Power clinches top 10 finish and admits: "I didn't have my best game this week"
Seamus Power
SÉAMUS POWER clinched his third top-10 of the season in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and revealed he didn't even have his best stuff.
The West Waterford star had a five-shot lead at halfway thanks to a brace of stunning, eight-under 64s for a record 36-hole total.
But after carding a disappointing, three-over 74 at Monterey Peninsula Country Club on Saturday to fall two shots off the lead, he birdied the last and carded a level-par 72 and finish tied ninth ($237,075) on 13-under, six shots behind first-time winner Tom Hoge.
"It was fun and I really enjoyed it," said Power, who followed a birdie at the sixth with a double-bogey at the eighth and a bogey at the ninth before getting back to level for the day thanks to birdies from 15 feet at the 15th and 18th.
"I've never played Monterey well and it kind of got me yesterday and took my momentum away. But overall, it was nice to pick up a couple of shots on the back.
"It's weird to say after having a very good opening two rounds, but I didn't have my best game this week. But I was able to manage it, and my wedges and putting we're good enough to keep me in it, and that's encouraging.
"It was nice today and it was fun to play Pebble when it was firm with a bit of breeze. It was a different challenge, but it was very enjoyable."
Set to play the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale this week, he's hoping for better luck than he had on his first appearance in 2019 when he missed the cut after rounds of 71 and 77
"I've only played it once and didn't play particularly well, but I don't remember much about the course," he said. "I will do a little bit of work the next few days and get ready for next week."
Power was projected to move up from 14th to eighth in the FedEx Cup standings and from 50th to 46th in the world rankings.
As for Hoge, the 32-year-old from North Carolina claimed his maiden PGA Tour win in style, moving up to 39th in the world.
He started the day tied for the lead with Beau Hossler and Andrew Putnam, but after slipping to one-over for the day with a double-bogey five at the short fifth, he turned in level par, then went past leader Jordan Spieth down the stretch.
Spieth got to 18-under with five holes to play but bogeyed the 17th to finish on 17-under as Hoge took command.
Without a win since he won on the Canadian Tour in 2011, he birdied the 11th and 14th to get to 17-under, then hit his approach stone dead at the 16th before rolling in a swinging, 22 footer for a two at the iconic 17th.
"I really thought I made too many mistakes to really have a chance on the front nine, to be honest with you, and I looked up and I was still kind of right in the game then making the turn," said Hoge, who finished two clear of Spieth (69) on 19-under.
"So I just tried to hang in there as best as I could and I finally started making a few putts."
As for his birdie at the 17th, he said: "I was just trying to get two good looks for birdie on 17 and 18 and still expected Jordan to make a birdie or eagle on 18 coming up the stretch.
"Putt was kind of a bonus. You never expect to make that putt, a big swinging downhill putt like that. When I hit it, I initially thought it was short, but it went right in the middle. It was pretty nice.”
RAS AL KHAIMAH, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - FEBRUARY 06: Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark poses for a photo with the trophy after winning the Ras al Khaimah Championship during day four of the Ras al Khaimah Championship presented by Phoenix Capital at Al Hamra Golf Club on February 06, 2022 in Ras al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Højgaard looks a star of the present
On the DP World Tour, Denmark's Nicolai Højgaard looks ready to step up and help Europe’s Ryder Cup cause in the future after he overcame a mid-round wobble to claim a four-stroke win in the Ras Al Khaimah Championship.
Three strokes clear overnight, Højgaard (20) appeared to be cruising to his second DP World Tour win and closer to his twin brother Rasmus, who has already won three times.
He almost holed out for albatross from the sandy wasteland at the par-five third but as Jordan Smith began to apply the pressure, he double-bogeyed the ninth and dropped another shot at the 12th to see Smith take a two-shot lead.
Højgaard didn't panic, however, and covered the final six holes in five-under-par, carding a four-under 68 to win by four shots from Smith on 24-under.
”It's very sweet," said Højgaard, who birdied the 13th, then fired a 247-yard approach to nine feet from the wasteland to set up his second eagle three of the day before making birdies at the last two holes.
"It's been such a tough grind today. I got off to a good start and then I struggled quite a bit.”
Projected to move from 100th to 67th in the world, he said: "I'm quite excited for the future now. I wasn't really thinking about it, but obviously, when you're playing good, you start looking at all the rankings. I'm motivated to keep going and get better and hopefully qualify for those big tournaments."
Pádraig Harrington (50) made an eagle, six birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey in a 67 to tie for 27th (€15,272) on 10-under.
KAEC-SAUDI-ARABIA - Harold Varner III of the USA pictured celebrating on the 18th green on Sunday, February 6, 2022 during round four of the US$ 5 million PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers. The event is staged from February 3-6, 2022, at the Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia. Picture by Paul Lakatos/Asian Tour.
Varner III wins with monster eagle putt in Saudi Arabia
But Shane Lowry was disappointed to three-putt the par-five 18th from 15 feet for bogey and finish tied 16th own six-under, seven shots behind American Harold Varner III in the PIF Saudi International.
Lowry raced to five-under through 12 holes, double-bogeyed the 13th, but then birdied the 15th and 16th before signing for a four-under 66 after missing his four-foot return putt at the last.
”That’s not a nice way to end what was a pretty decent round," said Lowry, who tied for 12th in Abu Dhabi and 24th in Dubai in his first two starts of the year.
"That's me heading home and back to the States to see the family. It's been three weeks away and looking forward to seeing the girls.”
Varner III (31) spectacularly denied two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson the title when he holed a 92-foot eagle putt at the 18th for his second career win.
Watson finished birdie-eagle and shot 64 to set the clubhouse target at 13-under before Varner birdied the 17th and eagled the last for one-under 69, a US$1 million payday and his second career win, more than five years after he won the 2016 Australian PGA Championship.
"Awesome," Varner (31) said. "I'm just trying to take it in. Winning just never gets old. I just know that there's been times where it just didn't go my way and today it did. I'm super thrilled not just for myself but everyone that's either on my team or in my corner.
"They know who they are, so I don't have to thank them. They know who they are. My mom's already called. Yeah, I'm pumped."