Almost losing card was torture: Power
SEAMUS Power insists he must improve his game and start contending for wins if he’s to avoid a repeat of his FedEx Cup torture again next year.
The West Waterford star (31) was thanking his lucky stars — and Sergio Garcia — after holding onto his PGA Tour card by his fingernails to qualify for the first FedEx Cup play-off event, the Northern Trust in New Jersey this week.
Ranked 123rd heading into the final counting Wyndham Championship, with only the top 125 keeping their cards, he suffered in front of the TV on Sunday after missing the cut to leave his fate in the hands of others.
But after a series of results went his way and he eventually secured his card in 125th place, he’s determined never to suffer that kind of torture again.
“Overall I am very happy and relieved but it’s not the way Near miss: Seamus Power has just held onto his Tour card
you’d like to do it,” the Tooraneena man confessed. “I got a few breaks with the guys behind me at 124th and 125th in the standings missing the cut by one and then Sergio making a few late bogeys was helpful. But I don’t want to go through that again.
“I never really got it going game-wise this year, so while it was nice to be able to squeeze into the top 125, that’s not the position you’re looking for.
“You want to be contending for a few tournaments and up near the top of leaderboards. So that’s the plan for next season.”
Power knows where he has to improve and, after hooking up with coach Nick Bradley for the first time last weekend, he’s optimistic about the 2018-19 campaign and treating this week’s opening play-off event as a bonus.
“Looking at my game, I think I ended up ranked 15th for putting, which was really what saved me,” he confessed. “Off the tee, I wasn’t atrocious, but it wasn’t fantastic. But there was barely a stat where I was in the top 115 in terms of approaching the green all the way through the bag.
“So that’s where the improvement is going to have to be made or I will find myself in the same situation next year.”
Finishing in the top 125 will allow Power to plan his 201819 schedule with ease, although he’d need to break into the top 70 in the FedEx Cup standings to make events like The Memorial Tournament or the Arnold Palmer Invitational next year.