Power even more determined to make Ryder Cup after Hero Cup reverse
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JANUARY 15: Francesco Molinari of Italy the captain of The Continent of Europe Team holds the Hero Cup trophy with his team after their 14.5 to 10.5 win over the Great Britain and Ireland Team during the final day's singles matches on Day Three of the Hero Cup at Abu Dhabi Golf Club on January 15, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
SÉAMUS POWER was disappointed to end up on the losing side but the West Waterford star insisted his Hero Cup debut has only sharpened his desire to make the Ryder Cup team in Rome.
The world number 29 lost 1-up to Dane Nicolai Hojgaard in a pulsating singles clash as Continental Europe claimed the final day session 6-4 and a clearcut 14.5-10.5 win at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.
Hojgaard, a late replacement for his injured twin brother Rasmus, finished the week as joint top scorer alongside Victor Perez, Guido Migliozzi and a rejuvenated Continental Europe captain Francesco Molinari, who handed Shane Lowry his fourth defeat in as many matches with a 3&2 singles win.
Power, who partnered Robert MacIntyre to a 4&3 fourball win over Sepp Straka and Adrian Meronk on the opening day, admitted he struggled in the foursomes, losing with Lowry and MacIntyre on Saturday as the Continentals took a two-point lead into the final day.
Tommy Fleetwood top-loaded the singles order, but while the English star beat Thomas Pieters 3&2 and Tyrrell Hatton crushed Antoine Rozner 5&4, Lowry fell 3&2 to Molinari in the top match before Power was edged out by Hojgaard, who was two down after six holes but played the last 12 in seven-under to win 1-up.
"It's disappointing always when you're on a losing side as each team played their hearts out, but they came up a better team," said Power, who was five-under on the day.
"In the end, we didn't quite get the job done, including myself, but there was a whole lot of good stuff in my game."
Séamus Power and Robert MacIntyre in action at the Hero Cup. Picture: Getty Images
While Matt Wallace beat Thomas Detry 2&1 and MacIntyre ended up as joint top scorer for GB&I with Fleetwood with three points after his 5&3 win over Alex Noren, Continental Europe still won their third session in a row.
Hojgaard went birdie-eagle-birdie from the seventh to turn the tables on Power, then birdied the next two holes to remain 1-up.
Power drew level with a birdie at the 13th, but he three-putted the 16th from long range after the Dane had hit a wedge stone dead, then horseshoed out from seven feet for what would have been a winning par at the 17th.
"On the positive side, it was very enjoyable coming over here for the first time, meeting so many of the DP World players, and also teaming with Bobby (MacIntyre) in the very first match on Friday and winning so convincingly," said Power, who saw Hojgaard snatch victory with a half in birdies after stiffing a 167-yard approach at the 18th despite bunkering his drive.
"So, that's going to be a good memory. It was good to play well in that opening fourball match, but I do need to work on the foursomes format and get my mentality right as I struggled with the two foursomes rounds on Saturday.
"Overall, I met some good lads, struck up some good friendships and with this week really now whetting my appetite to be there in Rome later this year."
Perez completed a 4&2 win against Jordan Smith, while Ewen Ferguson went down 5&4 to Sepp Straka to put Continental Europe within half a point of securing the trophy.
It all came down to Poland's Adrian Meronk, the Irish Open champion, who holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the last to secure a 1-up win over Callum Shinkwin and the Hero Cup for Continental Europe before Guido Migliozzi beat Richard Mansell 4&3 to complete a four-point win that can only give Luke Donald and his assistant captains hope for September.
Lowry was far from his best all week, especially on the greens, but he improved against Molinari, fighting back from three down after four holes to square the match at the 11th before the Italian birdied the 12th and 13th to regain a two-hole lead that proved crucial.
The Offaly man has made the Ryder Cup his top goal for 2023 and after ending the week as the only player unable to register even half a point, he’ll be keen to knock the rust off his game in this week's Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, where he joins Power and Pádraig Harrington at Yas Links.
“I'm looking forward to that as it's another new venue for me and it's been good to knock off a bit more rust after starting out last week at the Sentry," Power said.
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JANUARY 15: Francesco Molinari, Captain of Continental Europe poses for a photograph with the Hero Cup after their teams victory on Day Three of the Hero Cup at Abu Dhabi Golf Club on January 15, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
"But now I'm looking forward to a few beers with everyone I've met this week and then head over to Yas tomorrow."
What they said
Francesco Molinari: "Amazing, amazing. I could finally relax the last couple of hours have been tense after finishing my game. But yeah, it's been great all week, super happy for the guys. Like I said all week, it's been very, very easy leading them and being a captain for them. I think we found some really good pairings and just had a great week to start the year and I can only wish them all best for the rest of the season.
"Many, many things. Like I said, many pairings seemed to gel really, really well, which was great. Made my job a lot easier because I didn't have to tinker and change too much. Just spending time with some of the guys, the younger guys that maybe I didn't know as well, it's been great fun.
"Invaluable, really, especially for the younger guys, but even for us, to play match play, just get the juices going early, this early in the year, it's a great event. We really enjoy it. The DP World Tour has done a great job at setting it up. Obviously, the crowds have enjoyed it as well.
"Obviously, it's there. It's a great motivation for me. I need to be careful; it's a long way away, and there's a lot of golf to be played in between and a lot of goals, intermediate goals to get there. So just focus on my game. Like you said, it's definitely much better than it's been. So hopefully I can play some good golf and be in Rome. Being in Rome would be absolutely incredible.
Tommy Fleetwood: "Of course I am (disappointed). It's not always about how you play. Obviously, we came here to win, and we wanted to do it for each other, but at the end of the day, the first thing that I said at the start of the week was teammates don't remember if you play bad or you miss a putt or you lose a point, but everybody remembers if you don't give it 100 per cent, and I couldn't have asked for any more from anybody this week.
"It's been amazing and it's been an amazing experience for me. I wish we could have got it done, but at the same time, you do; you remember these moments forever and you cherish them.
"They played great all week, and even right until the end you saw them holing the putts that mattered. They played great, and Fran, I haven't been around him at all this week; I've only played against him, but I know and I'm sure Fran will have done a fantastic job. Yeah, they clearly deserved it this week. They played the best golf. Some matches could have gone either way, and that's what happens; the winning team makes those moments count. And congratulations to those guys. It's hard to lose but well done to them."
Adrian Meronk: "I didn't hole a lot of putts today and the whole tournament, so it was great to have this final putt on the last on 18. It was a perfect pace with the team around me and special.
"Winning as a team is much more fun; you have these guys supporting you and playing with them and playing as a team. I think it's just more fun and more enjoyable for me, for sure.
"I just focused on my game. As our captain, Francesco, said today, just focus on your game and your point, and that's exactly what I did."
How they scored in the Hero Cup
