The Port Royal Golf Course can be a dicey proposition.
The Port Royal Golf Course can be a dicey proposition.
It’s the shortest golf course used on PGA Tour in 2024 and when the wind picks up, hoo-boy it can be fun to watch, if not exactly fun to play.
After Saturday’s round, Justin Lower had opinions on the conditions everyone had to deal with.
“I don’t think that’s golf if you ask me,” he said about the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th holes. “Balls were going backwards in the air and I just, I realize that a lot of people had to play in it, but I don’t think it’s fair if that makes sense. I think if a top-10 or top-15 player in the world was here and they wanted to stop, I think the rules officials would have said ‘Yeah, we’ll stop.’ When anyone else in the field, if we would have said ‘I don’t feel comfortable playing in this’ we would have been told ‘tough’ and to proceed with the round. So that’s how I feel about it.”
On Sunday, Golf Channel announcers pointed out the greens were the slowest on Tour and that’s largely due to how much wind can affect golfers, and putting was indeed an adventure.
There are two new names atop the leaderboard after the third round of the 2024 Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton. American Andrew Novak and Puerto Rican Rafael Campos shot a pair of 9-under 62s to earn themselves a share of the 54-hole lead and a final-group tee time.
Justin Lower, who posted back-to-back rounds of 65 to earn the 36-hole lead, stumbled on his way to the clubhouse on Saturday, playing the back nine in 1-over 36. Still, he’ll enter the final round one back of the lead at 15 under, alone in third.
Wesley Bryan made the biggest move of the day, tying the course record at Port Royal, a 10-under 61. He had a chance to break the existing record on No. 9 — his 18th hole of the day — but couldn’t convert the putt.
If you missed any of the action on Saturday, no worries, we have you covered.
Here are a few notes from the third round in Bermuda.
Andrew Novak of the United States walks from the 11th hole during the third round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship 2024 at Port Royal Golf Course on November 16, 2024, in Southampton, Bermuda. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Sure, they weren’t as good as Bryan’s 61 — we’ll get to that in a minute — but Andrew Novak and Rafael Campos crawled their way to the top of the leaderboard with matching 9-under 62s.
Novak did most of his damage early in the round, making seven birdies on the front nine to make the turn with a 7-under 29. On the second half, he added two more on Nos. 12 and 15 to finish his day.
“I missed a lot of putts the first two rounds and hit a good shot into 1,” he said, “made probably a 12-footer or so, that just kind of got it going, seeing ’em go in, kind of kept it rolling and just got hot.”
Campos, on the other hand, did most of his work around the turn and at the end of his round. He birdied five straight from Nos. 6-10 and three straight from Nos. 15-17.
“I really am happy about the last couple days, especially today,” he said. “Yesterday was no wind but today was a real test on some of the holes into the wind.
“I was really fortunate the short game was really on point today. It’s been quite some time I haven’t felt as comfortable chipping, but I had a couple chip-ins today and the putter rolled really well.”
Wesley Bryan storms up the leaderboard
Wesley Bryan of the United States checks his yardage book on the tenth green during the third round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship 2024 at Port Royal Golf Course on November 16, 2024, in Southhampton, Bermuda. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
The vibes have been high all week for Wesley Bryan. He played the first two rounds of the tournament alongside his brother, George, and although he missed the cut, the younger Bryan is now in position to win on Tour for the second time (2017 RBC Heritage).
Bryan opened with a 67 on Thursday but made too many late-round mistakes Friday, shooting a 1-over 72. Saturday, however, was a different story.
Starting on the back nine, Bryan birdied 10, 11, 14 and 16 before making a big bird at the par-5 17th to make the turn with a 6-under 29. On the way home, the 34-year-old added two more birdies to his card on Nos. 2 and 6, plus another eagle at the par-5 seventh.
Needing a birdie-birdie finish to card a 59, Bryan settled for two pars to finish his 10-under effort that tied the Port Royal course record.
“I’ve been hitting the ball really nice and been hitting it solid and been putting pretty well,” he said. “I felt like these type of conditions really for my entire golfing career, I’ve really enjoyed wind. It just brings out a little bit more creativity, so I do enjoy the wind.
“Then today, I mean, nobody knows a 61 or what, when a 61’s going to come. That’s just kind of a career day. Hopefully, we can shoot — I mean, get in the mix tomorrow on the back nine. That would be the ultimate goal.”
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The Mexico Open at Vidanta has been played at Vidanta Vallarta for the last two seasons and a few players have seen more success than others.
Take defending champion Tony Finau for example. Before he beat Jon Rahm by three shots last year, he finished in a tie for second in 2022.
This year’s field is on the weaker side, but that’s easy to understand if you take a look at the PGA Tour schedule. After this week, the Tour heads to the Sunshine State for the Florida Swing, a stretch that includes the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players, both of which are signature events.
To get you ready for this week, here are 10 of the best players at the Mexico Open over the last two years.
If you aren’t familiar with Andrew Novak’s story, you’re likely not alone.
Who the heck is Andrew Novak?
He’s just three strokes out of the lead at the inaugural Mexico Open at Vidanta, that’s who he is. But if you aren’t familiar with his story, you’re likely not alone.
He shot 4-under 67 in the second round at Vidanta Vallarta in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and improved to 9-under 133, his career low 36-hole score to par in a PGA Tour event.
He’s tied for third and sits three shots back of leader Jon Rahm heading into the weekend.
“Nine through two days is pretty good golf,” Novak declared. Not too shabby, indeed.
Here’s 5 Things to Know about Novak:
When Novak was three years old, the Raleigh, North Carolina, resident attended a college golf tournament and was given a logoed ball by Carl Pettersson, the future five-time Tour winner who was competing for North Carolina State. That simple gesture from the big Swede and Novak was hooked on the game.
Novak became the second golfer—after William McGirt—to make it to the PGA Tour in Wofford College program history. Novak was a three-time All-Southern Conference selection and two-time NCAA regional individual qualifier, while also being named the 2017 Southern Conference Player of the Year.
Novak turned pro in 2017, worked his way up from the Mackenzie Tour to the Korn Ferry Tour, where he overcame a sluggish stretch—he missed seven straight cuts at one point—and rode winning the 2020 Korn Ferry Tour Lecom Suncoast Classic to earn his Tour card for finishing in the Top 25 on the money list.
Novak is making his 20th career PGA Tour start this week. Novak appears to like playing golf South of the Border. Two of his top-25 finishes have been in Mexico and he shot a sizzling 63 at Mayakoba, his career low on Tour. He’s still searching for his first top-10 finish (T-11 at Corales Puntacana Championship in March).
Novak claims to be an authority on all things football. He is a die-hard Carolina Panthers fan and often posts his takes on the team’s draft picks and performance.
Andrew Novak adjusts his cap at the 15th hole during the second round of the 2022 Mexico Open at Vidanta in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. (Photo: Eduardo Verdugo/Associated Press)
Novak, 27, followed up an opening-round 66 with two birdies and a bogey on his first nine holes Friday. Then he caught fire, making birdie on five of his first six holes of the back nine. He was 11 under and held the solo lead, but made bogeys on two of his final three holes, including a three-putt at the last.
With a late-Saturday tee time, Novak has a chance for a big weekend ahead of him. He has yet to earn a six-figure check but could be in line for a seven figure one if he were to go on to win ($1.314 million to be exact).
He entered the week ranked 157th in the FedEx Cup and No. 361 in the world. Asked to describe his rookie campaign, he said, “It’s been a little tentative. haven’t quite played the golf I’ve wanted. I feel like I’ve played decent golf at times, but I haven’t really put it together for one full week yet, not four solid rounds. I think a lot of it is learning new courses. This past year on Korn Ferry when I was playing so well, that was my fourth year, I knew every course, I was showing up, I knew what I wanted to do, it was just execution. This year it’s been a little bit more learning the courses and I think that’s kind of led to some of the struggles.”
But not for the first two days along the Pacific on the western coast of Mexico.
Andrew Novak birdied the 17th and 18th holes on Sunday to earn his first professional victory on Sunday on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Andrew Novak birdied the 17th and 18th holes on Sunday to snag his first professional victory at the Korn Ferry Tour’s LECOM Suncoast Classic in Lakewood Ranch, Florida.
Novak started the final round at 17 under, tied with Jack Maguire, both a shot back of leader Peter Uihlein.
But Novak’s second 66 of the weekend was enough to hold off the final-round 64s posted by John Chin and Taylor Montgomery.
Novak had a 64 of his own in Friday’s second round but it was his birdie on the 215-yard, par-3 17th and 473-yard, par-4 18th on Sunday that clinched the victory, as he was able to catch and then pass Chin at the finish line.
Novak finished at 22 under to earn his first professional win, one week after he finished T-9 at the Bogota Championship. Prior to that, he had missed the cut in two of the three KFT events this season.
The Korn Ferry Tour takes next week off before heading to Mexico for the El Bosque Mexico Championship.
