Power produces fast finish as McIlroy laments missed opportunities
Seamus Power
Rory McIlroy felt he let a good score get away as Seamus Power birdied three of his last four holes to keep his FedExCup and Ryder Cup dreams alive in the FedEx St Jude Championship in Memphis.
As McIlroy turned a potential 64 into a three-under 67 to share 15th place, four shots behind leader Jordan Spieth in the first playoff event, Power turned a potential 74 into a 71 as he birdied the 15th, 16th and 18th at a rain-sodden TPC Southwind.
It was a mini boost for the West Waterford man, who is 29th in the FedExCup standings and knows he needs to be in the top 50 to play next week’s BMW Championship in Chicago and guarantee himself spots in all next season’s lucrative Signature Events.
He also knows he must stay in the top 30 to make it all the way to the Tour Championship and contend for a Ryder Cup spot and he has his work cut out after his 71 left him projected to fall 10 spots to 39th.
It might have been worse had the Tooraneena man not recovered from dropping four shots in three holes from the 12th.
He made an early bogey at the second before getting back to level par thanks to a wedge to four feet at the sixth.
But he found water twice in three holes as he bogeyed the 12th and 13th, then double bogeyed the par-three 14th to slip to four-over before finishing with a flourish to end the day tied 54th on one-over.
As for McIlroy, he finished bogey-bogey-birdie for a 67 that left him tied 15th.
Ranked third in the FedEx Cup standings behind Rahm and Scottie Scheffler, who also carded a 67, the Co Down man got off to a slow start.
One-over through his first five holes, he rolled in an 11-footer for birdie at the 15th then eagled the 16th thanks to a towering 204 yard six-iron to 18 inches.
He moved to four-under thanks to further birdies at the third and sixth dropped shots at the seventh and eighth and bunkering his approach shots behind picked up a birdie from eight feet at the last.
“I feel like it’s the worst I could have shot,” said McIlroy, who was projected to fall from third to fifth as he bids for a fourth FedExCup win.
“I drove the ball incredibly well and gave myself plenty of looks from the fairway. Missed quite a few chances on the greens and had a couple of unforced errors there on the seventh and the eighth.
"So it was nice to birdie the ninth and make myself feel a bit better about myself at the end.
“It was a day when you could have gone really low and I didn’t go as low as I could have. It’s a solid start but I wish it would have been a couple better.”
FedExCup leader Jon Rahm struggled from the tee as he battled to match McIlroy’s length but managed to post a three-over 73 that left him tied 65th in the 70-man field.
Texan Spieth looked close to his best again as he made five birdies before pitching in for an unlikely eagle three at the 16th en route to a 63 and a one-shot lead over Tom Kim.
