Seamus Power Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

Seamus Power making himself at home at Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi

Matt Smith — Thu, 12 Jan 2023 10:01:23 +0000

Séamus Power was relishing getting to know both teams ahead of the Hero Cup as he set his sights on potentially playing alongside some of them again in September.

The Irishman has lived in the United States for many years since playing college golf at East Tennessee State University and won his second PGA Tour title at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in October.

He joined the DP World Tour as an affiliate member last season and secured two top 10 finishes as he looks to establish himself more on his home continent, and this week is surrounded by 19 of the Tour’s best at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

Power and his nine Great Britain & Ireland teammates will go up against 10 players representing Continental Europe in five sets of four-balls, 10 sets of foursomes and 10 singles matches, with every player competing in every session across three days.

The relaxed build up has meant the 35-year-old has got to spend time with both his own team and those from the continent, and he is happy to build relationships as he aims for a Ryder Cup debut later this year.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “We don’t play much (matchplay) obviously anymore. A lot of the stuff we played growing up was matchplay and it’s a different game. Everything just feels a little different.

“It is my first time being part of a team for a long time so really looking forward to the experience. Even the last day has been a lot of fun, getting to meet fellas I wouldn’t have known particularly well. It’s been great so far and looking forward to the week.

“The team-room set-up has been fantastic. Last night was a little different. Both teams were together. Today we have been kind of separate all day. It’s been good, though. I know some of the guys but getting to know some of the other guys.

“It really is good. We don’t really get many opportunities like this in golf. You’re always playing for yourself. So something like this, it’s going to be totally different.”

Power’s countryman and teammate this week Shane Lowry made his Ryder Cup debut in the last contest at Whistling Straits and is delighted to see a host of Europe’s rising stars try to make an impression this week.

“The two best players in the world are European players at the minute I feel with Jon (Rahm) and Rory (McIlroy). It’s up to us, the rest of the lads to get our game to a level where we are good enough to win the Ryder Cup at the end of the year.

“It’s great for the younger lads that are here this week to be around the likes of Francesco (Molinari) and Tommy (Fleetwood) and myself and Tyrrell (Hatton) and lads like that.

“I feel like we have the bonds of a very strong team come September and I hope that we all step up when it comes to it.

“One of my main goals this year is to win the Ryder Cup and I hope to be a part of that team and hoping to there and hopefully win it back.”

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Seamus Power hangs on for victory in Bermuda, and offers a lesson in winning ugly

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 07:59:36 +0000

By Dave Shedloski
Treading water doesn’t really get you anywhere, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t an important endeavour. Ask Seamus Power, who managed to keep from sinking in the final round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship just long enough to claim his second victory on the PGA Tour.

Taking advantage of the opening provided by playing partner Ben Griffin, who led with seven holes to play until gurgling to the finish, Power did just enough for a one-under 70 at Port Royal Golf Course to hang on for a one-stroke victory over Thomas Detry of Belgium. The Irishman, who came in as the highest-ranked player in the field at 48th in the Official World Golf Ranking, scraped it home in heavy winds to finish at 19-under 265 and walked off with a check for $1.17 million.

“I knew it was going to be hard coming in and it was. I mean, I made hard work of it in the end, but I’m delighted to get it done,” said Power, 35, who now owns victories in consecutive years after winning the 2021 Barbasol Championship.

A win is a beautiful thing, but the manner in which Power got his in Southampton, Bermuda, was of the sausage-making variety — not exactly a process you want to watch even if the end result is tasty. The elements contributed greatly to the equation, mostly in the form of subtraction as the incessant breeze wreaked havoc on the leaders coming in.

Power bogeyed four of his last six holes, including the 18th, but he mixed in two key birdies. He holed a 25-footer at the par-4 14th hole, which gave him the outright lead for the first time all day, and then he got up and down from behind the green at the par-5 17th to put him two strokes ahead of Detry, who holed out from the right greenside bunker at 18 for birdie to shoot 67 and post 266.

For much of the afternoon, the tournament looked to belong to Griffin, the rookie from North Carolina who 18 months ago was working as a loan officer for a mortgage company because the financials of playing professional golf weren’t adding up at the time. But he found his way back into the game, graduated from the Korn Ferry Tour in September, and got himself in a tie for the lead with Power after 54 holes (with a record score of 18-under 195) in just his eighth career start.

Griffin, 26, birdied four of his first six holes for an early two-stroke lead, got caught at the turn, and then forged two ahead of Power again with birdies at 10 and 11. But Port Royal picks up in difficulty starting at the 12th with holes more exposed to the wind along the coast.

Short misses for par at the next two holes initiated a brutal slide down the leaderboard for Griffin in which he gave back six shots in five holes. He still managed a one-over 72 and tied for third at 17-under 267 with another rookie Kevin Yu, who had a 70, and Patrick Rodgers, whose 65 was low round of the day.

“Not how I wanted to finish, but it was playing tough out there,” Griffin said. “Those are some of the toughest holes coming down the stretch, especially trying to win a PGA Tour event. I tried my best. I had a couple shots get loose in the wind. and you’ve got to be a little bit better, more precise when it gets windy like that or else you can kind of grind for pars and bogeys quick. That happened to me.”

Power, one of four players who have made the cut in all four editions of this event, certainly earned the victory, converting a tournament-record 28 birdies thanks to strong approach play and putting, stats in which he ranked in the top-10 in the field. Making his 138th tour start, his experience also came to bear on the proceedings.

“Yeah, I just kept reminding myself I know this course well enough. I wasn’t making many mistakes, and I was very confident,” Power said. “He [Griffin] birdied 10 and 11 to get two ahead again, and I had a couple chances there that I just missed. But again, I just kept reminding myself if I could just stay in there. I knew that that stretch, there’s very few people not going to drop shots there. I knew if I had a chance standing on 12 tee, I thought a little bit more experience having been there before, having played this tournament a few times before, I thought it would stand to me and it just about did in the end.”

The victory will move Power to No. 32 in the world and extended his exempt status on tour through 2024. Oddly, Power, who grew up playing competitively against fellow Irish golfers Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, claims that if he hadn’t made it in professional golf he would have become an accountant. So, in the end, the would-be accountant beat the one-time mortgage lender.

In the final, ahem, accounting, Power was most happy with the job security as a golfer.

“You know, the thing when you don’t have the exemption is like every year is year-to-year and it’s tough going. So an extra couple years is fantastic. To be able to focus on just practicing and improving and just playing my own game and not really worrying about all that stuff,” he said.

“I noticed that last season having the winner’s exemption for ‘21-’22, I was really able to play much more freely like when you’re up near the lead, and I think that’s a nice thing to be able to do. That’s also a goal to be doing anyway, but sometimes it’s a little harder than normal. So it’s going to be great. It gets a lot of bonuses. It opens doors as you get higher in the World Rankings, all those kind of things are just all positives.”

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DP World Tour: Jorge Campillo takes charge at Irish Open as home hopes Lowry and Power thrill crowds

Matt Smith — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 22:28:57 +0000

By Matt Smith

Spaniard Jorge Campillo took command at he Horizon Irish Open as he grabbed the halfway lead on Friday with a four-under 68 at Mount Juliet Estate, as home favourites Seamus Power and Shane Lowry put on a thrilling late show for the jubilant Irish fans.

The County Kilkenny venue saw four seasons in a day as heavy rain and cold weather moved in for the afternoon starters, but not before Campillo had set the clubhouse target at 11-under in more favourable morning conditions.

Power and Lowry, playing together in front of huge crowds, set off on different paths early on in the tricky conditions — World No. 36 Power embarked on a birdie run of five in seven holes at the midway point of his round to move right into contention, while former Open Champion Lowry struggled to get going and was in clear danger of missing the cut.

A stunning finish, however, delighted the local support as Lowry birdied all of the last four holes — finishing in style by holing a 20-footer at the last amid wild celebrations — to make the cut by a shot, while Power also picked up a birdie at the challenging final hole to move to eight under par.

The 35-year-old, who grew up less than an hour away in County Waterford, will enter the weekend just three shots off the pace. Recent US Senior Open winner Padraig Harrington will also entertain the spectators at the weekend after he finished with back-to-back birdies to join Lowry on a three under par total.

“I played great over the last two days, so I can’t complain,” said Campillo. “It was great two days. Today was a little tougher than yesterday and I managed to play okay as well, so I’m quite happy about it.

“I’m not so good in the rain but the guys from the UK and Ireland, they are quite good, so they still play good. But it’s definitely it’s going to play longer. It’s harder definitely in the rain and it’s still a little windy. So I think it’s going to be a tough afternoon if stay like this.

“It’s going to be a hard weekend but just looking forward to it. If I can keep putting the ball in play off the tee, hitting good irons like I’ve been doing, not missing short putts, missed a few today, it will be a good weekend I think.”

Lowry added: “It was pretty cool. To be honest, I had kind of resigned myself to the fact I was going home, packing my bags. Don’t know if I’ve ever birdied the last four to make a cut so that’s a first. I’m just happy to be in the weekend.

“Everybody knows how much this tournament means to me and how much I want to be here. Quite a few people come to see me play and nice to have them here now and I’m looking forward to the weekends.”

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DP World Tour: Irish stars Lowry, Harrington and Power relishing Mount Juliet homecoming

Matt Smith — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 01:08:23 +0000

By Matt Smith
Padraig Harrington, this weeks US Senior Open champion, Shane Lowry and Seamus Power are ready to give the fans a treat at the Horizon Irish Open at Mount Juliet.

The home favourites will be backed by Irish golf fans in their thousands, with a sold-out weekend, as all three players return to compete on home soil for the first time this year.

Harrington, the 2007 winner of this event, arrives in County Kilkenny having secured his maiden Senior Major title at last week’s US Senior Open at Saucon Valley, where he earned a one-stroke victory over fellow former Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker.

Power, the World No. 36, returns to his home Open for the first time in three years and the first time since becoming a PGA Tour winner at the 2021 Barbasol Championship in Kentucky.

The highest-ranked player in the field at Mount Juliet is 2019 Open Champion Lowry, who currently occupies 24th on the Official World Golf Ranking, and arrives home off the back of an excellent run of form during which he has missed only one cut in 2022.

Australia’s Lucas Herbert will defend the title he won in wire-to-wire fashion at Mount Juliet last year, while Rolex Series winners Tyrrell Hatton, Thomas Pieters, Aaron Rai and Min Woo Lee will also tee it up this week.

“It’s great to be back after a win,” said Harrington. “Great to have won on the Champions Tour. I’ve gone out there for that very reason, to win, rather than play regular events and finish in the top 10.

“It can be tough being at your home Open, especially if you don’t play well or you’re in the middle of the pack and things aren’t going so well, you feel like you’re letting down the fans.

“I think Mount Juliet lends itself to a great event. It’s got a great atmosphere. All the players are on site. So the players enjoy themselves, and with the crowds coming in, there should be a great buzz.

Lowry added: “I say it every year, it’s always great to come back to this event. It’s kind of close to me, and I owe a lot to it for where I am in the game with the start that I had with the Irish Open in 2009 and it gave me the kickstart to my career that I really needed. It definitely gave me one up on the rest of the guys around my level at the time.

Power said: “It’s one I’ve had circled on the calendar for probably six months now, it’s going to be great. I haven’t played since 2019 as obviously the last couple years with COVID has been tricky. I think it’s going to be sold out, and it’s going to be a great week.”

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Jhonattan Vegas withdraws from Sony Open after positive COVID-19 test

Golf Digest Middle East — Thu, 14 Jan 2021 02:20:57 +0000

Minas Panagiotakis

By Joel Beall
Jhonattan Vegas has withdrawn from the Sony Open after testing positive for COVID-19.

Vegas, 36, announced the news on Twitter Tuesday evening.

“Not exactly how I had planned to start this season in the PGA Tour,” Vegas wrote. “Unfortunately I just tested positive for COVID-19 and will be missing the next two tournaments. I hope I can come back stronger from this.”

Vegas is a three-time tour winner and member of the 2017 Presidents Cup team but missed the FedEx Cup Playoffs last year and is coming off a rough fall, failing to make the weekend in three of seven starts with just one top-25 finish. Because of the positive test, Vegas must now go into self-quarantine, adhering to CDC guidelines.

It is the second positive COVID-19 test for the PGA Tour in 2021, with Jim Herman dropping out of the Sentry Tournament of Champions. Webb Simpson and Xander Schauffele tested positive during the 2020 holiday season but were able to produce negative results in order to play in Maui last week.

Seamus Power will replace Vegas in the Sony Open field.

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FedEx Cup bubble boys sweat through Sunday at the Wyndham Championship

Golf Digest Middle East — Tue, 22 Aug 2017 05:53:05 +0000

GREENSBORO, NC – AUGUST 17: JJ Henry putts on the 5th green during the first round of the Wyndham Championship on August 17, 2017 at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, NC. (Photo by William Howard/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

By Brian Wacker
With two missed cuts and a WD in a three-year span at the Wyndham Championship, there’s little wonder that Henrik Stenson for years chose to skip the PGA Tour’s regular-season finale. Not to mention it comes amid a busy stretch of golf and precedes the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

The 41-year-old Swede decided to return to Sedgefield Country Club this year, though. First and foremost, adding the trip to Greensboro, N.C., would help him hit his minimum number of tournaments required on the tour.

He ended up getting a lot more out of it than that.

Stenson bookended a couple of 66s with an opening 62 and a closing 64 to win by one stroke over Ollie Schniederjans. It was Stenson’s first victory since the 2016 British Open and first in the U.S. since 2013.

“It’s funny how it goes,” Stenson said. “Sometimes it’s just a coincidence why you decide to go to a tournament and make a change in your schedule.”

The victory reminded him of one he had late in 2012, winning in South Africa. It was his first in three years and kickstarted Stenson on a run of terrific golf that included three wins, four runner-up finishes and three third-place finishes in 2013.

Playing in the Wyndham this year means that Stenson will make five starts in a six-week span, culminating in the Tour Championship and a chance at a second FedEx Cup title to go with the one he won in 2013.

Martin Flores, meanwhile, is just thankful to have another week to play. All it took was a hole-in-one.

After starting the week 139th in the FedEx Cup standings and in need of a good performance to move inside the top 125 to advance to the postseason, the 35-year-old aced the 175-yard 16th with an 8-iron, then birdied the last at Sedgefield.

“I knew exactly what I needed to do, especially when I was at the 15th fairway, the par 5,” said Flores, who tied for seventh in the tournament to move to 118th in the FedEx Cup standings. “I knew I needed two more [strokes] and I was fortunate to get three. I’m extremely happy.”

Rory Sabbatini, Harold Varner III and J.J. Henry also played their way into the postseason with Sabbatini moving from No. 148 to 122 by virtue of his tie for fourth after a closing 64. Varner, meanwhile, tied for 10th to climb from 138 to 123, and Henry 16th-place showing, thanks to birdies on two of his last three holes, allowed him to become the last guy in, jumping from 134th at the start of the week.

“I’m not going to lie, I’ve won three times and played on a Ryder Cup and this was probably some of the most pressure I’ve felt, playing today,” said Henry, a 17-year PGA Tour veteran, after shooting a closing 67.

Then there were those who were less fortunate: Zac Blair, David Hearn, Seamus Power and Daniel Summerhays all fell out of the top 125 in Greensboro, and saw their seasons come to an end.

It was a difficult outcome for each.

The tournament-within-the-tournament vibe was perhaps best described by Geoff Ogilvy.

“There is a level of tension and stress in your body that’s just on a different level,” said the Aussie, who came into the week 125th in the FedEx Cup but secured his spot thanks to rounds of 66-66-67 the last three days to tie for 16th in the tournament. “I haven’t felt that since Q-School.”

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