Séamus Power entered the final round of the Bank of Utah Championship tied for 21st, and that’s how he finished after a four-under closing round left him on 17-under, nine shots behind winner Austin Smotherman who claimed his first ever PGA Tour win in what was his 100th start on tour.
Power managed to keep bogeys off his card, and birdies on the seventh and eighth holes got him to the turn at -2. Two more on the back nine – the first coming on the short par-4 14th and the last on the par-5 18th – got him to -4 for the day and he climbed up three places on the FedEx Fall Rankings to 101st with the top 100 after the RSM Classic in November retaining full status for 2027.
Smotherman recovered from his lone blunder with two great shots and was able to cruise home to a three-under 68 to win by two.
The 32-year-old Californian came into the week at No. 79 in the FedExCup and picked up some immediate rewards. He now has a two-year exemption, which includes the lucrative “Championship Series” when the new competitive model starts in 2028.
“We won on the PGA Tour. That’s insane,” he said.
Smotherman never trailed at Black Desert Resort, and he quickly built a three-shot cushion with a pair of tap-in birdies and a 35-foot birdie on the par-4 fifth.
But right when it looked as though the three-time Korn Ferry Tour winner would eliminate all drama on a beautiful afternoon in southern Utah, it changed quickly.
His approach to the par-4 13th came up short and plugged near the lip of a bunker. The best Smotherman could manage was to advance it to a flatter lie in the sand, where he blasted out to 10 feet and missed the putt to make double bogey.
Suddenly, his lead was down to one shot over Trace Crowe, who in the group ahead made a 40-foot eagle putt on the reachable par-4 14th.
Smotherman responded with a tee shot with the perfect line and distance on the 14th, landing short of the green and rolling out to six feet. He missed the eagle putt, but restored his lead to two shots. On the next hole, his approach got a good kick and rolled out to six feet again.
He missed another short birdie putt, but converted from just inside 12 feet on the 16th, giving him a comfortable lead with two holes to play.
A bogey-birdie finish put him at 26-under, easily breaking the 72-hole record at the tournament only in its third year.
“It didn’t have to be pretty,” Smotherman said. “I got some nice bounces. Made some poor swings, but this game doesn’t have to be perfect.”
Doug Ghim finished second, two shots back, with David Ford and Crowe a shot further adrift and sharing third at -23.
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