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FILE - Austin Smotherman hits off the 18th tee during the second round of The Players Championship golf tournament Friday, March 13, 2026, in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, file)
By The Canadian Press

Smotherman makes it two wins in a row on PGA Tour with playoff victory over Seamus Power

Oct 26, 2026 | 7:56 AM

SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda (AP) — Austin Smotherman captured his second straight FedEx Cup Fall event Monday morning when he outlasted Seamus Power of Ireland with a par on the third playoff hole to win the rain-shortened Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

Smotherman also won the Bank of Utah Championship three weeks ago. The two victories in tournaments offering full FedEx Cup points gets him in the U.S. Open next year at Pebble Beach.

Smotherman and Power were tied at 16-under 197. The final round was canceled because of wind so strong at Port Royal that conditions were deemed unplayable. They returned for a playoff held on the par-3 16th hole with a strong wind gusting off the ocean left of the green.

Both made par when the pin was all the way back at 178 yards — Power missed a 20-foot birdie putt for the win on the first extra hole and made an 8-foot par putt for a bunker save the next time. The hole was moved to the front of the green for the third extra hole.

Smotherman, who twice hit 8-iron to the front section when the pin was in the back, stayed with an 8-iron and left himself a birdie chance just inside 15 feet. Power again didn’t get enough help from the wind and his shot buried in deep rough left of the green. He chopped it out to just outside 15 feet and missed the par putt.

Canadians Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., tied for third at 14-under par, two shots behind the leaders.

Smotherman won the Bank of Utah Championship three weeks ago for his first PGA Tour title in his 100th career start. Now he has two in a row and moves to No. 51 in the FedEx Cup, assuring him a spot at the $20 million signature events at Pebble Beach and Riviera next year.

The consolation for Power, who was trying to become the first multiple winner of the Bermuda Championship, was locking up his card for 2027. He was at No. 103 — the top 100 at the end of the fall keep full status — and the runner-up finish moves him to No. 68.

It was the second time this year a playoff began on a Monday morning because of weather. Viktor Hovland defeated Scottie Scheffler on the par-4 18th to win the Travelers Championship in June.

Smotherman becomes the first 54-hole winner on the PGA Tour because of weather since Wyndham Clark won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2024.

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See AP’s full golf coverage here

The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press