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Bermuda Championship preview

James leads our picks at Port Royal as the wind puts a premium on control.

Original Bermuda preview graphic: Port Royal is a par-71 course measuring 6,828 yards.
Original Fox Bandit Golf graphic. Graphic credits and data source.

Archived preview: Field, tee times, forecasts and betting prices below are the October 20, 2026 pre-event snapshot. They are not live odds or current weather.

October 22–25, 2026 • Port Royal, Bermuda • Par 71 • 6,828 yards

Ben James is still my pick to win this week. Three straight top-five finishes make a strong case for him, even at a short price. The tee times give Chandler Phillips a possible weather break, but I would want more agreement between forecasts before making much of it.

Two winners and two ways to get it done

In 2024, Rafael Campos shot 62 on Saturday, then closed with 68 to finish at 19 under, three clear of Andrew Novak. His utility iron helped keep the ball down in the wind. On Sunday, he used it from 256 yards to set up an eagle at the seventh. That is the balance Port Royal asks for: control the flight, then take the opening when it comes. [2, 3]

Adam Schenk won at 12 under in 2025, one ahead of Phillips. His closing 71 held up in severe wind and delivered his first Tour title in start No. 243. The winning score dropped seven shots from the previous year. Pars were valuable when the course stopped giving much away. [4]

The five bets on our radar

THE FOX BANDIT CARD

October 20, 2026 · Prices checked 11:34–11:45 am Mountain

TO WIN

Ben James

+1100

11/1 · Sky Bet

Regular outright market

DARK HORSE

Chandler Phillips

+3500

35/1 · Sky Bet

Win leg of 10-place each-way market

TOP 10

Corey Conners

+250

5/2 · Betfair Sportsbook

Including ties

TOP 10

Seamus Power

+300

3/1 · Betfair Sportsbook

Including ties

TOP 10

Denny McCarthy

+333.33

10/3 · Betfair Sportsbook

Including ties

Open the full-size betting graphic
Displayed sportsbook prices, checked October 20, 2026, 11:34–11:45 am MDT. Fractional quotes are the source prices; American odds are conversions. UK/international reference markets. [11, 16, 18]

Ben James to win. Third at Wyndham, second at Biltmore and tied fifth at the Bank of Utah: that is the form I want to back in this field. The risk is the price. At 11/1, his first Tour win is already priced as a strong possibility. [1, 18]

Corey Conners top 10. His approach play is the reason to stay with him. The Tour profile has him 37th on approach but 135th in putting. He needs enough putts to fall; I prefer this market to the outright. [12]

Seamus Power top 10. The 2022 champion has a useful short game for this place: 11th in putting and 24th around the green in the current Tour profile. His approach numbers are the concern. [1, 13]

Denny McCarthy top 10. The weakest of my three top-10 selections. His putter can carry him, but recent missed cuts and negative total strokes gained over his last five events temper the case. The longer price does not fix that. [14]

Chandler Phillips as the dark horse. Last year’s runner-up gets Thursday morning and Friday afternoon. That may help, but his recent results leave plenty to prove. This is a small, speculative lean. The price shown is the win leg of Sky Bet’s 10-place each-way market. [4, 11, 15]

When our players tee off

Thursday October 22 and Friday October 23. Bermuda is three hours ahead of Colorado. Each cell lists Bermuda local time first, then Mountain time. ADT = UTC−3; MDT = UTC−6. [5]

Official groupings · October 22–23, 2026 · Bermuda local / Colorado Mountain time
Player and groupThu ADT / MDTFri ADT / MDT
Ben James
David Ford · Miles Russell (a)
1:11 pm / 10:11 am
Tee 10
8:41 am / 5:41 am
Tee 1
Corey Conners
Aldrich Potgieter · Andrew Novak
12:27 pm / 9:27 am
Tee 1
7:57 am / 4:57 am
Tee 10
Seamus Power
Joel Dahmen · Will Gordon
12:16 pm / 9:16 am
Tee 1
7:46 am / 4:46 am
Tee 10
Denny McCarthy
Nick Hardy · Kristoffer Ventura
1:00 pm / 10:00 am
Tee 10
8:30 am / 5:30 am
Tee 1
Chandler Phillips
Harry Higgs · Greyson Sigg
7:35 am / 4:35 am
Tee 10
12:05 pm / 9:05 am
Tee 1

(a) denotes an amateur. Official 2026 PGA Tour groupings. [5]

Original graphic comparing Campos at 19 under in 2024 and Schenk at 12 under in 2025.
Original Fox Bandit Golf graphic. Graphic credits and data source.

Who else is in the field

The 120-player draw includes recent winner Austin Smotherman, Neal Shipley, Andrew Novak, Chris Kirk and Eric Cole. Conners is the highest-ranked entrant at world No. 61. Amateur Austin Lemieux makes his Tour debut. The Tour lists Lanto Griffin out for Greyson Sigg and Rasmus Højgaard out for Taylor Montgomery; both replacements are in the published groups. [1, 5]

The wind could favor Phillips

Forecast sustained winds: Thursday rises from about 15 to 20 mph; Friday stays near 21 to 22 mph. Full hourly values follow.
CustomWeather regional hourly forecast via timeanddate, updated October 20 at 10:42 am Bermuda time. Sustained wind, converted from km/h. This is a forecast, not on-course data. [6, 7]

The hourly model leans toward Thursday morning/Friday afternoon. Thursday starts around 15–16 mph and rises toward 20 late; Friday is near 21–22 mph for much of the day. Phillips gets the earlier Thursday start. The other four play Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.

That is only a tentative edge. The Tour’s Tuesday forecast is less windy Friday, at 12–17 mph with gusts to 18–22, and sees increasing shower chances. The Bermuda Weather Service also flags possible strengthening winds late Thursday. A front moving a few hours can change which groups get the easier stretch. [8–10]

Hourly detail for both rounds

Hourly forecast · October 22–23, 2026 · Bermuda local time
Bermuda timeThu mphThu rainFri mphFri rain
8:0015.515%22.44%
9:0016.217%21.75%
10:0015.515%21.14%
11:0015.56%21.13%
12:0014.94%21.13%
13:0016.83%21.13%
14:0018.62%21.12%
15:0019.92%21.72%
16:0020.51%21.11%
17:0020.50%20.56%
18:0020.50%19.90%

Rain = hourly model probability. Thursday is mainly cloudy with some morning shower/thunder risk; Friday starts partly cloudy and becomes cloudier. Daytime temperatures are about 77–81°F Thursday and 75–79°F Friday. [6, 7]

Odds reference and sources

The graphics feature the market attached to each suggested bet. This reference keeps the prices and settlement terms in one place. Prices were checked October 20, 2026, 11:34–11:45 am MDT; they can move. The public sources do not supply a separate last-price-change timestamp.

Suggested bets · sportsbook prices checked October 20, 2026, 11:34–11:45 am MDT
SelectionQuoted priceBook and market
James to win11/1 · +1100Sky Bet · regular outright
Conners top 105/2 · +250Betfair Sportsbook · including ties
Power top 103/1 · +300Betfair Sportsbook · including ties
McCarthy top 1010/3 · +333.33Betfair Sportsbook · including ties
Phillips to win35/1 · +3500Sky Bet · win leg of 10-place each-way

The Phillips price comes from an each-way market: the place leg pays one-fifth of fractional win odds for 10 places, and an each-way bet carries two stakes. It is a different product from a standalone top-10 bet. Betfair’s top-10 prices here include ties; a dead-heat market can settle differently. These are editorial picks, not calculated betting edges. UK/international prices are references, not confirmed Colorado offers. [11, 16, 18]

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