Remember last year’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship, when wind gusts pushed 40 mph on Sunday and Adam Schenk was basically chipping balls around Port Royal en route to victory?
We could see a repeat of that.
Entering this week’s edition, the weather forecast calls for blustery conditions throughout the tournament days. While sustained winds will average about 15 mph with gusts into the low 20s on Thursday and Friday, the fan will be turned up considerably on the weekend.
Saturday’s forecast includes 20-25 mph sustained winds and 25-30 mph gusts. There is also a 70% chance of rain in the morning with scattered showers expected in the afternoon.
On Sunday, a 50% chance of rain will increase to 80% by the afternoon while winds crank up to 23-28 mph with 30-35 mph gusts.
Golf data analyst Rick Gehman noted that Port Royal has been the windiest stop on the PGA Tour since 2018, averaging 15.2 mph, 1.4 mph more than Grand Reserve Golf Club in Puerto Rico.
The field is highlighted by Austin Smotherman, who won a few weeks ago in Utah and is the second highest ranked player in Bermuda at No. 66 in the world rankings, five spots behind Corey Conners. Rookie Ben James, who is up to No. 85 in the world, will also compete, as will several top amateurs, including No. 1 junior Miles Russell, BYU’s Kihei Akina, Stanford’s Jay Leng, Georgia’s Mason Howell and Tennessee’s Rudy Sautron.