The Butterfield Bermuda Championship will move earlier in the golf calendar next year.

Sports minister Owen Darrell revealed at the close of the tournament on Sunday that the 2026 edition would be held from October 22 to 25, with the decision to bring the event forward coming about because of the difficulty in completing rounds in daylight hours.

The announcement will be welcomed by players and spectators left frustrated with play suspended as a result of darkness in the first two rounds at Port Royal Golf Course this year.

“Next year it’s moving forward a bit so we’ll have a bit more daylight,” Darrell told The Royal Gazette. “The tournament week dates are October 19 to 25, 2026.”

Among those affected when play was suspended this year was local trio Kenny Leseur, Oliver Betschart and Will Haddrell, who were forced to complete their round the following day.

Darrell was on hand at Port Royal to present the winner’s trophy and had the opportunity to meet with tournament organisers who were pleased with the condition of the course.

“The golf course was in amazing shape,” he said.

“I had a conversation with one of the officials from the PGA and it was ironic that a year ago he met with me and was unhappy with the conditions of Port Royal. He gave us a stern warning that we needed to improve the condition of the course so that players would continue to want to come and play in this tournament.

“I’m happy that I had a conversation with him after the round and he said the improvement was a marked improvement. He said the players, even the champion [Adam Schenk] was very complimentary and I was very intentional that I made sure that the chairman of the golf course, Jason Wade, got all of the credit.”

Newly crowned champion Schenk commended Port Royal’s groundstaff for what he described as a “phenomenal job” under trying circumstances in the wake of hurricanes Imelda and Melissa last month.

“I can’t believe how good of a job they do at this course with two hurricanes in the last month,” he said.

“It seemed as though every time we turned the weather channel on there was another hurricane hitting Bermuda, so they do truly a phenomenal job.”

Darrell also praised the efforts of local trio Leseur, Haddrell and Betschart, who missed the cut.

“I was very proud and was there on Thursday and Friday to make sure I saw the locals play,” he said.

“I saw Will come up 18 and the applause that he got was the same thing with Oliver and Kenny, who was the high Bermudian.”

Looking at the overall picture, Darrell summed up this year’s tournament as a “success”.

“I was really, really pleased with the tournament,” he said. “Overall, the locals looked like they had a good time whether you were a golf enthusiasts or not.

“I know that people really enjoy going up to Port Royal; so job well done to all organisers, job well done to all spectators and job well done to anybody that had a hand in making the Butterfield Bermuda Championship a success.

“Also, I want to thank the organisers for ensuring that safety was put first in the windy conditions Some were a little unhappy that the party ended early, but we had to make sure that all safety precautions were taken because it was very windy.”