Yet here we are with this graphic of the two Monday morning playoff combatants in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. The final round was cancelled Sunday at Port Royal because of winds that reached 40 mph. The PGA Tour announced later Sunday that it would only be a 54-hole event. But the problem was, there was a tie at the top of the leaderboard between Austin Smotherman and Seamus Power. Smotherman won the Bank of Utah Championship earlier this month for his lone tour title. Power has two but hasn't won in four years. Here are some numbers regarding both men, noting that neither is favored over the other according to the odds. They are scheduled to begin the playoff at 8 a.m. ET and it will be aired on Golf Channel.
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view allThe 35-year-old Californian, who also has a base in Thailand, shot a final-round 64 at Hong Kong Golf Club to win easily by five shots. The highest score he shot all week was a second-round 66. This will be his first appearance at Augusta National. In four previous Open appearances, he has missed the cut three times, but he tied for 16th place in 2024 at Royal Troon. "Hard to put it into words," he said.
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view allWith winds already gusting up to 30 mph in Saturday’s third round, the forecast gets far worse for Sunday, going from scattered showers in the morning to thunderstorms and a 100-percent chance of rain in the afternoon. Further troubling is the prediction of wind gusts up to 47 mph, which could force the stoppage of play, even if lightning doesn’t.
The tour sent a notice to the players on Friday night and said that play could be extended into Monday. Unfortunately, the forecast isn’t great for that day either, with an 80-percent chance of rain.
How concerned is the tour about the weather? Golf Channel’s Gabby Herzig reported on Saturday that, in anticipation of the high winds, the green speeds on the Port Royal course have been slowed down to 9.5 on the Stimpmeter. That's a lot when the standard tour speed is 12. She also said the tournament is removing all high-profile signage that could be blown over.
This has to be a nervy time for the players—many of whom are battling for their cards for 2027. From Bermuda, they’ll head to Puerto Vallarta for the VidantaWorld Mexico Open. That’s a 2,600-mile flight, though they’ll likely be on charters, since a commercial filght takes almost 14 hours with layovers.
The Stanford alum hit a 9-iron from 122 yards on the eight hole. The ball took a small hop and bounced into the cup for an ace. And in the video, we could hear exactly one person clapping for it. “No one even screamed on the green,” said Lee, who traded rather subdued high-fives with the caddies and playing partners.
The prize deserved a bigger celebration, because Lee won a BMW Mini Countryman car. "It feels awesome,” Lee said. "It honestly came when I least expected it. I wasn't even looking at the car. I just wanted to hit a good shot, and somehow it went in.”
Funnily enough, the last time Lee made an ace, in the LPGA Shanghai pro-am, she got a toy car. "I was like, I don't want this. I want the real thing," she said. "So I got the real thing today."
After an opening 78, the ace helped Lee shoot 66 in the second round. She followed that with a 70 on Saturday and sits T-45. Korean Haeran Ryu—the winner of two majors this season—takes a four-shot lead into the final round.
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view allThe 35-year-old posted this statement on Instagram on Friday: “Wanted to confirm that I will not be a part of LIV 2.0. A big thank you to everyone for their continued support. I am excited for what the next chapter of my career holds. Looking forward to seeing you all in Abu Dhabi.”
The latter refers to the DP World Tour’s Abu Dhabi Championship, Nov. 5-8, that Hatton won in 2021. A combined nine-time winner on the PGA Tour and DPWT, Hatton left both for LIV in 2024, following Jon Rahm, who is among the long list of established players who will no longer play on the former Saudi-backed startup league. Hatton won two individual titles on LIV and reportedly earned more than $100 million—$43.7 million on the course and a signing bonus of more than $60 million.
Ian Poulter also said on Friday that he will not go forward with LIV.
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view allIntroducing Ojaswini Saraswat, who earned a weekend tee time at the Hero Women's Indian Open. Not only that, but the youngster (Again, she's 13!) shot the low round of the day at the Ladies European Tour event with a 69, that included three consecutive birdies to end her day.
Saraswat is the second-youngest golfer to ever make a cut on the LET. The youngest? Ariya Jutanugarn back in 2008 when she was 12. And she went on to win multiple majors and become World No. 1.
Ian Poulter took to social media on Friday to announce he has "decided to not move forward with being part of LIV 2.0." The 50-year-old Englishman has been part of LIV Golf since its first tournament in 2022. Poulter said it was a "tough decision," but he wants to cut down on international travel, play some senior events, create more YouTube golf content and be around more for his sons as they pursue their own golf dreams.
One has to assume Poulter would like to get back into the Ryder Cup mix as well, although at this point, it would likely be as a captain. Poulter adds his name to a growing list of golfers leaving LIV. Only four golfers, Brendan Steele, Cameron Tringale, Richard Bland and Ben Campbell, have committed to playing on LIV 2.0.