2021 Bermuda Championship scores, grades: Lucas Herbert wins by one to choose up first PGA Tour victory

Lucas Herbert was the right archetype for this week’s Bermuda Championship discipline. Good participant, respectable world rating, strong profession thus far however no wins on the PGA Tour. He is now not the right archetype for this discipline as a result of he’s now not winless on the PGA Tour. He took care of that by successful by one Sunday over Patrick Reed and Danny Lee in simply his twentieth begin on the Tour.

Herbert shot a 2-under 69 on Sunday to get to fifteen underneath for the week and keep simply away from Reed and Lee in some dicey climate and remaining spherical that received bumped means up within the day due to extra wooly climate anticipated afterward within the day. His 2 underneath quantity would not sound wonderful, nevertheless it was almost three away from the sector common and it was sufficient to carry off Reed, who shot 65 and Lee, who had a wild second 9 with a double, two bogeys and three birdies in his final seven holes.

“I felt like I grinded rather well early and I had the proper angle going into the day that it wasn’t going to be straightforward,” Herbert mentioned. “I do not suppose we even hit drivers on the vary as a result of (we) simply could not hit it, it was simply pointless, so that you simply knew it was going to be a type of days the place you needed to battle actually, actually laborious. Beneath par was going to be an incredible rating. I could not go and count on to complete at 20 underneath par or something like that, you simply needed to grind via. Yeah, there was going to be some holes the place it was going to die down a bit bit and offer you an opportunity, simply needed to sort of take your probabilities on these if you did get them.”

Rick Gehman is joined by Kyle Porter, Greg DuCharme and Mark Immelman to interrupt down and react to the 2021 Bermuda Championship plus dissect the week’s greatest information in golf. Observe & hearken to The First Lower on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.  

The Australian Herbert, who got here in ranked No. 57 within the Official World Golf Rankings, was not flawless in some windy and, at occasions, nasty climate in Bermuda over the past 4 days, however he did stand up and down in 21 of his 27 alternatives on the week (together with six of eight within the remaining spherical), which ranked fourth within the discipline and is extraordinarily helpful if you’re attempting to win a Tour occasion in these situations.

The win for him is his second of the 12 months as he additionally received the Irish Open again in July on the European Tour. It would transfer him into the highest 50 within the Official World Golf Rankings, and, based on Golf Channel, it implies that he is joined Jason Day, Adam Scott, Cam Smith and Aaron Baddeley as the one Australians at 25 or youthful to win a PGA Tour occasion within the final twenty years.

It additionally will get him into the Masters for the primary time in his profession and places him on a great trajectory to probably make the Tour Championship in 2022 only one 12 months after he performed his postseason golf within the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. The archetype for this occasion’s discipline graduated out of that right into a first-time PGA Tour champ and what must be a really enjoyable 2022.

“I’ve solely had two minutes to consider it as a result of I have been attempting to push it to date out of my thoughts, nevertheless it simply opens up so many doorways for me,” Herbert mentioned. “It is simply so thrilling with the ability to play out right here now, choose a schedule. It has been robust for the blokes out of the Korn Ferry Finals and common season class earlier this 12 months, we have not received a whole lot of begins. Yeah, to be kind of out of that battle and have the ability to get into a few of these actually large occasions, I am trying ahead to it a lot.” Grade: A+

Listed here are the remainder of our grades for the Bermuda Championship.

Patrick Reed (T2): Reed was unimaginable on Sunday, and his 65 was the second finest spherical of the day to Scott Stallings’ 62. The situations have been the kind he loves the place he can, as he mentioned, get away from a driving vary swing and form some golf pictures. He simply had an excessive amount of floor to make up going into the final spherical after his first three good (however not wonderful) rounds of 68-69-68.

“I had eight penalty pictures all through the week and the massive aim coming in at the moment was no penalty pictures, no doubles and to present your self alternatives, seems for birdie,” Reed mentioned. “I felt like I did that actually nicely at the moment and I managed the situations. The putter received going for me.”

This can be a good consequence for the No. 24 golfer on this planet — even in a weaker discipline — after some battle this summer time and fall and in addition his first prime 10 wherever because the Memorial in June.

“I feel on this event typically, I have been having problems with … as soon as I received again after being sick is … producing offense,” he mentioned. “I used to be hitting the ball rather well and making some putts, however simply sort of burning edges on a 50/50 putt right here that may get a spherical going, or get an up-and-down or do not fairly get an up-and-down after I ought to. It is stuff like that that has like been a bit comfortable as a result of I had a lot break day on the precise taking part in facet.

“So popping out and producing a whole lot of offense this week, it undoubtedly offers me the boldness that, hey, we’re again taking part in and now we’re sort of in play mode moderately than a lot approach and work mode.” Grade: A

Patrick Rodgers (4th): The mega-talented Rodgers has simply 4 prime 10s on the PGA Tour because the begin of 2019, and two of them have now are available in his final three occasions, together with this week’s Bermuda. He was by no means essentially spectacular this week exterior of a Friday 64, however he simply stayed within the combine and had only one blemish in every spherical (three bogeys and a double). That is excellent news for any individual who has an incredible pedigree and seemingly sufficient sport to contend at legit occasions throughout the PGA Tour. He is now received some momentum going into 2022. Grade: A

Matt Fitzpatrick (T30): Fitzpatrick pale coming residence in an occasion the place I believed he would thrive, however he did give us the quote of the week after Spherical 1.

“That is the toughest wind I’ve ever performed in,” he mentioned on Thursday. “You see winds like this, however usually you do not play in them. This was the toughest wind I’ve ever performed in. I completely ripped a drive on 7. Persons are going to snort at this as a result of they most likely suppose it is my regular tee shot, however anyway, I ripped it and it went 245. That is — I feel my season common final 12 months was like 295. Simply exhibits you ways sturdy it’s.”

This was not a horrible consequence from him, however as one of many two golfers within the discipline ranked contained in the OWGR prime 50 coming into the week, I used to be on the lookout for only a bit extra. Nonetheless, his final three finishes — T20, 1st, T30 — are pretty strong. Grade: B-