Solid start for hot putter Power in Sony Open
Seamus Power produced a sensational putting performance to open with a three-under 67 and make a positive start to his season at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
The West Waterford man (38) is desperate to notch his third career win and secure starts in the majors and signature events this season.
And while he closed with a bogey after driving into water at the par-five ninth, he was well joint 29th with the likes of Robert MacIntyre at Waialae Country Club, where Kevin Roy and defending champion Nick Taylor fired eight under 62s to set the pace.
Power got off to an ideal start when he rolled in a 28-footer at the 10th and a 27-footer at the 11th to move swiftly to two under.
A wedge to three feet at the 16th set up another birdie that gave him a share of the early lead.
He handed that shot back when he bunkered his tee shot at the short 17th, but his opening round was full of encouraging signs for 2026.
While he bogeyed the short fourth and the ninth after mistakes from the tee, he was excellent on the greens, making 126 feet of putts to gain more than 4 strokes on the greens - the second best in the field behind Davis Riley.
Not only did he make key par saves at the first and second, he also took most of his chances, rolling in a seven-footer at the third and 12-footers at the sixth and seventh to get to four under.
His bogey at the last, where he failed to get up and down from 50 yards for par, will have left a sour taste.
But he will be looking forward to more good putting in round two.
He was five strokes behind defending champion Roy and Taylor, who made eight birdies apiece in bogey-free 62s to lead the early starters by a shot from Ben Griffin, SH Kim, Chris Gotterup and John VanDerLaan.
“I think we got lucky with the forecast this morning. I expected some more wind,” Taylor said.
“A lot of the wind is going with the dogleg, so it felt like some of the tee shots maybe weren't as challenging. I hit it great, but this course fits my eye.”
Hall of Fame member Vijay Singh (62), who used a one-time career money exemption to get into the field, had two double bogeys but still shot a two under 68 that left him joint 41st alongside Jordan Spieth.
