Steve Palmer's Bermuda Championship predictions and free golf betting tips

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the Bermuda Championship at Port Royal on the PGA Tour.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Golf & Main Event from 6.30pm on Thursday

Best bets

Garrick Higgo
2pts each-way 66-1 Ladbrokes

Robby Shelton
2pts each-way 40-1 Betfred

Brandon Wu
1.5pts each-way 50-1 bet365

Kramer Hickok
1pt each-way 80-1 Betfair, Hills, Power

Harrison Endycott
0.5pt each-way 150-1 Betfred

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The Bermuda Championship market is headed by a pair of PGA Tour maidens, which underlines the weakness of this field, and punters will probably not be rushing to back Denny McCarthy and Thomas Detry at short prices for a Sunday breakthrough.

An unsettled weather forecast - a wet Thursday seems set to be followed by two breezy days and an extremely windy Sunday - makes risking money at short odds an unappealing prospect for the Port Royal event.

Palmer's top tip

Garrick Higgo 66-1

South African 23-year-old Garrick Higgo still has huge scope for improvement and the juicy prices against the left-hander's name for this week's low-grade Bermuda Championship are well worth taking.
Higgo has already won three DP World Tour titles and two of them came in the Canary Islands. He is teeing up on another island this week as one of few players in the field with a recent PGA Tour title to their name.

In June last year, Higgo won the Palmetto Championship at Congaree for his PGA Tour maiden success. He has proved his bottle at every level of his career, winning twice on the Sunshine Tour in his homeland before getting on to the DP World Tour.

This year has been a struggle for the Joburg boy - he has suffered some niggling injuries and missed lots of cuts - but the Sanderson Farms Championship at the start of this month provided an immense boost to confidence. He finished third, beaten by just a shot, looking much more like the Higgo who was 38th in the world rankings just 16 months ago.

Higgo has played in the Bermuda Championship once before - finishing 34th last year - and only two players in the field outscored him in round three. If the Sanderson Farms was a sign of things to come, this confident putter could be a major runner among this week's rabble.

Next best bet

Robby Shelton 40-1

Another fantastic putter who will look forward to tackling the large, undulating dancefloors of Port Royal is Robby Shelton. The 27-year-old finished his Korn Ferry Tour career in style - winning twice last year - propelling himself back to the PGA Tour with extra layers of confidence.

Shelton has resumed PGA Tour combat impressively, opening up with 21st place in the Fortinet Championship, following with 61st in the Sanderson Farms and 15th in the Shriners Children's Open. The Alabama man looks here to stay this time.

Shelton missed the cut in his only previous Bermuda visit, but that was three years ago. He has matured a lot since then, becoming more polished and more assured, and this four-time Korn Ferry Tour champion should make a PGA Tour breakthrough at some stage.

Other selections

Brandon Wu 50-1

Kramer Hickok 80-1

Harrison Endycott 150-1

Brandon Wu, an accurate, tidy player who typically putts well, enjoyed a great amateur career before winning the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour Championship. He had missed four cuts in a row prior to making his Bermuda Championship debut last year, but finished 34th.

Wu was third in last year's Puerto Rico Open and has a solid record at coastal venues. He was second behind Jon Rahm in the Mexico Open in May, sixth in the Scottish Open in July, then eighth in the Wyndham Championship in August. The 25-year-old appears to have a fantastic future and Port Royal is an assignment which suits.

Kramer Hickok, a born-and-bred Texan who is ultra-comfortable in windy conditions, will not be fearing the weather forecast. Hickok has got the accuracy to deal with the rough stuff and he has shown a liking for Port Royal in previous visits, with form figures of 15-8-30.

Hickok has also got form in the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Corales Puntacana Championship in the Dominican Republic. This is the sort of windswept coastal layout which suits him. Hickok has won twice on the Canadian Tour, once on the Korn Ferry, and he pushed Harris English all the way in an epic Travelers Championship playoff last year.

Complete your staking plan with Harrison Endycott at enormous odds. A young Australian was victorious in this event last year - and maybe Endycott can follow Lucas Herbert into the Port Royal winner's enclosure.

Endycott won on the Korn Ferry Tour by five shots in May and he made a great start to life on the PGA Tour in the Fortinet Championship. Despite cracking the face of his driver early in the week, Endycott finished 12th in the Fortinet, charging up the board with a Saturday 65. That cheque settled him nicely on to the main circuit and he could be getting another healthy payday on Sunday.

Players to note

Seamus Power
The Irishman will welcome a windy week and his Barbasol Championship victory last year entitles him to plenty of respect. One of the most appealing among the market principals.

Nick Hardy
The other short-odds option worth considering - Hardy has been hitting his ball extremely well in recent weeks and seems likely to shed his maiden tag soon enough.

Port Royal course guide

Course Port Royal Golf Course, Southampton, Bermuda
Prize money $6.5m ($1.17m to the winner)
Length 6,828 yards
Par 71 - three par-fives; 11 par-fours; four par-threes
Field 132 The cut Top 65 and ties qualify for round three
Highest-ranked player in field (world rankings in brackets) Seamus Power (48), Adrian Meronk (61), Denny McCarthy (83), Lucas Glover (92), Erik van Rooyen (97)
Course records - 72 holes 260 Brendon Todd (2019) 18 holes 61 Taylor Pendrith (2021)

Course winner taking part Brian Gay

When to bet By 11.30am on Thursday

When to watch Live on Sky Sports Main Event and Golf from 6.30pm on Thursday

Time difference Bermuda is four hours behind the UK and Ireland

Last week - CJ Cup 1 R McIlroy (7-1), 2 K Kitayama (100-1), 3 K.H Lee (125-1), T4 J Rahm (9-1), T Fleetwood (70-1), 6 A Wise (50-1)

Course type Parkland

Course overview The Bermuda Championship was staged for the first time in 2019, played as an 'alternate' PGA Tour event in the same week as the WGC-HSBC Champions, but it has got increased status since. The course was designed by Robert Trent Jones on high ground overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in 1970, then renovated by Robert Rulewich in 2009. Most of the early holes are flat, before the course moves to undulating terrain and some ocean-side cliffs. The fairways are generous but the huge, undulating greens can cause plenty of three-putts. The course hosted the Grand Slam of Golf from 2009-2014 - an event for the year's Major winners. The 235-yard, par-three 16th is the signature hole and the toughest on the track, with a forced carry across the ocean

Story of last year Lucas Herbert handled the strong winds better than anyone, defeating Patrick Reed and Danny Lee by a shot for a PGA Tour breakthrough

Weather forecast Rain is forecast for round one, but largely dry for the rest of the week. Temperatures around 25C. Moderate breezes for the first three days, before a windy Sunday

Type of player suited to the challenge With winds expected to play a significant role, an ability to control your ball from tee to green in a breeze seems essential. All three previous winners, though, are excellent putters, so flat-stick ability on the enormous dancefloors may be most important

Key attribute Touch

Spotlight insight All three Bermuda Championship winners had missed at least two of their previous three cuts on the PGA Tour

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