Butterfield Bermuda Championship Round 3: Smotherman and Power Tame the Wind to Share the Lead

For two days the wind at Port Royal was a rumor. On Saturday it showed up with its full résumé, and the two players who handled it best now share the lead at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

Austin Smotherman shot a 5-under 66 and Seamus Power shot a 4-under 67, leaving them tied at 16-under 197 with 18 holes to play. Taylor Moore (66), Corey Conners (69) and Ben Silverman (69) are two back at 14 under. Five more players sit at 13 under: Chan Kim, Tom Hoge, Chris Kirk, Danny Walker and 36-hole co-leader Chandler Blanchet. Fourteen players are within four shots, and the forecast is calling for even more wind.

Smotherman Strikes Early

Smotherman did his damage before the breeze got truly mean. The big blow came at the par-5 seventh, where he rode the wind into the green and rolled in a 9-foot eagle putt that pushed him to 5 under for the day. In a matter of holes, a player who started two back of Blanchet and Kensei Hirata had pulled himself into the thick of it.

"Once we turned, I felt like the wind just kept picking up," Smotherman said, per the AP. "No. 11 tee shot was kind of the first one where we were really like, 'Wow, it's on another level now.' These next few holes aren't going to be what we're used to seeing these last couple days. So, super simple shots in our mind."

That plan was tested hard at the par-3 16th. With a front pin and the wind howling, Smotherman's 7-iron sailed some 35 yards long into a back bunker. He blasted out to the fairway short of the green and got up and down for a bogey that could have been far worse. He passed on the birdie chance at the par-5 17th without fuss, then closed the 66 with a 10-foot par save.

This is the same player who won the Bank of Utah Championship for his first PGA TOUR title. That win came with a two-year exemption and all but locked up a spot in next season's early $20 million Signature Events, per the AP. He is playing with a cushion. The guy next to him on the leaderboard is not.

Power Plays the Wind Game

Power was two shots behind with the closing holes to play and made up the gap right where Port Royal turned into a grind. The signature swing came at the 17th. Power hammered a 5-wood off the tee and then another into the green, both hard draws into a wind ripping off the left, reaching the par 5 in two. He two-putted from 40 feet for birdie and parred the last to post 197.

"Today was proper wind, at least for me," Power said. "It's tough because you'd like to hit a low shot but you're so elevated or you're hitting off an upslope that it's tough to judge, it's tough to get the flight that you'd like to hit. So it's a different challenge than when we play in wind at home."

The Irishman has history here. Power won this event in 2022. He also has a reason to want every ounce of difficulty Port Royal can muster. More wind is forecast for the final round, and Power said that should work in his favor, not because of where he grew up but because it makes it harder for the players behind him to make up ground with birdies.

The Number That Matters Most

Power is No. 103 in the FedExCup Fall standings. The top 100 at the end of the fall keep full status for 2027, and Power has talked this week about how hard it was not knowing which events he would get into.

He is not alone. Seven of the top 10 players on Saturday's leaderboard were outside the top 100, per the AP. For a lot of these players, a top-10 finish matters nearly as much as a trophy.

Blanchet and Hirata Fade

The 36-hole co-leaders both found out what Port Royal looks like with its teeth in. Blanchet, the first-round leader after a 62, could only manage an even-par 71 and slid three back. Hirata, the rookie who earned his first share of a lead after any round on TOUR on Friday, had a rough day and shot 76 to fall to 8 under.

Eric Cole, one back after two rounds, went the wrong way too with a 74. Walker hung around with a 70.

Who Went Low Anyway

Kim shot 64, the best round of the day, to leap into the group at 13 under. Hoge added a 65 and Kirk a 67 to join him. Moore's 66 was the round that moved him into the group two back.

Conners and Silverman both held steady with 69s, and Conners, the highest-ranked player in the field, is two shots from the lead.

A Familiar Script, Then the Wind

This is the third consecutive year this tournament has had a two-way tie for the lead going into the final round. Last year Adam Schenk was one of two players sharing the top after 54 holes, so nobody here should be surprised by a crowded finish.

The difference now is the forecast. Saturday was the hardest day of the week, and the outlook says the next one will be harder. Smotherman has the momentum and the job security. Power has the history, the hunger and a weather report he likes. Three players are lurking two back and five more are three back, and none of them can count on a calm morning to help.

Catch up on the week in our Round 1 and Round 2 recaps. The PGA TOUR's Round 3 recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (AP Round 3 recap), AP via TSN, ESPN leaderboard. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.