After five starts on the PGA Tour in 2023, Seamus Power is out for the Arnold Palmer Invitational this afternoon at Bay Hill.
The world number 28 takes to the fairways from 1.10 pm Irish time with Sungjae Im and Cameron Young having taken last weekend off following the Honda Classic.
So far in 2023, Power has set a high standard with his worst finish to date being a share of 25th at the season-opening Sentry Tournament of Champions. Since then he's been inside the top 20 at each time of asking.
A well-stocked field of 120 will be aiming to lift the coveted title in Florida with 9 of the world's top 10 in attendance, while 23 of the top 25 will be filling in their cards also.
This is the second weekend of play in Florida following the Genesis where unusually calm weather was the order of the day; Chris Kirk claimed his fifth win on tour, needing a playoff to beat Eric Cole.
This weekend is set to be a mixed bag as regards the weather with calm conditions forecasted once again for at least Thursday and Friday, but with the wind expected to start blowing once the cut is made.
PGA versus LIV, Round 2?
"The Cut" is one of the talking points heading into the weekend, and while it will be "as you were" for the Arnold Palmer, the discussion is focussed on the new look PGA Tour schedule for next season.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monaghan described the changes as something that will “transform and set the future direction” of the tour.
The 2024 season will feature eight specific events with fields of less than 80 golfers competing for swelled purses and FedExCup points. Most importantly, these events will not have a 36-hole cut, meaning the full field of starts will be there from the start of play right until the very end.
This move has drawn ire from the excommunicated LIV golfers who left the tour last year for greener pastures.
Lee Westwood, who became one of the figureheads of the LIV exodus has pointed the finger at the move to signal the lack of parity between LIVe and the PGA Tour when it comes to world rankings points.
Ian Poulter, who also carried the bag for the Saudi-backed league tweeted that "The irony, it's ncredible....".
On the other side of the fence, Rory McIlroy who was recently dethroned as world #1, but has now become the face of the traditional side of the game with all things PGA and DP Tours has come out to defend the move as something that is not all that surprising.
"We have had no-cut events since I have been on Tour for the last 15 years. The no-cut thing just became a big deal when LIV came around. That was sort of what prompted the whole discussion around it," the Holywood native said. McIlroy continued so that, “You ask Mastercard or whoever it is to pay $20 million dollars for a golf event, they want to see the stars at the weekend. They want a guarantee that the stars are there. So if that’s what needs to happen, then that’s what happens.”
Whether or not this is the right move by the PGA Tour, it does show that the long-established tour has felt the pressure coming from LIV with more and more of the middle tier making the move towards a calmer schedule with less jeopardy.
Former Ryder Cup partner to Rory McIlroy, Thomas Dietry was the latest to make the jump last week.
