Seamus Power had his worst round of the week on Sunday but he did enough to fend off the challengers and claim the Butterfield Bermuda Championship with a score of 19 under par.

It is the second PGA Tour title of Power's career after the 2021 Barbasol Championship, but it was anything but smooth sailing down the stretch.

Power owned a share of the lead heading into the final round after a trio of 65s, and he was bogey-free with three birdies through 12 holes on Sunday before the nerves began to show.

He posted bogeys on 13, 15 and 16, but a birdie on 17 gave him a two-stroke lead on the final hole, and he needed that buffer as he also bogeyed the last to close with a 70.

Speaking to NBC after stepping off the 18th green, Power called the course "a tale of two sides", and reflected on how different it feels to get his second win.

"I knew it was going to be really hard coming in, and it was," he said. "I made hard work of it in the end, but delighted to get it done.

"It's a completely different feeling [from my first win], but just as special. It's just so hard, I've played a lot of tournaments and it's only my second win from – I don't even know how many events.

"It's amazing, it's special, it's going to take a while to sink in, but absolutely over the moon."

Alone in second place at 18 under was Belgium's Thomas Detry, while the joint-leader heading into Sunday, Ben Griffin, shot a one-over 72 to finish tied for third at 17 under.

Joining Griffin was Taiwan's Kevin Yu and America's Patrick Rodgers, with the latter's 65 tying for Sunday's second-best score.

Two Australians worked their way into the top-10 as Aaron Baddeley finished tied with Denny McCarthy for sixth place at 16 under, while Harrison Endycott was two strokes further back alone in 10th.

Louis Oosthuizen beat Bryson DeChambeau 1up in 23 holes to secure a spot for Stinger GC in the LIV Golf Championship in Miami on Sunday after a 2-1 team semi-finals win on Saturday.

Saturday's semi-finals were match play, with Sunday's Championship to be stroke play, but Oosthuizen and DeChambeau offered plenty of drama in their singles match at Trump National Doral.

With Stinger and the Crushers tied at 1-1, the pair could not be split until the fifth extra hole, with Oosthuizen having a long-range putt for victory fall short on the 18th hole.

But the South African swooped when DeChambeau's tee shot on the fifth extra hole found the water, with Oosthuizen finishing the job.

"At the end I think the adrenaline took over in the last few holes," the South African said. "It was a great match.

"I don’t know how many birdies we made, but very relieved now. I thought the boys had it covered so when I saw Branden [Grace] lost and I'm like 'oh boy I've got to do something here', so very chuffed."

Grace was beaten by Paul Casey in their singles match, but Charl Schwartzel and Hennie du Plessis had won 2up in the alternate shot against Charles Howell III and Anirban Lahiri.

Dustin Johnson and his 4Aces GC also advanced to Sunday's decider with a 2-1 win over Cleeks GC.

Pat Perez and Talor Gooch held off Graeme McDowell and Richard Bland in extra holes to clinch the winning point.

Cameron Smith's Punch GC knocked off Sergio Garcia's Firebirds GC 2-1, while Brooks Koepka's Smash GC were too good for Majesticks GC 3-0.

Irishman Seamus Power produced the best round of the third day to move into a share of the lead with Ben Griffin at 18-under overall at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship on Saturday.

The co-leaders' three rounds of 195 is a new tournament record and came in difficult conditions with strong winds at Port Royal Golf Course impacting play.

Power carded a third straight six-under 65, bouncing back from a double bogey on the par-three 13th hole with back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th holes to grab the lead at a windy Port Royal Golf Course.

The 35-year-old Irishman had managed four consecutive birdies from the second to fifth holes, before he sunk a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-three 16th and brilliantly escaped an awkward lie on a slope on the par-five 17th.

Griffin, who walked away from golf nearly two years ago before returning last season, carded a five-under-round of 66 on Saturday, also coming unstuck on the 13th with a bogey before returning into the joint lead with a closing birdie after an exquisite approach.

Kevin Yu and Aaron Baddeley are next best, tied two shots behind at 16-under overall, with Brian Gay carding his third successive round of 66 to be alone at 15-under overall.

Greyson Sigg and Thomas Detry are a stroke back at 14 under, while Brent Grant shot into the lead early after six straight birdies early but three bogeys and a double bogey on his back nine saw him card a two-under 69 and be 11-under overall.

Halfway leader Ben Crane shot a two-over 73 to slip six shots off the pace and down the leaderboard at 12-under overall. Crane bogeyed four of five holes from the 13th to the 17th to slide out of contention.

Ben Crane shot Friday's round of the day at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, with his nine-under 62 propelling him to the top of the leaderboard heading into the weekend at 14 under.

In his second trip around Bermuda's Port Royal Golf Course, Crane collected nine birdies and one eagle with his two bogeys to sit alone atop the leaderboard as the 46-year-old seeks his first PGA Tour win since the 2014 FedEx St Jude Classic.

He is one stroke clear of a five-man group at 13 under, including joint first-round leader Austin Smotherman, as well as rising talent Robby Shelton and Australia's Aaron Baddeley.

A strong international contingent is tied for seventh at 12 under, headlined by Ireland's Seamus Power, and he is joined by Taiwan's Kevin Yu, China's Zecheng Dou and Colombia's Nico Echavarria.

Belgium's Thomas Detry and Argentina's Fabian Gomez are at 11 under, while Harrison Endycott – who was tied with Smotherman for the first-round lead – followed his opening 62 with a disappointing 70 to enter the weekend four strokes off the pace.

Caleb Surratt is the top amateur in the field at seven under after enjoying a strong seven-under 64 in his second round, shaking off the nerves following his 71 on Thursday to sit well inside the projected cut-line.

In the headline matchup from the first day of the LIV Golf Team Championship, Cameron Smith finished 1up against Phil Mickelson to help Punch GC advance past Hy Flyers GC in Friday's quarter-finals.

The format for the Team Championship has the top-four teams automatically advancing to Saturday's semi-finals, while teams five-through-12 battled it out on the opening day.

With teams of four, it meant there would be two one-on-one match play rounds, as well as a two-on-two foursomes played with alternate shot rules, with the team who wins two-out-of-three getting to advance.

For Punch GC, Smith was matched up with Mickelson, and they went onto the 18th hole tied, before Mickelson left the door open with a bogey to finish his round, allowing Smith to secure one win for his team with a par.

Smith's Australian teammate Marc Leishman enjoyed a much more dominant victory, working his way to a 4up lead through seven holes on his way to a 4 and 2 win against J.J. Wolf. Hy Flyers did salvage one point despite getting eliminated, with the duo of Bernd Wiesberger and Cameron Tringale beating Wade Ormsby and Matt Jones 3 and 2.

It was a three-to-zero clean sweep for Majesticks GC, with Ian Poulter beating Kevin Na 4 and 2, Lee Westwood defeating Sihwan Kim 4 and 3, and the team of Sam Horsfield with Henrik Stenson collecting a 4 and 2 victory over Sadom Kaewkanjana and Phachara Khongwatmai.

For Smash GC it was Chase pulling through for the Koepka clan as Brooks Koepka fell convincingly in a 4 and 3 loss to Niblicks GC's Harold Varner III.

But Smash GC will move on to the semi-finals after Chase Koepka and Jason Kokrak beat Turk Petit and Hudson Swafford 2 and 1, while Peter Uihlein hammered James Piot 5 and 3.

In the last quarter-final, Cleeks GC booked their semi-final matchup against Dustin Johnson and the top-seeded 4 Aces GC after winning two-out-of-three against Torque GC.

Joaquinn Niemann did all he could for Torque GC, cruising past Shergo Al Kurdi 5 and 3 after Al Kurdi stepped in for Cleeks GC captain Martin Kaymer, who was a late withdrawal.

But Laurie Canter kept his team in it with a narrow 1up win over Jediah Morgan, before Graeme McDowell and Richard Bland put Torque GC through to the next round with a 2up victory against Scott Vincent and Adrian Otaegui.

The eight remaining teams will compete in the same format in the semi-finals, with Cameron Smith against Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia shaping up as the main event.

About 100 golfers are expected to compete for US$100,000 in prize money when the Jamaica Golf Association’s (JGA) 55th Jamaica Open Golf Championship tees off at Tryall Golf Club from Saturday, November 12-Tuesday, November 15.

This year, the tournament will honour the late Seymour Rose who won the Open in 1977, 1982 and 1987.

“Seymour is really one of the icons of Jamaica’s golf and we don't want to forget him,” said JGA member Gordon Hutchinson at the launch on Wednesday.

“We want to remember him. We want him to be associated with Jamaica Open for a long time.  His name will always be there on the records as a past winner.  Seymour was outstanding because he was such a gentleman, in addition to being a golfer.  He did a lot for young golfers coming up.  He was a very humble person and you can approach him anytime and he would assist you irrespective of who you are.”

Meanwhile, Vice-President of the JGA Dr. Mark Newnham, said the association managed to overcome the challenges associated with the pandemic to make this year’s tournament possible.

"We are just so proud, so excited to host this championship,” he said.

“We struggled a little bit with staging this during Covid.  Our protocols are going to be a little bit more relaxed this time and we couldn't be happier to stage this our 55th event.  The Jamaica Open is our premier event."

With the start less than a month away, Chairman of the organizing committee Peter Chin said everything is going according to plan and they are expecting up to 100 golfers to compete at the tournament.

"We are very happy with where we are now, all the plans are in place, so far so good.  We have sponsorship in place. We have the golf course in place.  We have players who are registering and paid their entry fees,” he said.

“So far we have 65 players and we are hoping to reach to 100 by tournament day.  We are happy that a number of the past winners are coming back; Michael Maguire, who won last year, and Patrick Cover who won the year before.  Both players have graduated to the Korn Ferry tour but they seem to have a liking to the Jamaica Open so they are coming back to play."

The tournament is being sponsored by Aqua Bay, Tourism Enhancement Fund, SDF, Tryall Golf Course, JTL Jamaica Tours Limited, Digicel Business, Jamaica Producers, Rain Forest, Wisynco, Barita and First Rock.

Former United States president Donald Trump was full of praise for LIV Golf after his pro-am round, as he plays host for the controversial tour's end-of-season Team Championship this weekend at Trump National Doral Golf Club.

Trump played with Brooks Koepka and Sergio Garcia on Thursday in yet another appearance on behalf of the Saudi-funded golf venture, having also previously hosted the tour's third-ever event at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in July.

He has long had issues with the PGA Tour after a number of events were moved away from Trump-owned golf courses, and he touched on that fact again during his media appearance following his round.

Doral itself used to host a PGA Tour event from 1962 until 2016. Trump purchased the venue in 2012, and after gaining the presidency in 2016, the PGA Tour opted to instead move the event to Mexico.

"[The players] never wanted to go to Mexico, I’ll tell you that," Trump said. "They went and that didn’t work out too well."

He went on to give LIV Golf his stamp of approval, calling the organisers and leadership "really good people", while highlighting their ability for bottomless spending.

"It’s big time, and it’s big-time money – it’s unlimited money," he said. "They love golf, and the Saudis have done a fantastic job. It’s different, the enthusiasm."

Trump predicted more big names would decide to make the jump next season, and blamed the PGA Tour for not working out a compromise.

"Ultimately, I think, maybe, something gets worked out [between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf]," he said.

"Something could have been worked out so easily, but the [PGA] Tour decided to, as Richard Nixon said, stonewall it.

"A lot of other people are coming over. Big names, they’re coming over. The star system is very important in sports. If you don’t have the star system, you’re not going to be successful."

Austin Smotherman and Harrison Endycott shot nine-under 62s in the opening round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship on Thursday to claim a share of the lead.

America's Smotherman, 28, started like a house on fire, following his opening par with six birdies from his next eight holes. He then finished in similar fashion, with three birdies from his final four holes while going bogey-free.

Australia's Endycott, 26, took a different route to his 62, collecting eagles on the par-five seventh and 17th holes. After starting his back-nine with back-to-back bogeys, he steadied the ship with four consecutive birdies in an action-packed round.

That pairing is one stroke clear of the chasing pack, with India's Arjun Atwal joining Americans Adam Schenk, Scott Brown, Denny McCarthy and Robby Shelton at eight under.

Justin Lower started on the back-nine and had five birdies from his first eight holes on his way to a bogey-free 64 and a tie for eighth, where he is joined by Belgium's Thomas Detry. One further back, Ireland's Seamus Power headlines the group at six under with Australia's Aaron Baddeley, South Africa's M.J. Daffue and China's Zecheng Dou.

Scotland's Russell Knox, Austria's Matthias Schwab and France's Martin Trainer are part of a 25-player group four strokes off the lead at five under.

Kim Seong-hyeon, who entered the tournament as the highest ranked member of the field in the early-season FedEx Cup standings (18th) is well in the mix at four under, and fan-favourite John Daly shot an even-par 71.

Henrik Stenson has emphatically denied suggestions he accepted the Ryder Cup captaincy to gain negotiating power for a more lucrative offer with the LIV Golf International Series.

The 46-year-old was stripped of Team Europe captaincy duties for next September's Ryder Cup after joining the Saudi-backed breakaway league in July.

Stenson won his first LIV Golf event in Bedminster at the start of August, aiming a dig at his dismissal as he stated "I guess we can agree I played like a captain".

As the Swede prepares for the last LIV Golf event of the season in Miami, Stenson refuted reports he had used his Ryder Cup offer to leverage a more financially rewarding offer with his new employers.

"I can give you a 100 per cent honest answer that it was never the case," he told Sportsmail. "I would be willing to take a lie-detector test on that."

Numerous former Ryder Cup captains, including Padraig Harrington and Mark James, concluded Stenson could have no complaints over his captaincy removal, though he insists he does not regret his decision.

"I am happy. I thought that through in more than one afternoon. I am happy with where I am at," he added. "I managed to get a win straight out of the box and I am looking forward to next year.

"I am enjoying being with the guys on this tour. We are playing together, travelling together and it has a different vibe to regular life on tour that I did for many years. That was great. But I am enjoying this.

"I haven't played anything but LIV events since the summer, so I mean going forward I am getting the off-season I have wanted for 16 or 17 years.

"I am looking forward to that – getting strong and healthy in the gym and getting ready for the new season in February. I am happy."

Stenson will play in his final event of the season at Trump National Doral, starting on Friday.

Ian Poutler has refuted Rory McIlroy's claim that players joining the LIV Golf Invitational Series engaged in a "betrayal" of their former Ryder Cup team-mates.

Five players who featured in Europe's comprehensive defeat at last year's Ryder Cup have since joined the controversial breakaway circuit, including Poulter, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia.

Meanwhile, Henrik Stenson was stripped of Team Europe's captaincy for next year's competition – set to take place at Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome – following his own decision to join LIV Golf.

It remains uncertain whether players from the LIV circuit will be able to feature at the 2023 Ryder Cup, and McIlroy has repeatedly insisted they should not. 

Speaking to the Guardian on Tuesday, McIlroy went a step further, saying: "I think it is the first time in my life that I have felt betrayal, in a way. It's an unfamiliar feeling to me. You build bonds with these people through Ryder Cups and other things."

Poulter responded to that statement at a press conference ahead of LIV's next event in Miami, saying: "A betrayal? I mean, we can still qualify for the team, as far as I'm aware, unless we've been told we can't qualify.

"I'm still ready to play as much as I possibly can and try and make that team.

"My commitment to the Ryder Cup, I think goes before me. I don't think that should ever come into question. 

"I've always wanted to play Ryder Cups and play with as much passion as anyone else that I've ever seen play a Ryder Cup, I don't know where those comments really come from, to be honest."

Phil Mickelson – one of the first household names to join LIV Golf – spoke alongside Poulter on Wednesday but refused to engage with McIlroy's claim the circuit's feud with the PGA Tour was "out of control". 

"I think a lot of Rory, I really have the utmost respect for him, [for] what he's done in the game and how he's played this year," Mickelson said. 

"I have a tonne of respect for him. As players, we have three months off after this event to talk about things like that and so forth."

Rory McIlroy reclaimed the world number one ranking after his first win of the new season and the 23rd of his PGA Tour career, securing the CJ Cup with a score of 17 under par.

McIlroy took the outright lead on the 14th hole with his fifth birdie of the day and built a tournament-winning lead with two more birdies on the next two holes on his way to a Sunday 67. 

Those extra insurance birdies ended up coming in handy after the Northern Irishman bogeyed the final two holes, but Kurt Kitayama could not birdie the last to force a playoff.

He entered the final round leading by one stroke, and by finishing the same way, he leapfrogged Scottie Scheffler to the top of the world rankings as the American finished tied for 45th at one under.

Speaking to NBC after stepping off the final green, McIlroy spoke about his love for the game and his journey back to the top.

"It feels great," he said. "It feels great to go out there with the lead, shoot a great score, play really well and get the win. 

"It's an awesome way to start the season, I guess, and a continuation of how I feel I've been playing the past few months.

"[Becoming world number one] means a lot. I've worked so hard over the last 12 months to get myself back to this place. I feel like I'm enjoying the game as much as I ever have, I absolutely love the game of golf.

"When I go out there and play with that joy – it's definitely shown over the past few months. It feels awesome, I'm looking forward to celebrating with my team."

Kitayama finished alone in second at 16 under, with Lee Kyoung-hoon the only player in third at 15 under.

Tommy Fleetwood shot Sunday's equal second-best score with a 65 to jump up into a tie for fourth at 14 under with Jon Rahm.

Aaron Wise finished alone in sixth at 12 under and an all-American group headlined by Sam Burns rounded out the top-10, tied for seventh at 11 under.

The best fourth-round score came from Taylor Montgomery, who was three strokes better than the field on the last trip around Congaree Golf Cup with his nine-under 62 – finishing his tournament at nine under after entering the round at even par.

Yannik Paul won his first title on the DP World Tour in dramatic circumstances on Sunday, claiming a "dream" victory on the final hole at the Mallorca Golf Open.

Paul took a share of the lead into the final round at Son Muntaner Golf Club, but fell behind Marcus Armitage after going two-over-par through the first 15 holes on Sunday.

However, Armitage slipped up over the next two holes to hand Paul a shot at his first title, with Paul Waring and Nicolai von Dellingshausen watching from the clubhouse after both finished 14-under.

Germany's Paul handled the pressure impressively, though, converting a 15-foot birdie attempt on the 18th to avoid a play-off with the duo and seal a one-shot win.

Speaking to Sky Sports after his victory, world number 190 Paul said: "It was tough today. My ball-striking was unbelievable all week. 

"I hit it really close the first couple of holes and couldn't make any putts so that was really hard to stay in the moment.

"But luckily none of the other guys really made a lot of putts. I saw after nine holes I was in the lead, and I thought I hit a great shot on 15 but it went over the green.

"Unfortunately Marcus hit a couple of bad shots and then I couldn't have dreamed of a better ending. I'm over the moon.

"I had a lot of good chances the last couple of days that didn't go in and to finish like this is obviously a dream come true."

England's Dale Whitnell finished a shot back from Waring and Von Dellingshausen, with Ryan Fox – who began the day level with Paul – joining him in finishing 13-under.  

Rory McIlroy carded two eagles on the third day at the CJ Cup to catapult himself to the top of the leaderboard by one stroke at the Congaree Golf Club in South Carolina on Saturday.

McIlroy's four-under-par 67 moved him to 13 under after 54 holes, ahead of Lee Kyoung-hoon, who tied the day's lowest round with 66, Kurt Kitayama and halfway leader Jon Rahm who are all 12 under.

Taylor Moore and Aaron Wise are next best, both a further two shots back at 10 under ahead of the final day.

McIlroy's round included three bogeys and three birdies, but was highlighted by eagles on the par-five fourth hole and par-five 12th.

The Northern Irishman, who is the defending CJ Cup champion, approached from 227 yards with a long iron that landed within two feet of the flag on the fourth. McIlroy holed out up a slight hill for a 32-foot eagle on the 12th.

McIlroy's round also included a touch of fortune on the 15th when a heavy shot hit a sprinkler head to slow it up nicely on the green, leading to par.

Lee stormed into contention with six birdies across his round, managing a fine approach on the 17th to card one of only three birdies of the day on that hole.

Rahm also achieved that feat on the penultimate hole to help resurrect his hopes, after three bogeys in four holes in the middle of his round.

Kitayama, who had been second behind Rahm coming into the third day, had his worst round of the tournament, carding a one-under 70.

South Korean phenom Tom Kim carded a two-under 69 to be nine-under overall, while Tommy Fleetwood and Maverick McNealy both managed rounds of 66 to be eight under.

World number one Scottie Scheffler's miserable CJ Cup continued with a three-over 74, leaving him well off the pace, while Wyndham Clark provided a bright point with an ace on the par-three 10th.

Jon Rahm was the star of the show on Friday at the CJ Cup, shooting a nine-under 62 to jump all the way up into a share for first place at 11 under with Kurt Kitayama.

Rahm's 62 came after an opening 69, raising his birdie count from six to 10, while cutting his bogeys from four to one as he figured out the Congaree Golf Club course.

Kitayama has been a much steadier presence this week, posting rounds of 66 and 65, with his second round highlighted by an impressive eagle on the par-five 12th hole.

Those two players lead the pack by one stroke, with Australia's Cam Davis and America's Aaron Wise tied for third at 10 under with back-to-back 66s.

Rory McIlroy is alone in fifth at nine under after following a front-nine score of 37 with an impressive 30 on the back-nine, and he is two strokes clear of a logjam tied for sixth at seven under.

The group includes young phenom Tom Kim, as well as former major champion Shane Lowry and England's Tyrrell Hatton, while Masters champion Danny Willett is a further shot back at six under.

Presidents Cup representatives Max Homa and Im Sung-jae enter the weekend six strokes off the pace at five under, with former world number one Jason Day at four under and current world number one Scottie Scheffler at three under.

Being an invitational event with no cut, Collin Morikawa (three under), Rickie Fowler (two under), Justin Thomas (one under) and Hideki Matsuyama (even par) will all get to stick around and play two more rounds.

The PGA Tour has filed a federal civil lawsuit against LIV Golf's financial backers, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and governor Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan, per filings in Manhattan.

The complaint, filed under seal in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, is the latest move in the bitter war between golf's leading organisation and its breakaway opponent.

It follows the PGA Tour filing a counter-suit against LIV Golf last month, levelling accusations of interference in player contracts.

More than 30 players have been suspended from competing on the tour since their defection, while US players have been excluded from Ryder Cup consideration.

A number of players previously filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour, though several – including six-time major champion Phil Mickelson – have been asked to be removed from that action.

Al-Rumayyan is also the chairman of Premier League outfit Newcastle United and heads up Saudi-owned petroleum company Saudi Aramco.

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