Power under doctor’s orders as he chases PGA Tour dream
Seamus Power
West Waterford star Seamus Power credits mental coach Dr Bob Rotella for the red-hot run of form that’s left him on the verge of regaining his full PGA Tour card.
The Tooraneena man (34) has made the cut a career-best eight times in a row and recorded three top-10s and two top-20s in his last five starts.
As a result, he’s 123rd in the FedEx Cup standings and with the top 125 after the Wyndham Championship in four weeks qualifying for the Playoffs and guaranteeing their status for 2021-22.
“Yeah I’m getting there now,” Power said ahead of the Barbasol Championship at Keene Trace Golf Club in Kentucky where he is the joint-favourite with the bookies. “I’m delighted with that nice little stretch and it was a needed stretch to get back into the thick of things. Hopefully now I’ll have another couple of good weeks.”
Power underwent elbow surgery late last year but he credits his resurgence in form not only to some subtle swing changes and a change of putting grip but to his work with renowned mental coach Rotella, who guided Pádraig Harrington and Darren Clarke to major glory and is currently helping Rory McIlroy.
“It’s a combination of everything really but once I got the elbow fixed, I didn’t realise it how much would it have been affecting me before,” Power said.
“I’ve just been able to figure out my swing a little bit and then I went to see Bob Rotella there in December and that was a massive help.”
Power knew early this year his game was close but he lacked tournament starts to prove it as he’s playing in the tenuous 126-150 category, which does now allow him the luxury of planning his starts.
But he got some confidence by Monday qualifying twice and coupled with a top-10 finish in the Korn Ferry Tour, he hit the ground running in May and hasn’t looked back.
“Those couple of Monday qualifiers were massive to give me an extra couple of chances to get some tournament starts under my belt and even that Korn Ferry start in Las Vegas in April was massive just to give me a bit of confidence and get going. So it’s been a combination of a bunch of things.”
Rotella has been a huge factor and Power is hoping now he can push on and make the Playoffs and continue chasing that elusive first wins.
“I’ve worked with a couple of different guys like Dr. Mo Pickens who is a disciple of Rotella and then I worked with a couple of other guys in between I struggled last year with my short game and putting, which I’ve never really done before.
“Like every golfer, I have read loads of Dr Bob’s books and Padraig has talked about him over the years. Just about every golfer has worked with him at some point so I just wanted to go and see him.
“He wasn’t too far away in Virginia so I went up there for a couple of days and I was just brilliant, simplifying and clarifying and getting me back on the right track.
“I had a lot of thinking done before going up there and he has been around so many successful golfers over the years it was just eye-opening talking to him.
“Sometimes in golf, you think you are the first person through certain things and then you realise that just about every golfer that has been successful has gone through moments like that.
“What he says carries massive weight just knowing the history has in golf. It’s just very simple and he gets you thinking about the things you need to be thinking about and not getting distracted by a whole bunch of other stuff.
“It was just a bit of confidence. You never think about missing anything and then when you miss a few putts, all of a sudden you try to do way too much. He just reminds you that you need to do much less.
“When you’re 16 or 17 years old you don’t think about all this stuff. It’s like a vicious cycle you never think about this stuff until you missed a few and then when you do miss a few you just start thinking way too much so he just tries to remind you of certain things and give you a few pointers here and there.
“t’s very simple but then it makes so much sense when you sit back and think about it
“If you’re not doing the right thing he has no problem telling you. I found it very beneficial he is a really nice guy to spend time with and because of his success what he is saying carries so much weight in your mind.”
Power is fairly confident he will get starts in next week’s 3M Championship and the Barracuda Championship in Reno.
However, he is not guaranteed a spot in the final regular-season event, the Wyndham Championship as his current FedEx Cup ranking does not count.
“If I am out, hopefully, I can do something similar again to last year and get in with a top 10 at the Barracuda.
“Winning is obviously the goal every time you go out but a lot can happen over 72 holes. Last week was a perfect example. I didn’t have much going for a while and then on the back nine they had some really good shots and all of a sudden a couple of putts go in at the end and you could be very close to winning.
“In other weeks you were right in contention the whole time how do you make a mistake on Sunday and all of a sudden you are out of it.
“So 72 holes is a long tournament and you have to keep going until the holes run out especially in a week like this where you know the scoring is going to be low.
“So you have to stay aggressive and keep making birdies as long as you can. I’d probably prefer to play the tournaments where 10 or 12 under is winning but the last couple of weeks you’re getting to 15 and it’s still not enough.
“Every week is going to be different and you just have to prepare and try and play accordingly.
“I’m playing my way into a position where I am going to have the ability to pick and choose where I’m going to play. So hopefully I can keep playing well.”
