Power takes giant steps towards Masters debut with matchplay win
Séamus Power. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
SÉAMUS POWER took a massive step towards securing his Masters debut when he began his WGC Dell Technologies Match Play campaign with an emphatic 5 and 4 win over Sungjae Im.
As Shane Lowry fell 2 & 1 to Harold Varner III, Power slammed the door shut on Im after following a steady but unspectacular front nine with a clinical putting performance on the homeward stretch at Austin Country Club.
Two up after the South Korean bogeyed the first two holes, the West Waterford man lost the fifth to a par but won the par-five sixth in par and halved the ninth in birdie to turn two up before following a clumsy bogey at the 10th with winning birdies at the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th to claim a priceless win.
The top 50 in the world on Monday next will get invitations to Augusta and while 48th ranked Power (35) would be hugely unfortunate to get overtaken now after putting a point on the board, he can make the Masters his first major by finishing first or second place in the group.
"Yeah, it was interesting," said Power, who has launched his bid for a place in Europe's Ryder Cup team by joining the DP World Tour and now faces world number four and US Ryder Cup star Patrick Cantlay, whose halved match with Keith Mitchell also helps Power’s chances.
"I didn't get much going on the front nine. He made a couple of mistakes that I was able to take advantage. I made a real mess of 10, which is disappointing. I was back to 1-up, and he kind of lost momentum there hitting it in the water on 11 (coming up 20 yards short at the par-three) and I was able to capitalise and make birdie on the last three.
"Yeah, it's nice to get a point on the board. It's my first time playing here, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but one for one, so it's a good start."
Hoping to keep up his putting form against Cantlay, he said: "I know it's going to be the same breeze tomorrow, so hoping it'll kind of play the same way, but it's a very fun golf course in great condition, and you'll definitely see some putts going in."
Lowry birdied the first from 12 feet to take the lead against debutant Varner but the American birdied three holes in a row from the fourth to go one up and turned two up when Lowry hit a poor drive at the ninth and made bogey.
Varner birdied the 10th to go three up and when Lowry misjudged the wind and found water at the par-three 11th, he was four down and in trouble.
He fought back, hitting a magnificent second to 12 feet to win the par-five 12th in birdie to get back to three down, but after failing to win the next three holes, he could only hope for a halved match.
He won the 16th to be two down with two to go, rolling in a ten-footer there for birdie after overhitting his eagle effort from off the back edge.
He almost ended up in the rock at the 143 yard 17th but chipped in from 22 feet for a two only to see Varner III take the spoils by rolling in a 12 footer.
“At first I was just like, Oh, man if he hits it close that will be a good shot, Varner said of Lowry’s chip-in. “But he holed it. Yeah, just played well and a lot of fun. Hadn't played match play in a long time, so it was just good to get out there, have some fun.
“I know Shane and his caddie, so I like that it's a little personal, so it's pretty funny, we had a good exchanging of words after he made that putt.”
As for his own birdie, he said: “Yeah, obviously stole his thunder a little bit. We're decent friends, so it was good, it's super awkward out there because you know everyone and you're just like, Is that good or is that not good?
“So it's, a lot of fun, I played pretty well and that's what it's going to take to -- at the end of the day no matter what format you're going to have to play well. So just looking forward to tomorrow.”
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