All types of elements were on display in Round 1 on the island of Bermuda, as those that teed off earliest played in the worst conditions. It was cool, and windy, with gusts up to 40 mph, and play even had to be stopped at one point as a rain swell came through. The rain was coming down sideways for a few minutes, to the point where Russell Knox and Matthew Fitzpatrick both said it was some of the windiest they had ever played.
PGA DFS Showdown Picks: Bermuda Championship Round 2
Round 1 Recap
Morning Wave
Austin Eckroat and tour rookie Greyson Sigg shot the rounds of the morning: 3-under 68s. Seth Reeves shot a 2-under 69. All the other 20 golfers that shot in the 60s in Round 1 came from the afternoon wave. No rain is in the forecast tomorrow. Even though the afternoon is supposed to see virtually no wind or a light breeze, the higher it gets the more impact it makes.
Afternoon Wave
The later in the day it got, the better the conditions became. And it was clear there was a bit of a shift as the leaderboard looked condensed in a hurry. Patrick Reed jumped out to an early share of the lead, birdieing his first three holes, but he played the next 15 holes at even par. There were ups and downs, but Reed looked confident in the conditions and managed to score well even though he is not fully there yet. Seamus Power is continuing his strong form, looking like he is here to stay. He shot 4 under, as did Garrick Higgo. Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Chad Ramey also used the better of the conditions to shoot in the mid-60s, far better than the field average, and Ramey shares the overnight lead with Brandon Hagy.
With the high winds throughout the day and the stoppage in the middle of the round, Round 1 is did not finish by the end of the day. Sahith Theegala is one of the notables still on the course. He is even par through 14 holes.
Round 1 Stat Recap
Strokes gained information does not travel to foreign soil, so there are only old school statistics to cover.
Driving Accuracy
Average Position: 44
- Greyson Sigg
- Ryan Armour
- Guido Migliozzi
- Max McGreevy
- Davis Riley
Greens in Regulation
Average Position: 26
- Cameron Percy
- Michael Sims
- Brandon Hagy
- Chad Ramey
- Danny Lee
- Seamus Power
- David Skinns
- Ben Crane
- John Senden
Putts Per Green in Regulation
Average Position: 21.2
- Patrick Reed
- Kiradech Aphibarnrat
- Vincent Whaley
- Seth Reeves
- Ben Kohles
Round 2 Bermuda Championship DraftKings Slate Preview
- Lock Time: Probably some time around 7:30 am or 8:00 a.m. ET. There are about five holes left in Round 1, which should take about an hour or so, with golfers in position at 6:30 a.m. ET.
- Grand Prize: DraftKings offers $10,000 to first place and $30,000 guaranteed for the second-round slate.
PGA DFS DraftKings Showdown Picks
With such a discrepancy in the scoring today, one would hope that it would even itself out in Round 2. While that may happen a bit, it will not happen nearly to the degree with which it did today. But making the bulk of the lineup teeing off as late as possible would be gaining about a half stroke on average due to the expected conditions.
- Patrick Reed ($9,700): Reed is not all the way back yet. But given his long-term potential and success, he is the clear best player in this field. Reed scored very well considering the conditions and showed flashes of form throughout the day and through his bag. If he can square up his driver a bit overnight and hit more than 50% of his fairways tomorrow, he should be one of the top scorers for the morning wave.
- Nick Watney ($8,400): Playing in some of the worst conditions, Watney still managed to hold it together quite nicely. Watney seems to be clicking through his bag, hitting over 55% of his fairways, over 60% of his greens and average under 1.7 putts per green in regulation. With easier conditions expected for his afternoon tee time on Friday, he should be able to kick everything up a notch and move up the leaderboard heading into the weekend.
- Austin Eckroat ($7,800): While the conditions the golfers in the morning wave saw would be tough for anyone, it is impressive to go out and shoot 68, turn in the low score of the wave, and do it with virtually no status on any tour. Now, Eckroat will have a chance to gain some even if things do not get well this week, as he is exempt into the final stage of Korn Ferry Tour qualifying school, held next week. A win here this week would cancel his plans to hop over to Savannah, Ga. and earn him immediate PGA Tour status. He has the game to do it, and conditions should be ideal for him to move up the leaderboard by day’s end.
- Greyson Sigg ($7,500): Sigg hit 92.9% of the fairways in any round, and did it in 40 miles per hour winds. He also hit 72% of his greens in Round 1, showing solid ball striking on the round. Given the better conditions expected in the afternoon and the in-from ball striking, Sigg presents a great value option for the second-round slate.
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