Butterfield Bermuda Championship picks 2026: This former Bermuda winner's game is trending
After a brief respite, the PGA Tour returns with another Fall series event, the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. The tournament was born in 2019 and has been a longshots paradise, the latest version of that coming in the form of Adam Schenk's wild windswept wind last November.
Will it be another triple-digit odds winner, or will one of the favorites rise to the occasion? One thing we know for certain is that weather will be a factor yet again at Port Royal, which always makes for an interesting watch.
The Golf Digest betting panel is comprised of Pat Mayo of Underdog/Mayo Media Network, Andy Lack of the Inside Sports Network, Ryan Noonan of Betsperts, David Gordon of ESPN, your two authors and Keith Stewart, the CEO of Read The Line.
Scroll down for our complete betting analysis of the 2026 Butterfield Bermuda Championship:
| Experts | Pick to Win | Dark Horse | Miscellaneous Prop of the Week | Pick to Finish Top-10 | Matchups |
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Butterfield Bermuda Championship picks 2026: Our Experts’ Outright Predictions
Pat Mayo, Underdog/Fantasy National, Mayo Media Network analyst: Seamus Power (33-1, FanDuel) — With distance taken out of the equation at Port Royal, the winning formula will be the player with the best combination of wedges and putting, plus the ability to navigate the wind gusts off the coast. Over the past six months no player has gained more strokes per round with the flat stick than Power, while only one player has consistently hit it inside 15 feet from 100-150 yards more than the Irishman (Lucas Glover).
Keith Stewart, PGA, Read The Line: Seamus Power (33-1, FanDuel) — The 2022 Butterfield winner is the only “favorite” to win in Bermuda. Seamus Power is an excellent wind player who can flight his wedges. A T-7 at the Biltmore and T-21 in Utah show the game is trending just in time for a wild weekend. In Seamus’ last four starts out on the mid-ocean island, Power has finished T-12/Win/T-23/T-11. A big part of Power’s success in Bermuda is his long-iron play on the par 3s and scrambling ability. At the top of the board, take a proven winner at Port Royal.
Read The Line's Keith Stewart and Pat Mayo discuss the keys to handicapping the 2026 Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
Ryan Noonan, Content Manager 4for4/Betsperts: Zac Blair (46-1, DraftKings) — There’s a strong correlation between golfers with a low apex height and success at Port Royal, so I’m starting there this week. The coastal winds are the course's best defense from low scores, and the forecast, especially over the weekend, calls for extremely windy conditions. Zac Blair can’t compete to win at every tour stop, but he’s put together a few strong clusters of high finishes in 2026. He’s going to keep the ball in play off the tee, and he’s an elite wedge player, which helped him rank second in my Rabbit Hole model at Betsperts Golf this week.
Stephen Hennessey, Golf Digest managing editor: Ben Kohles (33-1, DraftKings) — Since winning on the KFT and qualifying for the U.S. Open, Kohles has been on a tear. He ranks second in this field in SG/total over the past nine months and is fourth in SG/approach. He’s contended on shorter courses like the John Deere, which will have similarities to the approach distances at Port Royal. And he has contended his solid play this fall with top-20 finishes in his three fall starts so far.
Christopher Powers, Golf Digest senior writer: Chandler Phillips (55-1, DraftKings) — Phillips has four top-25s in his past eight starts, including a T-3 at the 3M Open. Now he returns to Bermuda where he was solo runner-up in his tournament debut a year ago, a week where the wind was absolutely whipping. Similar conditions are expected this week, which makes Phillips a very intriguing play at this number in a rather weak field.
Andy Lack, Inside Sports Network: Kevin Roy (33-1, BetMGM) — Kevin Roy has been quietly playing some solid golf, and he is coming off a 13th at the Baycurrent, a 32nd in Utah and 24th at the Biltmore Championship. Roy also has a previous eighth-place finish at Port Royal and possesses one of the most well-rounded games in the field.
David Gordon, ESPN Research: Denny McCarthy (37-1, DraftKings) — McCarthy is playing here for the first time since 2023, but he does have top-six finishes in two of his past three starts in this event. He's still fighting issues off the tee, but I think he can get away with that this week albeit weather permitting. Tone-setting week for the rest of the Fall for Denny.
Past results: With Andy Lack’s correct prediction of Scottie Scheffler to win the Tour Championship at +345, the panel now has eight outright winners in 2026. That was Andy’s first win of the year, and it came on the heels of Keith Stewart and Pat Mayo’s first win of the year, Wyndham Clark at the BMW Championship. Ryan Noonan has four winners and Steve Hennessey has three. Onto the fall we go, and with a new member of the panel! Welcome David Gordon of ESPN, who you may also know as the “double hammer” king.
Listen to Golf Digest's weekly betting podcast, "The Loop," (below) where we interview the industry's leading experts (and sometimes tour pros) to help you make your bets and pick your fantasy lineups. And be sure to subscribe to "The Loop" wherever you get your podcasts!
Butterfield Bermuda Championship picks 2026: Sleepers/Dark Horses Who Could Win
Mayo: Lucas Glover (110-1, DraftKings) — Glover has the same profile as Power but without the putting. He hits it low and flights his wedges excellently meaning he should be able to navigate the wind. Just pray he gets his yearly spike on the greens right now, and with his past two wins coming on Bermudagrass, it’s at least plausible.
Stewart: Emiliano Grillo (74-1, DraftKings) — I love Colonial as a comp venue for this week. Emiliano Grillo has a win in Fort Worth and can flight his golf ball with the best of them. We need extreme ball-strikers this week, and Grillo gained over eight strokes on approach in Utah. Emiliano’s iron play was the missing piece. Put Grillo back on Bermudagrass with approach proximity and watch him jump back into contention. Grillo has played this event before in windy conditions. Another player who can attack the par 5s in two and long par 3s with his mid-iron game, the fit and timing make sense for the South American.
Noonan: Takumi Kanaya (55-1, DraftKings) — Takumi Kanaya ranks second in this week’s field in low apex height, so his T-3 here last year is not a surprise. He’s coming off a couple of decent starts in Utah (T-23) and Japan (T-23), and he putts well on Bermuda, averaging +0.28 strokes gained per round on the surface over the past 12 months.
Hennessey, Golf Digest: Aaron Wise (175-1, BetRivers) — It was a long time ago, and Aaron Wise has been through a lot since then, but the former NCAA champion finished third here in Bermuda in 2019 and has another top 30 at Port Royal to his name. He has shown signs in his return post-mental health break, being in the mix heading into Sunday at the John Deere Classic, which is a solid comp course given the approach distance. At these odds, it’s worth a shot on Wise’s return.
Powers, Golf Digest: Lucas Glover (110-1, DraftKings) — Glover’s very recent results are ugly, but he did hit his irons well in a MC at the Bank of Utah and is not that many months removed from a T-3/T-5 stretch at the John Deere and ISCO. If the wind machine turns on and this turns into a true ball-striker's contest, Glover’s got as good a chance as anybody.
Lack: Austin Eckroat (49-1, DraftKings) — We haven’t seen Austin Eckroat since the Biltmore Championship, but he had an excellent approach performance in Asheville and has also finished 22nd at Port Royal before as well. With a win under his belt at the windy, Bermudagrass PGA National, Eckroat should be very comfortable this week in Bermuda.
Gordon: Justin Lower (90-1, DraftKings) — Taking a swing with Lower, who finished tied for fifth here in 2024 and tied for eighth in 2023. He hasn't exactly sniffed contention in 2026, but he is coming off his best performance of the season three weeks ago in Utah (T-21).
Butterfield Bermuda Championship picks 2026: Miscellaneous prop
Mayo: Peter Malnati Top 20 Finish (+600, FanDuel) — Nothing Port Royal enjoys more than rewarding a good-putting American veteran.
Stewart: Paul Peterson Top 40 Finish, including ties (+120, Bet365) — Paul Peterson is an incredible 200-plus-yard approach player with tremendous around-the-green skill. The ability to attack the par 5s in two and handle the par 3s is paramount to placing. Toss in a low ball flight, a streaky putter and experience playing the Butterfield, and I’ll take the 40 spots and a winning ticket to the window.
Noonan: Luke Clanton Top 20 Finish, including ties (+184, DraftKings) — I’m rooting for a Luke Clanton bounce-back season in 2027. His approach play has been terrific of late, and he’s coming off a T-7 in his last start in Utah.
Hennessey, Golf Digest: Vince Whaley, top-20 finish including ties (+340, FanDuel) — Whaley has some of the most impressive course history in Bermuda, finishing in the top 10 in four consecutive appearances (skipping 2022). I’ll also be betting him first-round leader.
Powers, Golf Digest: Camilo Villegas Top 40 Finish, including ties (+174, DraftKings) — Villegas has played in this event in all but one year since its inception in 2019. He’s made the cut in all six appearances, won once and tied for ninth in 2025. This remains his lone top-10 finish in his last 42 starts worldwide. Clearly, there is something about this golf course, and the style it calls for, which fits his eye.
Lack: Erik van Rooyen Top South African Finisher (+175, DraftKings) — Erik Van Rooyen is one of my favorite sleeper plays this week, and this is a very exploitable market we can take advantage of. Van Rooyen only needs to beat Aldrich Potgieter, Dylan Frittelli and Christo Lamprecht, all players I have serious concerns with from a form and course-fit standpoint.
Gordon: Max McGreevy End of Round 1 Leader (53-1, DraftKings) — Max comes off his best finish since July three weeks ago in Utah, which featured an opening-round 65 followed by two more rounds of 67 or better. He finished tied for third here last year thanks in part to a 64 in his second round, one off the low round for the whole week. He also tied for eighth here two years prior.
Misc. Prop Results from the Baycurrent Classic: Noonan: 1 for 1 (Ryan Gerard top-20 finish including ties, -140); Lack: 0 for 1; Mayo: 0 for 1; Powers: 0 for 1; Stewart: 0 for 1; Gordon: 0 for 1; Hennessey: 0 for 1
Misc. Prop Results from the 2026 season: Lack: 3 for 7 (up 5.42 units); Noonan: 3 for 7 (up 3.96 units); Mayo: 1 for 7 (up 2 units); Powers: 2 for 7 (up 0.68 units); Stewart: 2 for 7 (up 0.6 units); Gordon: 0 for 3 (down 3 units); Hennessey: 0 for 7 (down 7 units)
Butterfield Bermuda Championship picks 2026: Matchups
Mayo: Seamus Power (-105) over Kevin Yu (Coolbet) — Give me the guy who can putt this week over the guy who can’t.
Stewart: Kevin Roy (-105) over Eric Cole (BetMGM) — Kevin Roy is coming off a T-13 at the Baycurrent and six straight starts gaining strokes on the field. Roy finished T-8 in 2023 in Bermuda and knows how to navigate the wind. With an excellent short game, I give him a considerable edge over Eric Cole. Cole is losing strokes around the green and launches it pretty high. Not a great combination for the course in Bermuda this week, and Cole has not finished inside the top 20 since The Memorial in early June.
Noonan: Lucas Glover (+106) over Jesper Svensson (BetOnline) — Jesper Svensson hits it a mile in the air, putts poorly on Bermudagrass and has gained strokes on approach just once since the Cognizant Classic in late February. This is as much about him as it is Lucas Glover.
Hennessey, Golf Digest: Kevin Roy (-122) over Neal Shipley (DraftKings) — As our DFS expert Ron Klos from BetSperts points out in his column this week, Shipley struggles in windy conditions, and he’ll have his best weapon, his length off the tee, mitigated on a less-than-driver course. I also bet Roy outright, so I’ll gladly back Ron’s fade with one of my favorite picks this week.
Powers, Golf Digest: Rico Hoey (-114) over Seamus Power (DraftKings) — Hoey has, shockingly, got the putter in check, which has yielded three top-25 finishes in his last four starts. Power has had two solid fall results, too, but his iron play has been too shoddy over the past two months to want to back him here.
Lack: Kevin Roy (-115) over Austin Smotherman (DraftKings) — Austin Smotherman’s breakthrough win in Utah was certainly impressive, but now he travels to a course that should mitigate the impact of his ball-striking instead of accentuating it. Roy, on the other hand, is a more well-rounded player that laps Smotherman on and around the greens.
Gordon: Max Greyserman (-115) over Trace Crowe (DraftKings) — Expecting a bounce back from Greyserman, who didn't post his usual runner-up finish in Japan but finished strong on Sunday. Crowe had an incredible iron performance in Utah but is now being a bit overvalued because of that.
Matchup Results from the Baycurrent Classic: Stewart: 1 for 1 (Keefer (-114) over Smalley); Mayo: 1 for 1 (Im (-105) over Ghim); Gordon: 1 for 1 (Scott (-124) over McNealy); Hennessey: 1 for 1 (Gerard (-114) over Ghim); Noonan: 0 for 1; Lack: 0 for 1; Powers: 0 for 1
Matchup Results from the 2026 season (Wins-Losses-Pushes): Stewart: 19-12-3 (up 4.89 units); Mayo: 19-15-2 (up 4.08 units); Noonan: 19-13-4 (up 4.04 units); Lack: 21-13-2 (up 4 units); Powers: 20-16-0 (up 2.48 units); Gordon: 2 for 3 (up 0.74 units); Hennessey: 15-18-3 (down 4.49 units)
Butterfield Bermuda Championship picks 2026: Top 10s
Mayo: Haotong Li (+700, FanDuel) — Li fell off a cliff after making a 10 at No. 13 in the final round of the Masters. He missed nine of his next 12 cuts and generated no finish better than T-35 in the three he did see the weekend. After the regular season ended, he went back to play in Europe and found part of his game. Between the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour Fall series, Li has posted three top-20 finishes in his past four starts, and always seems to enjoy himself a gusty, coastal course.
Stewart: Andrew Novak (+300, FanDuel) — A runner-up at the Butterfield Bermuda Classic in 2024, Andrew Novak gained nearly 12 strokes on the field total. In Novak’s last two starts, Andrew has started putting well. The ball-striking is always in play, and the short game is very good considering Novak’s ball speed. With a trending putter and a couple of solid starts out in Bermuda to call upon, I’ll take the 10 places.
Noonan: Ben Kohles (+340, FanDuel) — I might take the plunge and bet on Ben Kohles to win for the first time since July’s John Deere Classic. I know others have continued to go back, and he’s been in contention in nearly every start for the past four months. Closing, though, closing is difficult. I’d be surprised to not see him in contention here, and a T-10 bet to cover the outright is recommended.
Hennessey, Golf Digest: Vince Whaley (+750, FanDuel) — As I wrote with my favorite prop above, Whaley has four straight top-10s here in Bermuda. Don’t overthink this one.
Powers, Golf Digest: Andrew Novak (+300, FanDuel) — As crazy as this sounds, Novak might be the class of this field, and he’s coming in off consecutive top-17 finishes. And he’s somehow not the favorite. His ball-striking alone should be enough to carry him into contention on Sunday afternoon.
Lack: Lee Hodges (+440, DraftKings) — Lee Hodges is also one of my picks to win this week, and despite some less than stellar history at Port Royal, the Robert Trent Jones design should be a solid fit for his game. Hodges also has top-six finishes at the Sony Open and RSM Classic, both shorter, windy coastal courses, and he is coming off back-to-back top-35 finishes in his past two starts.
Gordon: Kevin Roy (+340, FanDuel) — Quietly some of the steadiest golf with eight straight made cuts dating back to July, nearly cashing in this market with a tie for 13th in his last start two weeks ago at the Baycurrent. He has a prior top-10 finish in this event (T-8 in 2023) and was also inside the top 10 through 54 holes in two of his last three starts on tour.
Top-10 results from the Baycurrent Classic: Stewart: 1 for 1 (Jacob Bridgeman +250); Everybody else: 0 for 1
Top-10 results from the 2026 season: Mayo: 10 for 36 (up 33.55 units); Lack: 9 for 36 (up 7.2 units); Noonan: 11 for 37 (up 6.6 units); Gordon: 2 for 3 (up 4.1 units); Stewart: 9 for 36 (up 3.05 units); Powers: 7 for 36 (down 4.43 units); Hennessey: 6 for 36 (down 11.6 units)
About our experts
Pat Mayo is an award-winning video host and producer of long and short-form content, and the host of The Pat Mayo Experience daily talk show. Mayo helped create the golf stats and research website Fantasy National along with the Race for the Mayo Cup One and Done contest. Mayo won the 2022 Fantasy Sports Writing Association Daily Fantasy Writer of the Year and is a finalist for three FSWA Awards in 2023 (Best Podcast, Daily Fantasy Writer of the Year, Golf Writer of the Year). His 27 FSWA nominations lead all writers this decade and are second-most all-time. Follow him on Twitter: @ThePME.
Keith Stewart is a five-time award-winning PGA professional, a betting contributor and content partner with Golf Digest. Stewart is a co-founder of Read The Line, the premier on-site live golf betting insights service covering the PGA Tour, LPGA and TGL. Subscribe to Read The Line’s weekly newsletter for the industry's best betting narratives. Follow him on Twitter @readtheline_.
Ryan Noonan is the Betting Content Manager for 4for4 and Betsperts Golf, writing articles and hosting multiple shows under the Betsperts Group umbrella, including Move The Line and our Betsperts Golf Betting Show. Find him on Twitter: @RyNoonan.
Andy Lack is a PGA Tour writer and podcaster from New York City who now resides in Los Angeles. Andy is the founder and CEO of Inside Sports Network, a website devoted to the predictive quality of advanced analytics and golf course architecture. He came to Golf Digest’s betting panel after previously writing for Run Pure Sports, RickRunGood.com, the Score and GolfWRX. In his free time, Andy can likely be found on a golf course. Follow him on Twitter: @adplacksports.
David Gordon is a research producer at ESPN with a specialty in golf and betting research. The two-time Emmy winner has served as ESPN’s broadcast researcher for the Masters dating back to 2020 and the PGA Championship since 2021. Find him on Twitter: @dgord_tweets.