High wind took the decision out of the players' hands. Sunday's final round at Port Royal Golf Course in Southampton, Bermuda, never started, with the course shut amid sustained winds reported at 40+ mph (64km/h), according to the PGA Tour and the Royal Gazette. With Monday's forecast no better, the PGA Tour has called the tournament final through 54 holes, official "in accordance with PGA Tour Regulations." Austin Smotherman and Seamus Power, tied at 16 under, now go to a playoff to decide the winner.
Corey Conners, Taylor Moore and Ben Silverman finished three back at 14 under. Tom Hoge, Chris Kirk, Chan Kim, Danny Walker and Chandler Blanchet finished tied at 13 under. None of them have anything left to play for this week; the board is set.
The playoff format is set, the time isn't. Smotherman and Power will play the 18th hole, repeated as many times as needed, early Monday morning, weather permitting. The exact start time hasn't been confirmed. No winner has been decided.
Smotherman's third-round 66 and Power's 67 left them tied at 16 under, 197, per the PGA Tour's round 3 recap. Power erased a two-shot deficit late, holing a 40-foot (12m) birdie putt on the par-5 17th. Smotherman answered with a 9-foot (2.7m) eagle putt on the par-5 7th, then gave a shot back with a bogey on 16 after a chip ran into a back bunker before he closed with a 10-foot (3m) par save. Moore's third-round 66 pushed him to 14 under, while Conners and Silverman each carded 69.
A win would mean different things for the two co-leaders. Power claimed this title in 2022 for his second PGA Tour win, closing at 19 under, 265, on rounds of 65-65-65-70, one ahead of Thomas Detry, per CBS Sports. He needs this finish more than the trophy; he sits at No. 103 in the FedExCup standings, and a top-100 finish is what keeps his full status, per the PGA Tour's round 3 recap. Smotherman is playing for something different, a second win in a month, after his maiden PGA Tour title at the Bank of Utah on October 4, where he won by two strokes over Doug Ghim.
This isn't the first time wind has gotten the better of Port Royal. The course has a history with it. In 2021, high wind forced the cancellation of the tournament's pro-am and closed the course for the rest of that day, and that year's opening round was also suspended, according to Golf Digest and Golf.com. Matthew Fitzpatrick, playing that week, put it plainly: "This was the hardest wind I've ever played in," he told Golf.com at the time. For a course that sits exposed to the Atlantic on a small island, that kind of description from a major champion isn't nothing, and I'd treat anyone who calls Port Royal an easy walk in a blow with some skepticism.
The playoff is what's left. Conditions like this are exactly what make club selection and ball flight so unpredictable on an island course; for golfers dealing with their own wind days, the mechanics behind it are worth a look in our how to play golf in the wind guide.
For more on how Bermuda's opening round unfolded, see our round 1 recap, where four players, Conners, Silverman, Walker and Kohles, shared the early lead at 8 under. The purse for this week's event is $6 million, with a winner's share of $1.08 million waiting for whoever finishes on top. This 54-hole finish still pays the full purse and FedExCup points, per the Tour's points and payouts rules and Golf News Net's explainer on the 36- and 54-hole policy. There's a precedent: the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am was cut to 54 holes in 2024 when weather scrapped its final round, and Wyndham Clark won it by one over Ludvig Aberg with the full $3.6 million winner's share and 700 FedExCup points, per Golfweek via Yahoo and NBC Sports/Golf Channel.
Wind kept Sunday's final round from ever starting at Port Royal Golf Course, with sustained winds of 40+ mph (64km/h), per the PGA Tour and the Royal Gazette. With Monday's forecast no better, the PGA Tour called the tournament final through 54 holes, official under PGA Tour Regulations.
Austin Smotherman and Seamus Power are tied at 16 under, per PGA Tour leaderboards. Corey Conners, Taylor Moore and Ben Silverman finished tied for third at 14 under.
Smotherman and Power will play a sudden-death playoff on the 18th hole, repeated as needed, early Monday morning, weather permitting. The exact start time hasn't been confirmed.
Yes. In 2021, high wind forced the cancellation of the tournament's pro-am and suspended that year's opening round at Port Royal Golf Course, per Golf Digest and Golf.com.
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