Slow start for Power in Florida

Seamus Power

Seamus Power endured a testing return to tour life when he accumulated four penalty strokes en route to a six-over 78 in The King & Bear Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour in Florida.

In his first start for four months, the West Waterford man (33) mixed birdie twos at the third and sixth with four bogeys and two double bogeys.

With his putter ice-cold — he had 32 putts and just one single putt in his last 12 holes — he’s 15 shots off the lead.

Australian Brett Coletta and Chicago resident Vince India (31) shot nine-under 63s at The King & Bear Golf Club at World Golf Village in St Augustine to lead by two strokes from Justin Lower, Tom Whitney, Zach Wright, Ryan McCormick, Will Zalatoris, Jared Wolfe and Taylor Pendrith.

Coletta (24) reckoned the enforced layoff caused by the COVID-19 pandemic helped his game.

“Just therapeutic, really. I wasn’t playing well earlier this year and I needed some time with my coach, needed some time just to take a step back and say, ‘Look, it’s a long season,” Coletta said. “I was just getting impatient, really, and I think we all do, to some degree.”

India said: “It was awesome. I love time off. That’s why I told everyone I thought the quarantine was awesome for me, and I actually needed it. I’ve always looked forward to our wintertime in Iowa when we would shut it down, work out and have time to decompress and get away from golf.”