The Butterfield Bermuda Championship will be decided on a Monday morning after extreme weather conditions at Port Royal Golf Course made the final round of play impossible on Sunday. Tournament officials were forced to cancel the final 18 holes as raging winds swept across the Southampton course, reducing the official competition to 54 holes and leaving leaders Seamus Power and Austin Smotherman in a deadlock.
Power and Smotherman finished three rounds of play tied at 16-under par. Under the revised schedule, the two will return to the course at 8:00 a.m. ET (9:00 a.m. local time) on Monday to compete in a sudden-death playoff. Officials have designated the par-3 16th hole as the starting point for the playoff, provided the weather permits a safe return to competition.
The decision to shorten the event marks a rare disruption for the PGA Tour. The last time an official event was reduced to 54 holes was the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which concluded on a Saturday. Monday finishes, while slightly more common, have not occurred since June, when Viktor Hovland triumphed over world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler at the Travelers Championship.
For Seamus Power, the Monday showdown carries significant weight for his long-term career security. Entering the week ranked No. 103 in the FedExCup Fall standings, a victory would do far more than just add a trophy to his collection. A win would secure his PGA Tour card through the 2028 season and grant him entry into the elite PGA Tour Championship Series under the tour’s upcoming 2028 schedule framework.
Austin Smotherman enters the playoff with considerable momentum, having captured his first career PGA Tour title earlier this month in Utah. A second victory in such a short span would provide a massive boost to his major championship eligibility, specifically earning him a coveted spot in next year’s U.S. Open.
The delay has also created logistical challenges for the tournament field. Both Power and Smotherman are scheduled to compete in next week’s VidantaWorld Mexico Open in Vallarta. While a charter plane was arranged to transport the rest of the field from Bermuda to Mexico, the two leaders must now focus on the immediate task at Port Royal before making the trip across the Gulf.
The 16th hole at Port Royal, where the playoff is set to begin, is one of the most iconic and exposed par-3s on the tour, often playing directly into the Atlantic winds that forced Sunday’s cancellation. If the winds remain high on Monday morning, officials will have to determine if the greens are once again playable or if further delays are necessary.
