Bumper payday for Power but PGA Tour win slips from grasp
Seamus Power
West Waterford’s Seamus Power had the consolation of his biggest payday this season as a maiden PGA Tour victory slipped through his fingers and he tied for ninth in the weather-delayed AT&T Byron Nelson in Texas.
The Tooraneena man (34) was left to wonder what might have been as his hopes of a maiden PGA Tour win dissolved in the rain on the back nine at TPC Craig Ranch where South Korea’s KH Lee shot a six-under 66 to win by three strokes from overnight leader Sam Burns (70) on 25-under par.
Power surged to the turn in five-under 31 and was two shots off the lead with six holes to go but came home in 39 as he double-bogeyed the 13th and bogeyed the 14th, eventually carding a two-under 70 to finish seven strokes behind Lee on 18-under.
He banked €175,102 and moved up 26 places to 169th in the FedEx Cup standings and while he missed a chance to lock up his card for 2022, he was looking at the positives after his best finish this term.
@It’s good to get finished because it was horrible sitting out and waiting for two-and-a-half hours for the restart, as we weren’t sure when we were called off when we would get back on”, said Power, who was preparing to putt for birdie on the 18th when play was suspended due to the threat of lightning.
“I felt really good warming-up and then also from right out of the gate but then I just didn’t quite handle the rain as well as I should but it was a lovely front nine, and nice to give myself a chance.
“It’s a step in the right direction and I now have the next couple of weeks off, so I have of lot of good things to build on and hope to be back in action in three weeks’ time and hopefully improve on this result.”
Tied for seventh starting the day, four strokes behind overnight leader Burns, the Waterford man rolled in a 17 footer at the first and a 38 footer at the second to briefly get within a shot of Lee on 18-under.
He got up and down from sand for another birdie at the fifth, brushed home a 24 footer for a two at the 184-yard seventh, then ripped a 181-yard approach to two feet at the 479-yard eighth and tapped in for birdie to go five-under for the day.
But his title chances disappeared in demanding weather conditions coming down the stretch.
Having made just one bogey in his last 66 holes and topped the scrambling statistics with 19 saves from 19, he drove into sand at the 510-yard, par-four 13th, blasted back into play but then took three to get down from the back of the green, missing a six-footer for bogey.
He then compounded the error by racing his 20-foot birdie putt seven feet past at the 14th and missing the return.
Four times a winner in Asia, Lee (29) made eight birdies in a six-under 66 to win a cheque for €1.2 million and a spot in this week's PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.
“Long day for me, I think everybody,” said Lee, who was tied second behind Brooks Koepka in the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
“I mean, but I just try keep patient and positive thinking. So I don't want to looking on the leaderboard, so just try my golf, and then successful now, so I'm very excited and happy.”
