Smotherman outlasts Power in Bermuda playoff: Second PGA Tour title in a month

Sudden death cliffhanger on the cliffs of Southampton

Austin Smotherman cemented his status as the PGA Tour’s hottest autumn player on Monday morning, capturing the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in a thrilling sudden-death playoff over Ireland’s Seamus Power at Port Royal Golf Course. After howling gale-force winds exceeding 40 mph battered the Atlantic coastline and necessitated a 54-hole regulation finish with both players tied at 16-under-par 197, tournament officials staged the playoff on Port Royal’s signature holes.

Both competitors halved the opening two playoff holes with clutch pars under overcast skies. The breakthrough arrived on the third extra trip down the treacherous par-3 16th hole over the churning Atlantic surf. Power tugged his tee shot left into thick greenside Bermuda rough and could only scramble for bogey, allowing Smotherman to comfortably lag a 25-foot birdie putt to within tap-in range for a championship-clinching par.

Autumn breakthrough and FedExCup security

The victory represents Smotherman’s second PGA Tour triumph in October, following his maiden win at the Bank of Utah Championship just three weeks earlier. The 31-year-old California native earns a winner’s cheque of $1.08 million, 500 FedExCup Fall points, and an exemption into the 2027 Masters Tournament and PGA Championship. Smotherman’s back-to-back victories propel him inside the top 40 of the Official World Golf Ranking.

For Power, a past champion at Port Royal who carded a sensational 64 on Saturday to share the 54-hole lead, the runner-up finish secures his full playing status for the 2027 PGA Tour campaign. Tied for third place at 14-under-par were Taylor Moore, Canadian world No. 61 Corey Conners, and Ben Silverman. With Bermuda concluded, the PGA Tour Fall swing heads to Mexico for the World Wide Technology Championship.