Weekly PGA Tour Tips

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Denny McCarthy - 28/1 - 2pts each-way

Pat Perez - 45/1 - 1.25pts each-way

Scott Harrington - 100/1 - 0.75pts each-way

Seamus Power - 100/1 - 0.75pts each-way

Andrew Putnam - 100/1 -  0.75pts each-way

Kelly Kraft - 150/1 - 0.5pts each-way

Aaron Baddeley - 150/1 - 0.5pts each-way

The PGA Tour moves from California to Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean this week. We will attempt to repeat last week’s feat when headline selection, Patrick Cantlay, duly obliged to win at the ZOZO Championship. This may prove difficult as the Bermuda Championship started life last year as an alternative opposite event to the WGC Champions Event in Shanghai. Since COVID has forced the cancellation of the WGC, the Bermuda Championship has been elevated to full PGA tournament with full FedEx Cup points. The field for this week is a mix of up and coming Tour players, grizzled veterans, journeymen, also-rans and the odd major champion, like Henrik Stenson. The fact that Will Zalatoris is favourite, while he is still not a full PGA Tour player, shows that there is a lot of chaff to cut through to get to the real wheat. Brendon Todd is defending champion, but a repeat of his 24-under par win last year seems unlikely as the forecast looks unsettled with some windy and wet weather expected just before the weekend. It will be more of a grind this week on relatively slower, Bermuda greens. The course at Port Royal Golf Club is only 6,800 yards which is relatively short, especially for a par-71 and an accurate player with a hot putter seems to be the order of the week.

With this in mind, the headline selection this week is a consistent ball-striker with superb putting stats. Denny McCarthy led the stats for strokes-gained putting for last season and currently lies just outside the top 20 for this season. His form has been impressive over the last few months with tied-6th at the Sanderson and a top-10 at the Wyndham, both on Bermuda greens. Things look to be in his favour this week and it is expected that he will go well.

Pat Perez is a player who likes competing on a coastal track like Port Royal. He has won at the OHL Classic in Mayakoba in the past and played well at the Corales a few weeks ago. He also had a top-10 at the Safeway Open in September which showed he is coming back to his best. We will overlook two missed cuts since then and trust that he has what it takes to contend this week.

Scott Harrington was a rookie last year, but at 39 years of age he has some maturity to him. He also has some game having shot 65 to take an early lead at the Corales recently. While he didn't follow this up and fell out of a top-10 finish, he has shown a liking for this type of test.

Seamus Power has lost his way somewhat after some impressive appearances in the summer when he almost made it to the FedEx Cup Playoffs. The breezy conditions will be reminiscent of the links golf he grew up on in Ireland and he showed last year with a solid performance that he enjoys the course. 

Andrew Putnam got into the World Top50 around this time last year, but his form fell off a cliff as the pandemic was hitting and he has only shown glimpses since then. However, he has become a father for the second time and we are hoping the 'nappy factor' kicks in this week.

Kelly Kraft is currently playing on a medical exemption, but his performance last month at the Corales Puntacana illustrated that he was back to his best form. The former US AMateur champion bagged a hole-in-one on his way to a contending performance.

Aaron Baddeley has not played his best stuff in the last year, but he is a player that thrives in the wind on this type of coastal track. He is also a phenomenal putter and Bermuda can hopefully reignite his game.