Wind Wins: What the Bermuda Championship Playoff Teaches

Most golfers have played in wind that made the game feel unfair. Last weekend, the wind at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship went one step further: it ended the tournament a round early. Here is what happened, what the Rules of Golf say about stopping play, and a few practical ideas you can take into your next breezy round.

What happened in Bermuda

According to the PGA Tour (Associated Press report), the final round at Port Royal Golf Course was canceled because the wind was so strong that conditions were deemed unplayable. Austin Smotherman and Seamus Power were tied at 16-under 197 after 54 holes, so they came back on Monday morning for a playoff on the par-3 16th hole, with a strong wind gusting off the Atlantic Ocean left of the green.

The same report says both players made par on the first two playoff holes with the pin all the way back at 178 yards. Power missed a 20-foot birdie putt to win on the first extra hole, then saved par from a bunker with an 8-foot putt the next time. For the third extra hole the hole location was moved to the front of the green. Smotherman, who had twice hit 8-iron to the front section when the pin was in the back, stayed with 8-iron and left himself a birdie chance just inside 15 feet. Power's shot did not get enough help from the wind and buried in deep rough left of the green; he chopped out to just outside 15 feet and missed the par putt.

Why it mattered

Per the PGA Tour (Associated Press report), it was Smotherman's second straight FedExCup Fall win. He had also won the Bank of Utah Championship three weeks earlier, his first PGA Tour title, in his 100th career start. The report says the two wins get him into next year's U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, and moving to No. 51 in the FedExCup assures him a spot in next year's first two $20 million Signature Events at Pebble Beach and Riviera.

Power still had something to celebrate. The same report notes he was No. 103 in the standings before the week, with the top 100 at the end of the fall keeping full status, and the runner-up finish moved him to No. 68, locking up his card for 2027.

It was also a reminder that weather shapes results more often than we think. The PGA Tour (Associated Press report) notes this was the second Monday-morning playoff of the year caused by weather, after Viktor Hovland beat Scottie Scheffler at the Travelers Championship in June, and that Smotherman became the first 54-hole winner on the PGA Tour because of weather since Wyndham Clark at the 2024 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

What the Rules say about stopping play

At your club, nobody is going to cancel your Saturday round for wind. But if you play in club events, it helps to know how suspensions work. Under the Rules of Golf, Rule 5.7, a player must not stop play during a round except in a few cases: when the Committee suspends play, when players in a match agree to stop (as long as it does not delay the competition), or when a player reasonably believes there is danger from lightning, in which case they must report to the Committee as soon as possible.

The same Rule describes two kinds of Committee suspensions:

• Immediate suspension (such as imminent danger): you must not make another stroke until the Committee resumes play.
• Normal suspension (such as darkness or an unplayable course): if your group is between holes, you stop. If anyone in the group has started the hole, the group may choose to stop or play out the hole, and should normally take no more than about two minutes to decide.

When play resumes, Rule 5.7c says you restart from where you stopped on the hole, or at the next teeing area if you were between holes, even if that is on a later day. The penalty for getting these steps wrong can be disqualification, so it is worth knowing.

How will you know? At USGA championships, the USGA suspension of play procedures use air horns: one prolonged note for an immediate suspension, three consecutive notes for a normal suspension, and two short notes to resume play. Your club may use its own signals, so check the local notice before an event.

One more detail from the R&A clarifications on Rule 5: if the Committee signals an immediate suspension, trying to hit one quick shot first, for example to take advantage of a favourable wind, is given as an example of continuing play that is not justified. Safety comes first.

Our take: playing better in the wind

The playoff is a neat case study in choosing a club and sticking with it. What follows is our opinion, not a rule or a stat, but it is what we would tell any everyday golfer heading out on a gusty day:

1. Pick a target that respects the wind, not the flag. In the playoff, the middle and front of the green were the safe play for one player while the other came up short and left. On your course, aim for the part of the green the wind will not punish you for missing.
2. Commit to one plan. Changing clubs or targets mid-swing thought is how wind turns a bogey into a double. Decide, then swing.
3. Make the short-sided miss expensive in your head. Deep rough on the downwind side is a real problem. Leaving yourself 15 feet beats a chop-out every time.
4. Expect higher scores and keep perspective. If the pros can have a round wiped out by wind, your windy-day 92 is not a disaster.
5. Keep up the pace. Wind rounds can drag. Our pace-of-play guide has simple habits that help.

Track your windy rounds

A round in a gale and a round on a calm morning tell very different stories. When you log a round on PingAces, you can share rounds and photos with your crew, then look back at your trends on the stats dashboard described on our features page. If you play late into the season, our guide to frost delays and winter rules covers the other weather your course might throw at you.

Sources

• PGA Tour (Associated Press report): "Austin Smotherman makes it two wins in a row with playoff victory over Seamus Power at Butterfield Bermuda Championship" (October 26, 2026)
• Rules of Golf, Rule 5.7 (The R&A and USGA)
• R&A clarifications on Rule 5
• USGA suspension of play procedures

The featured image is an AI-generated illustration and does not show the actual course or players.