Power reveals his tour card TV torture
SEAMUS POWER has revealed the torment of having ‘no control’ over the future of his PGA Tour card. The Irish Olympian tees up in the first of the FedEx Cup play-offs in New Jersey today, the $9m Northern Trust, after taking advantage of ‘a great break’ last Sunday as he clung on to his card.
The 31-year-old from West Waterford admitted last night he didn’t think he’d ‘any chance’ of staying in the top 125 after missing the cut in the Wyndham Championships.
But when he switched on his TV on Sunday afternoon at his North Carolina home in Charlotte, Sergio Garcia was just starting his back nine and he couldn’t take his eyes off the action at Greensboro.
‘I’d convinced myself it wasn’t going to work out,’ he said on Newstalk. ‘I saw Sergio’s stats. He hadn’t missed a fairway, he was playing well. It didn’t look like he’d drop any shots.
‘I watched it on my own and couldn’t move for a couple of hours. I was six or eight inches from the TV shouting at the screen.
‘The guys winning the tournament had no effect on me, it was three or four others I was interested in. It was a roller coaster. Having no control was the worst part and made it hard to watch.’
As Garcia coughed up three shots, Power’s pal David Hearn made an eagle on the 15th to suddenly come into the top 125 equation. Ultimately, they both fell short and Power survived.
‘It was an experience I don’t want to repeat. I’ll have to make improvements to avoid being back there again.’
By retaining full playing privileges, Power has a ‘peace of mind’ as he maps out a schedule for the 2018-19 season. He won’t have to contemplate a run of seven events in seven weeks like he did this summer as he fought for his card.
‘In Reno, I ran a 15-foot putt about seven feet past. I then realised the putt was downhill. It was down to mental tiredness.’
Power’s strengths are driving distance and his short game. To kick on to the next level, he said he needs to improve on his approach play, especially with his wedge.
‘I hit it far enough and putt well. If I can improve the middle part of my game I believe I can win tournaments.’
As for Garcia missing out on the FedEx Cup, Power has little sympathy.
‘Sergio won the Masters last year, he has all those exemptions, he’ll be fine’ he said wryly.
Meanwhile, defending FedEx Cup champion Justin Thomas believes he will need to win one of the play-off events to achieve something even Tiger Woods never managed.
While Woods (2007, 2009) is the only player to win the overall FedEx Cup title more than once, Thomas can this season become the first to win back-to-back titles — and the bonus of €10m
Thomas has won three times on the PGA Tour’s wraparound 2017-2018 season, including the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, and was sixth in defence of his US PGA Championship title.
The 25-year-old is just 83 points behind world number one Dustin Johnson in the current standings and is keen to at least maintain his position for the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta, where the top five know that victory at East Lake would secure the overall title regardless of other results.
‘You really have to win in the play-offs. You have to win one of these four events.
‘Atlanta is a little bit more preferred than the others but I’m in a position where I can play well and hopefully maintain my spot, if not drop too much, because everyone’s main goal is to be in that top five come Atlanta and you can control your own destiny.
‘These first three events are very important and you just need to treat it like I do every other tournament and try to give myself a chance to win.’