Smotherman Beats Power in Bermuda Playoff After Weather Cuts Final Round
Austin Smotherman won the Butterfield Bermuda Championship on Monday, beating Seamus Power in a sudden-death playoff on the third extra hole. Smotherman made a par to finish it off, and it was his second PGA Tour title.
The finish was not the one planned. Organisers cancelled Sunday's final round because of the weather. The tournament was then cut to 54 holes, meaning three rounds, and officials set a playoff between the two leaders for Monday, citing forecast bad weather that day. The playoff was tentatively scheduled for 9 a.m. local time, according to PGA Tour.
After three rounds, the two men were level. Smotherman shot 65, 66 and 66 for a total of 197, which is 16 under par. Par is the score a skilled player is expected to take for a hole or course, so 16 under means 16 strokes better than that benchmark over the three rounds. Power matched the 197 with rounds of 66, 64 and 67.
The first playoff hole was the par-3 16th at Port Royal Golf Course. A par-3 is a short hole where the tee shot is usually a single iron or wood. Both players moved on, and Smotherman finally won it on the third extra hole.
For Smotherman, the week carried extra weight. BBC Sport reported that this was his second win in consecutive starts, following a breakthrough victory in Utah earlier in the month. Two wins in two starts is a rare run in any sport, and it now sits alongside his first and second PGA Tour titles.
Power, who also won this event in 2022, came close to a third title in Bermuda. He had started the week 103rd in the FedEx Cup Fall standings, the season-long points race that runs through the autumn. The top 100 in those standings earn PGA Tour cards, which are the playing rights for the following season. Power was projected to climb to 53rd after his runner-up finish, a move that puts him in a far safer position for next year.
Power also produced the week's most eye-catching moment. He holed a 74-yard shot for a birdie, which is one stroke under par for the hole. A hole-out is when the ball goes straight into the cup from off the green, rather than being putted in. PGA Tour named the shot its Shot of the Day.
The result leaves two players with very different autumns. Smotherman leaves Bermuda with a second title and a run of form that few players can match. Power leaves with a runner-up finish, a notable birdie, and a much higher place on the list that decides his PGA Tour future.
