Smotherman, Power share lead in windy Bermuda Championship

SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda (AP) — Seamus Power made up a two-shot deficit over the windblown closing holes Saturday at Port Royal for a 4-under 67, giving him a share of the lead with Austin Smotherman going into the final round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

Smotherman finished off his round of 66 with a 10-foot par save while trying to play as conservatively as possible in wind that lived up its reputation in Bermuda.

It was strong enough to impress Power, the Irishman who grew up in these conditions.

“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.”

Power hammered 5-wood off the tee and into the green, both times hitting a hard draw into a wind that was ripping off the left, and he left himself 40 feet for a two-putt birdie. A final par allowed him to join Smotherman at 16-under 197.

They were two shots clear of Taylor Moore (66), and Canadians Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.) and Ben Silverman (Thornhill, Ont.), who each shot a 69.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., is tied for 17th at 10 under; A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam, B.C., and Mackenzie Hughes of Hamilton, Ont., are tied for 25th at 9 under; and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., is tied for 59th at 4 under.

Smotherman rode the wind to a nine-foot eagle putt on the par-5 seventh hole, putting him at 5 under for the round as he quickly made up ground. And then it was time to hold on down the stretch.

The wind was so severe on the par-3 16th that his chip 7-iron to a front pin wound up going into a back bunker some 35 yards long. He blasted out to the fairway just in front of the green and got that up-and-down for a bogey.

Smotherman failed to birdie the par-5 17th, and that was OK with him. He was trying to keep it simple, hitting fairways and greens and taking advantage when he could along the back nine.

“Once we turned, I felt like the wind just kept picking up,” Smotherman said. “Number 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.”

Smotherman is feeling looser than most this time of the year. He picked up his first PGA Tour title at the Utah Championship, earning a two-year exemption and all but assuring he will be in the early $20 million signature events.

Power is at No. 103 and needs to end the FedEx Cup Fall in the top 100 to keep his full status for next year. Seven of the leading 10 players on the leaderboard Saturday were outside the top 100.

More wind was in the forecast for Sunday, which Power said should work in his favour — not because he’s Irish, but it makes it harder for those behind to make up ground with birdies.

Even so, it’s usually tight at Port Royal. This is the third consecutive year the tournament has had a two-way share of the lead going into the final round. Twelve players were within four shots of the co-leaders.

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The Associated Press