Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course

Welcome to No Dirt Thursday!

Each week we give you a quick, useful briefing on the PGA TOUR stop: what changed, who won lately, what the course asks of players, and a few only-here fun facts you can drop in the chat.

This week we are in Southampton, Bermuda at Port Royal Golf Course for the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. The PGA setup is 6,828 yards on a Robert Trent Jones, par 71 design. Jones put the holes on the island’s high ground above the Atlantic. Classic seaside golf with wind as the defender, raised greens and angled bunkers make you choose a line and fully commit.

Tournament purse: $6,000,000.

Last three editions (before this year)

2024 | Rafael Campos | −19 (265) | won by 3 | read about it here.

Golf.com Alex Slitz | Getty Images

2023 | Camilo Villegas | −24 (260) | won by 2 over Alex Norén | read about it here.

2022 | Séamus Power | −19 (265) | won by 1 | read about it here.

Tournament history

PGA Tour

Founded: 2019 on the PGA TOUR schedule at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Bermuda.

Venues: Only played at Port Royal Golf Course, since the debut.

Records (event all-time): 72-hole aggregate 260 and −24 to par, shared by Brendon Todd in 2019 and Camilo Villegas in 2023.
Single-round tournament and course record 61, set by Taylor Pendrith in 2021, then matched by Alex Norén in 2023 and Wesley Bryan in 2024.

Other: From 2009 to 2014, Port Royal played host to the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. Launched as an alternate event opposite WGC-HSBC Champions in 2019 and elevated to full FedExCup points when WGC-HSBC was cancelled.

About the host: Port Royal Golf Course

Origins: Opened in 1970 and designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. Early routing changes during construction helped create the now-famous cliffside on Hole 16, one of Bermuda’s most photographed shots.

Hole 16

Current site: Port Royal Golf Course, Southampton, Bermuda.

Modernization: A renovation in 2008–2009 led by Roger Rulewich installed new TifEagle greens, updated infrastructure, and stretched the course in order to host the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. The revamp reportedly cost ~14.5 million dollars.

Plays like: Short on the card and by tour standards, but long in the wind. Elevated, firm TifEagle targets reward precise carry numbers. The par-3s are the real defense, and the signature 16th is over ocean can swing two or three clubs when it gusts.

Golf Digest | Alex Slitz

Only-at-Port Royal moments

Villegas 2023: Closed with 65 for a comeback win at 24 under.

Grand Slam pedigree: The 16th has decided skins and bragging rights for major winners during the PGA Grand Slam era.

Course record: 61. If it gets calm, the watch for 59 goes live.

Numbers to watch this week

71-Par | 6,828 Yards: With smaller TifEagle targets, proximity and speed control on grainy Bermuda matter more than raw distance.

4 par-3 | 11 par-4s | 3 par-5s: The par 5s are gettable and typically rank among the easier holes. Three of the four par 3s can stretch past 210 yards in setup.

16: The postcard shot is cliffside par-3 that routinely ranks among the three hardest holes when the wind is up. Measuring roughly 235 yards from the tips, the tee shot is a full carry over rock and surf, and the wind can force two or three-club adjustments.