prices, visit Bet365.
Subscribe to NCG
Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
