Power makes no excuses as 77 dashes Irish Open hopes: "I was all over the place"
Séamus Power made no excuses after a 77 dashed his Horizon Irish Open chances, but he could consider himself unfortunate after a medical emergency in the gallery caused a delay and left him on the clock for the rest of the day.
The West Waterford star, running on fumes after some draining weeks in the US, waited for nearly 15 minutes as a spectator who had suffered a suspected heart attack was treated by medics on the opening hole.
He went on to drop three shots in his first 10 holes and followed his lone birdie of the day at the 13th with a bogey at the 14th and a double-bogey at the 15th to slip for fourth overnight to tied 56th on three-under.
"It was a weird start to a round, and it was kind of funny because we waited for 10-15 minutes and then we were on the clock for the rest of the day, so it was kind of unusual circumstances, but I hope he is okay, golf is just golf,” Power said. "It was kind of scary. I have never had that happen before and hopefully, that guy is okay."
He finds himself 11 shots behind the up-and-coming Polish star Adrian Meronk, who shot 68 to lead by a shot from his playing partner Jack Senior (67), Paraguay's Fabrizio Zanotti (67) and overnight leader Jorge Campillo of Spain (70) on 14-under-par.
He was making no excuses as Senior managed to shoot five-under alongside him.
But he was clearly disappointed to have a bad day just when contending for the Irish Open.
"Yeah, look it's such an unusual situation, I'm sure it's that in the rulebook but we don't feel comfortable playing, we were waiting for medics and we weren't sure what was happening, there was kind of panicked people there and I hit that bad shot on three so we're obviously behind,” he said
"But that's part of competitive golf, you never like being on the clock but if you lose time it's on you to make it back up.
"To be honest I felt bad for Jack because I was playing so poorly, it was hard to make up time because I was all over the place.
"So I had difficult shots, it was one of those days and it happens sometimes. But hopefully I'll do better tomorrow.”
While he was knocked out of his rhythm and feeling rushed by being on the clock, he refused to blame that for his poor day.
"I did a little bit, but that's your own responsibility," he said. "You have to learn to deal with that. It's part of the game. You have only a set amount of time to get around and it's your responsibility.
"No excuses, it was just one of those days where everything was poor. I made lots of bad swing, so it was a bit disappointing.”
Tiredness and the heavy rain that lashed the first few holes didn't help but he refused to make excuses.
“I had a couple of good holes to start and then hit a couple of loose shots all over the place,” he admitted. "There is no real excuse for them, so it's a case of getting some rest now and getting ready for tomorrow."
The pressure of leading the Irish Open was not a factor either, he said.
"Definitely not. I felt very comfortable out there. I just hit some very poor shots. Right at the start on the third, with a back right pin to hit it in the water, that's unheard of out there today.
"But that's golf sometimes. I just got a little out of focus out there at the start and was never quite able to recover.
"The rain was nasty for a while, but typical Ireland, you get sun-burned just after it. But that came as a surprise there at the start."
It will be tough to get up for the final round now, but Power is determined to finish on a high.
"I will try and post the lowest score of the week," he said of his final competitive round before heading to the JP McManus Pro-Am and The Open. "It probably won't be enough to win, but it would give me momentum going into The Open."
It was Power's worst round since he opened with an 80 in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, but he was treating it as a one-off as he contemplated a 7.53am final round tee-time with Niall Kearney on Sunday.
"It's a bad round of golf, but I wouldn't go any more than that,” he said. "You wouldn't want it to happen in the Irish Open, but sometimes it does.
"It was one of those days you'd prefer to have when you are 60th going out. I just have to tighten up some things after getting loose and out of rhythm. We'll see what we can do tomorrow."
Shane Lowry now leads the home challenge, seven shots off the pace in a tie for 19th on seven-under after a 68.
The 2019 Open champion played his first 10 holes in four-under-par but failed to make further in-roads on par, finishing bogey-birdie-par.
Nevertheless, he was happy with his day's work and insists he will head to tee it up in the JP McManus Pro-Am at Adare Manor on Monday and Tuesday a happy man if he can shoot another good round today.
"I was pretty happy with the way I played today," Lowry said. "I would obviously like to have shot two or three better and after 10, I was thinking I could shoot seven-under, but I never really got it going on the back nine.
"I still think I am too far back and the golf course is too scoreable to have a chance, but I played some nice golf, and hopefully another round like that tomorrow, and I will take a little bit of confidence going forward."
Lowry is looking forward to hitting the links near Dublin later next week before heading for The 150th Open at St Andrews.
"Obviously, I'm playing tomorrow and then I'm going down to Adare and then as soon as I get back from there on Wednesday, I will probably take Wednesday off and just do some links and get out there on links turf, in a links wind and just sort out my ball flight and my chipping and get putting on slow greens. The greens won't be too quick in St Andrews.
"If I go on and shoot five-under tomorrow, I'll be pretty happy leaving here tomorrow evening, and I can take that definitely with me.
"This golf course isn't the best preparation for The Open considering how soft it has played.
"But I think the next 12 days are just about trying to find confidence in your own game. And today, honestly, I felt I pretty much hit the ball where I wanted today. I pretty much hit every shot where I wanted to bar a couple, so if I can do that tomorrow, I'll be very happy.
"I'm just maintaining, and I'll practice the way I always practice. I will round up a couple of my friends to go to Portmarnock if they will have me, or Baltray or somewhere and have a game of golf and enjoy myself as well. That's how I practice."
Pádraig Harrington missed a birdie putt from inside three feet at the 18th as he carded a one-under 71 to share 45th on four-under.
"Nearly had a good finish which was nice, but overall it was more of the same," Harrington said. "I could definitely do with a bit of a spark."
Fatigued following his US Senior Open win last week, he added: "I don't have a day off golf in five weeks. Yeah, it's a lot of golf.
"You're trying hard and I see some good stuff. I certainly don't feel I'm striking it as well as I did last week. I don't have the energy to go to the range. At times my body is tired and not quite keeping up with my arms in terms of the swing. Lacking a little bit of that pep in my swing."
He added: "I've got to say [the crowd support] is a big help in my situation this week for sure. I could easily just fall by the wayside, I suppose, but with the crowds watching, you kind of want to hit a few good shots and give them something to cheer about."
Kearney birdied three of his first five holes to get to five-under, but he played the back nine in three-over to slip back to 64th on two-under.
"It was just a bit sloppy on the back nine, which was disappointing," Kearney said, conscious he has to take advantage of every start as he looks to win his card.
"It's just a question of getting the starts, and this is a massive week. I've just got to get the head down tomorrow and get up the Order of Merit."
