Austin Smotherman wins Bermuda Championship on third playoff hole for back-to-back titles

On 26 October 2026, American professional Austin Smotherman claimed the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Bermuda. A storm had wiped out the scheduled final round, leaving a Monday playoff to decide the winner. Smotherman defeated Ireland's Séamus Power on the third extra hole, giving him two PGA TOUR victories in successive starts.

Why a 72-hole event became a 54-hole contest

Wind gusts surpassed 40 mph, roughly 64 km/h, on Sunday. The conditions were too severe for the field to begin the fourth round, and officials were concerned that another full round could not be completed on Monday either. The PGA TOUR therefore declared the regulation competition complete after three rounds, with a playoff reserved for the two co-leaders. Smotherman and Power each stood at 16 under par, 197 strokes.

The extra holes were played on the ocean-facing, par-3 16th. That location made precise distance control particularly demanding in the wind. With a winner still to be determined, the two players had to make decisions under an unusual form of pressure: every shot might be the last of the championship.

Three visits to the 16th

On the first playoff hole, Smotherman missed the putting surface but recovered to save par. Power had a birdie opportunity but failed to convert, so they returned to the same tee. On the second, Smotherman found the green and sent a first putt from around 75 feet close to the cup. Power had to escape a left greenside bunker to make par, and once again neither player gained an advantage.

The third visit produced the decisive mistake. Power's ball finished in difficult greenside rough and he could not get up and down for par. Smotherman, facing a putt of roughly 14 feet, took two strokes to finish and won with a par. It was a playoff settled by resilience and disciplined putting rather than a spectacular birdie.

A remarkable October turnaround

The 32-year-old Smotherman had secured his maiden PGA TOUR title at the Bank of Utah Championship earlier in October. Bermuda was his next start, and he won again. According to Golf Channel, the result also extended his eligibility in the upcoming Championship Series through 2029.

For the 39-year-old Power, the defeat denied a second victory at Port Royal. He won the Bermuda Championship in 2022 and was pursuing a third PGA TOUR title. His performance nevertheless put him within a single playoff hole of another significant career moment.

Sources: Golf Channel's 26 October 2026 playoff report (https://www.golfchannel.com/pga-tour/news/austin-smotherman-ousts-seamus-power-in-bermuda-playoff-for-second-straight-win); PGA TOUR's official 25 October decision on the shortened event (https://www.pgatour.com/article/news/latest/2026/10/25/seamus-power-austin-smotherman-head-to-monday-playoff-after-weather-delay-tournament-shortened-to-54-holes-butterfield-bermuda-championship).

Image credit: illustrative, unmodified photograph “Golfing on green sun” by Janbaby, Wikimedia Commons / Pixabay, CC0 1.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Golfing_on_green_sun.jpg); it does not show the players or the Bermuda Championship.