Seamus Power hopes fond memories of winning the Butterfield Bermuda Championship three years ago can be the catalyst for a happy ending as he looks to retain his full PGA Tour playing rights for next season across the remaining two events.
Power is 133rd in the FedEx Cup Fall rankings with the top-100 earning full status for next year while 101-125 would get conditional status. It’s been another tough season for the Waterford man who has struggled with injury for two years but he may hit form at the right time after making his last four cuts.
“I’m obviously not where I want to be obviously, but I do have confidence, yes. Like they’re two courses, fortunately like I’ve played well here and I’ve played well in Georgia multiple times. So I do have that kind of up my sleeve I feel like,” said Power who holds the tournament record for the most birdies (28) at Port Royal when he won the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in 2022.
“Also, just seeing my game kind of going in the right direction I think is the most encouraging thing. That’s the part that really gets you down on the golf course where you’re just struggling. You’re hitting shots you don’t know where they’re coming from, you’re not making putts and you’re not really going anywhere. I feel like the last couple weeks with practice and going into last week, I feel like I finally have my direction back so that’s very encouraging. You still have to go do it.
“And this is an unusual season obviously with the changes, too. Obviously top 100, but there’s a cut off of 10 as well and cut off at 25 and cut off at 50. It’s unusual. I’m not really one to look too much at it, but I do know I’ve got to pick up a good chunk of points.”
Power, now ranked 182nd in the world after a career-high 28th in 2022, needs a pair of top five finishes to push his way towards the top-100. While it’s not a miraculous feat, if he were to retain his full card it would be something of a fairytale given his injury and health struggles.
“The weird thing with golf is if I win in the next two weeks, it’s going to be a great season. That’s what I try to focus on. Obviously love to win Sony or Maui at the start of the year and just breeze through the season, but didn’t go that way. But great stories can come from kind of tough situations, so that’s what I’m going to be focused on in the next two weeks.”
It seems forever ago when Power was a Ryder Cup contender for Rome in 2023. He was even selected for the trial run of the Hero Cup and had played in all four of the major championships by then. But a mysterious hip injury at the 2023 Scottish Open has plagued his career since while there have been several other niggles as a consequence and some skin scares.
The two-time PGA Tour winner recently had a growth removed from his forehead for melanoma but overall he is feeling in a clean bill of health and ready to fire again.
“Last week was much better. It’s been OK. Like I struggled with some injury issues early in the season into the summer and it kind of, confidence was down a little bit and stuff and you’re kind of struggling to make cuts. Anyone will tell you it’s hard to play 3 good golf when you’re feeling like that. But it’s been much better in the fall. I really feel like body’s healthy again and finding like my swing and my comfort level again.
“And last week everyone had a lot of birdies, but for me seeing some putts go in last week was very encouraging. It’s always been the strength of my game and really like all year and the back end of last year it wasn’t, which is kind of unusual for me. But I finally found something in it and I feel like it’s something that could be good here for the last couple weeks.”
