Power inspired by resilient McIlroy's Masters triumph: "I thought I was going to have a heart attack watching it”
Seamus Power of Ireland plays a stroke from the No. 4 tee during the second round of the 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, Friday, April 7, 2023.
Séamus Power was determined to get back to Augusta National before Rory McIlroy's incredible Masters win helped him complete the career Grand Slam.
But the West Waterford man admitted he's been inspired by the Holywood star's determination to overcome devastating setbacks and keep coming back for more.
"I thought I was going to have a heart attack watching it, but it was unbelievable," Power (38) said of McIlroy's playoff win over Justin Rose.
"Having seen him from the age of 12 or 13 go on to become one of six guys ever to do something in golf, it was absolutely magical to watch.
"It had to be the best sporting thing I've ever watched on TV. It was unbelievable. I thought he was running away with it and then, all of sudden, he made a mistake, and then to come back the way he did multiple times, it was unbelievable. It was one of the best sporting things I've ever seen."
Power was speaking after the third round of the Corales Puntacana Championship in the Dominican Republic, where a one-under 71 left him tied for 11th on 10-under-par, seven shots behind leader Joel Dahmen.
The Tooraneena man did not qualify for the opposite field RBC Heritage on Hilton Head Island, where Shane Lowry's four-under 67 left him joint 16th on eight-under, seven shots behind Si Woo Kim.
But while Power hasn't played the Masters since he made back-to-back appearances in 2022 and 2023, McIlroy's resilience and ability to recover from setbacks are things he's taken on board as he battles to make that third trip down Magnolia Lane.
"I was actually trying to fix a leak at my house in Vegas for the first part of it," Power said of what he was doing during last week's incredible final round in Augusta National.
"And then I went to practice and pretended I was practising. But I had the app. The app was fantastic. So I had it up. I was at the golf course, but I had it on the whole time.
Rory McIlroy dons the green jacket at Augusta National
"It was remarkable. You couldn't look away. I mean, Justin Rose making 10 birdies. Ludwig coming from nowhere. You couldn't have asked for more.
"Even going into Sunday I had a text from Paul Kimmage and said that even with Bryson and Rory, without Tiger being involved, I don't think you could have scripted it much better.
"And that was before all that happened!
"All of a sudden, he has a two-shot lead, and then he's one behind 20 minutes later. It was amazing. He was just absolutely phenomenal.
"Obviously, after what happened there in 2011, the resolve he showed to recover multiple times just shows the kind of champion he is now. He has I don't know how many wins with five majors. It's just amazing."
Power is loathe to say he's inspired by a talent like McIlroy's, but he's seen in his former Irish amateur teammate the value of hard work and a never-say-die spirit.
"It's been cool to see him work hard and do all the things and obviously, he's had massive setbacks," Power said. "I think that's the thing you can take from it.
"Even someone with his ability and his level, he's had big, big setbacks, and he's been able to fight back and come back and put himself in position over and over and over.
"I think that's the sort of thing you can take from it, rather than trying to compare yourself to him and, 'Oh, now you've got to win a Masters' or something like that.
'But, yeah, it's amazing. To have someone from the island of Ireland do something like that is incredible.
"The first European and only the sixth guy ever, and the second guy in 50 or 60 years to complete the Grand Slam. I mean, it's just stuff you couldn't even make up.
"Those of us who were growing up around him, we knew he was going to be good. But nobody thought, at least, I don't know... to get to this level is still unbelievable. It just shows the amount of hard work he's been doing."
After winning twice on the PGA Tour between 2021 and 2023 to reach a career high of. 28th in the world, Power has since suffered a series of injuries.
He's now ranked 118th and battling to get back into all the elite events and the Majors.
But having played in the Masters in 2022 and 2023, finishing joint 27th and 46th, respectively, he's determined to get back there by winning for a third time.
Seeing McIlroy win last week has only strengthened his resolve by reminding him how special that tournament can be.
"Absolutely, yeah," Power said of his desire to get back. "That was well before that. That's just such a special place. They're two of my best golfing memories playing Augusta in 2022 and 2223.
"It's just an incredibly special place. And that golf course is just so good. It just brings the top players to the top, and it leads to so many good finishes.
"It's always entertaining, no matter what seems to happen. You're one bad or good swing away from being out of the tournament or right back in the tournament. And it really makes you want to get there to get some of those famous roars.
"Some of the cool pictures I thought were amazing. You see someone with a no camera versus Tiger at Southern Hills in Tulsa, where there was that one guy holding his beer (and thousands with their phones).
"Then you see Augusta, and it's just 1000s of people, and every one of them is just zoned in watching. I thought that was really cool.
"That is one of the special things about that place, and hopefully, I can be back next year, but obviously, it's tough to take the green jacket from another Irishman."
