Séamus Power is just three shots off the lead going into the final round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Club, but a big final round is needed if he’s to leap into the top 100 in the FedEx Cup Fall rankings ahead of next week’s season-ending event in Sea Island, Georgia.
Power, who captured his second PGA Tour title at Port Royal back in 2022, entered the week ranked 133rd, and carded rounds of 69 and 68 on days one and two respectively to reach the halfway mark at -5 and sharing 15th.
Knowing that a big weekend was required, when his approach found the hazard on the opening hole on moving day, it looked as though it was going to be another case of opportunity spurned, but he managed to limit the damage and saved bogey, then repaired the dent with a birdie on the par-5 second.
Further birdies on the par-4 fourth and sixth holes got him to the turn at -2, and he kept his card clean on the back side, adding further birdies at 14 and 18 to card a four-under 67 – his lowest round of the week – and climb into a share of eighth place at -9 and to within three of the lead which is co-held by Adam Schenk and Braden Thornberry.
As it stands, Power is projected to climb to 126th, a long way short of the top 100 required to avoid a return to PGA Tour Q-School in mid-December, so he needs to take an aggressive mindset into Sunday’s final round.
Schenk and Thornberry are in a similar position, ranked 134th and 178th respectively, and only Max McGreevy (-11, 100th) and Vince Whaley (-9, 86th) of the players inside the top 10 came into the week projected to retain full cards for 2026.
Strong winds have been a feature of the three days so far, and more of the same – and possibly even stronger gusts – are expected on Sunday, which should suit the Waterford man who braved the elements better than anybody at this venue three years ago.
But it’s a heavily-bunched leaderboard, and the stakes are extremely high.
Power plays alongside Rikuyu Hoshino and Frankie Capan III in the third-to-last group, getting underway at 12:54 p.m. Irish time.
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