The countdown to the end of the 2024 season on the PGA Tour is underway. Last week, at the World Wide Technology Championship in Los Cabos, Mexico, Austin Eckroat achieved the second title of his career on the circuit, and several players took a giant step towards their goals. And this week, in the penultimate scoring event of the season, they will try to seal them definitively because… what better place than Bermuda to celebrate a job well done?
The Butterfield Bermuda Championship that starts on Thursday at the Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, on the famous islands of the Atlantic known mainly for their pink sand beaches, such as Elbow Beach and Horseshoe Bay, offers 6.9 million dollars in prizes and, above all, valuable points for the FedEx Fall standings which for some players can mean an added reward for their good performance during the year and for others, the possibility of continuing to play on the tour.
The Aon Next 10 marks the positions 51st to 60th in the overall circuit standings, which, after the last event of the season, next week’s RSM Classic, will grant access to the first two designated events of 2025, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the The Genesis Invitational. Mackenzie Hughes, Harris English, Maverick McNealy, Seamus Power, Patrick Rodgers, Tom Kim, Nick Taylor, Ben Griffin, Justin Rose, and Kevin Yu occupy these positions in order before the tournament begins.
But behind them are names like Nico Echavarria, who comes from winning the ZOZO in Japan and completing a good performance in Mexico last week, Lucas Glover, Jake Knapp, Min Woo Lee, and Beau Hossler, among others, with chances to make the leap. However, where all eyes will undoubtedly be this week in Bermuda is in the battle to be among the top 125 in the standings, positions that allow maintaining full playing rights (from 126th to 160th will have a conditional status, although they can regain their rights at the School).
All players ranked between 118th (Zac Blair) and 135th (Sam Ryder) will be in the tournament this week except for Matt Wallace (130th), who is pushing his chances in the DP World Tour Championship to finish among the top 10 in the European Tour’s Order of Merit to secure the PGA Tour card without having to risk it all next week in Georgia. And Colombian Camilo Villegas, 194th in the FedEx Fall, will also be there to defend the title he won a year ago. It was his first victory in nine years and the first since the death of his daughter Mia from brain cancer. No one has repeated victory in the tournament so far.
Additionally, there will be some notable names in the field, such as Russian Egor Eroshenko, who qualified in Monday’s pre-qualifier. He turned professional recently after playing at the University of Central Florida. Also entering from the pre-qualifier are Tyler Collet, Luke Schniederjans, and Ethan Cairns. The very young Miles Russell, aged 16, the youngest to make a cut on the Korn Ferry, will return after his debut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. And with a sponsor’s invitation, the famous YouTuber George Bryan IV will play the tournament for the second consecutive year (he was tied 69th a year ago). It will be his third appearance on the PGA Tour in an event where his brother Wesley will also be, playing for his card (128th place in the FedEx Fall).
