Power upbeat for PGA after closing 64 in Dallas: "I can't wait to get up there"
Seamus Power headed for the PGA Championship with a spring in his step after closing with a seven-under 64 to clinch a confidence-boosting tied 19th finish in the AT&T Byron Nelson in Dallas.
The West Waterford man opened with three birdies at TPC Craig Ranch and while his putter cooled off, he was pleased to go bogey-free as he heads to just his sixth Major start at Oak Hill looking to improve on his tie for ninth on his PGA Championship debut last year.
“I hit it really well again but couldn't quite get it going on the greens even after a good start,” said Power, who finished on 16-under par, seven shots behind winner Jason Day. “But a lot of good stuff is going to give us a lot of confidence going into next week which is cool and hopefully I pick up a few decent points this week.”
Power is looking to qualify for the Tour Championship on the PGA Tour this year but he’s also chasing a Ryder Cup spot and he’s hitting form at the right time.
“My game feels very good,” he said after a result that leaves him 12th in the FedEx Cup standings. “I made a couple of changes with the woods over the last few weeks, change of shafts and stuff, and it's really paying off from the tee.
“My irons have felt good for a while so I am giving myself more opportunities in the fairway.
“The putts didn't quite go in this week but I feel like I'm hitting a lot of good putts so that's always a positive sign.”
As for Oak Hill, he can’t wait to get to Rochester after getting into contention at Oak Hill last year.
“I am very much looking forward to it,” he said. “It is only my second year of being in majors —it’s only major number six for me—and I really enjoyed the PGA last year.
“I felt it was set up really well. Obviously, it's a completely different course but the set-up I thought it suited my game.
“So I’m hoping for something similar and I've heard nothing but good things about Oak Hill so I can't wait to get up there.”
Australian Day (35) closed with a bogey-free, nine-under-par 62 to claim his 13th PGA Tour title — and his first for five years — by one stroke from Si Woo Kim (63) and Austin Eckroat (65) on 23-under par.
Meanwhile, Pádraig Harrington had to settle for a tie for fifth on 15-under, eight shots behind defending champion Steve Stricker in the Regions Tradition in Alabama.
Just two shots behind Stricker and Robert Karlsson starting the day, the Dubliner could only manage a one-under 71 in the final round at Greystone where Stricker closed with a seven-under 65 to win his third Regions Tradition in four years by six strokes from Karlsson (71) and Ernie Els (65) on 23-under par.
Darren Clarke tied for ninth on 13-under thanks to a closing 65.
In Antwerp, Kinsale’s John Murphy’s level par 71 left him tied 28th in the Soudal Open at Rinkven International where Sweden’s Simon Forsstrom shot 69 to win his maiden DP World Tour title by a shot from compatriot Jens Dantorp on 17-under.
Murphy won €16,293 for making his first cut of the season and is 223rd in the Race to Dubai.