A solid opening round from Séamus Power has seen him enter the clubhouse at Augusta on two over par, in his first ever round at a major tournament.
The toast of Touraneena sank eight pars whilst dropping a shot at the famed fifth on the front nine, before getting around the closing half of the course in 37 again, to post a 74 on day one.
The field is currently headed by a high-profile group of three, including Sungjae Im (-5) and Dustin Johnson (-4). The early lead was held by Australian Cameron Smith, who defied a double bogey early on to launch a birdie blitz that catapulted him to six under par, before a closing double saw him finish -4. Crowd favourite and five time champion Tiger Woods is a further three behind, he posted a 71 in his first competitive outing for 508 days. Rory McIlroy is currently off the same mark thru 12.
With his first ever competitive drive down the famed fairways of Magnolia Lane, Power found the right of the fairway before cooking his second effort just to the right hand side of the green, leaving him with a tough shot to get close to the flagstick for par. However, what followed was a superb short-sided chip to within two feet, and the Touraneena man struck home for par on hole one.
A delightful drive down the par five second saw Séamus cleanly strike a 346-yard bomb down the centre of the fairway, leaving himself 239 yards from the pin. The following effort again drifted right of the green to 68 yards away, with the flagstick positioned to the far left. Thankfully, despite being seemingly far away, the West Waterford native still had a nice lie on the fairway. Another impressive chip landed the first birdie opportunity of the day from 9 feet - his approach went to two feet, and once again, a par followed. Two under through two.
The tee shot on the par four third saw the 35-year-old’s effort land in the short rough, and he clipped the requisite challenge over onto the back of the green leaving himself 45 feet and two putts to find the hole. A cleverly constructed approach left him with five feet to save face - but Séamus showed the required composure to remain level through three.
The stretch from holes four to six can often prove particularly challenging, the first of which was a 240-yard par three. Power’s effort was poker straight through the air, landing on the fringe of the green and leaving a slight bit of work to do to get home in regulation. The approach went to six feet for a tricky putt but again, the man from Touraneena remained cool, calm and collected to sink the putt and steer clear of the bogey.
The famed 5th hole, Magnolia, has eaten up many of the world’s finest down the years - and the unforgiving hole saw Séamus’ tee shot land in the rough 209 yards from the flagstick. The 5th remained unforgiving as although his effort landed on the green, it rolled into the bunker, leaving an unenviable uphill effort from the sand to keep the par streak rolling. Unfortunately, a putt from eleven feet was eleven inches too short, and it was up to +1 and tied 37th, right at the time fellow countryman Shane Lowry chipped in for a superb eagle at the 13th to move back to level par.
Any golfer will tell you that bogeying the 5th at Augusta is far from a disaster, and with the short par 3 Juniper at the 6th, a close approach from the tee would afford Séamus the opportunity to take back the shot he had just left behind. However, the course again had different ideas - with Power finding himself 45 feet to contend with to land a maiden birdie. Putting up the mountainous slope on the sixth, a cracking effort skipped slightly left to within two feet, the Waterford man mopping up another par before heading to the 7th.
As Lowry birdied a beauty at 14 to make it -3 in two consecutive holes, it was a 450-yard par 4 lying ahead of Séamus. A 300-yarder from the tee box left Power with a good angle to attack the flag. That was exactly what he did as he crept to within nine feet for a great chance to move back to evens. Unfortunately, three inches came between Power and the hole, and he remained +1, a score which Lowry joined him on within minutes as he double bogeyed the 15th.
Séamus’ start at the par-5 8th left him looking to lay up having found the bunker from the off, but it was a fine lay up with the resultant approach landing to within nine feet again, hitting the green in regulation with another notable opportunity. Again, it was marginally left of the mark, but with another par, you got the feeling that when one birdie would land, it could be the start of something.
A whopping 345-yard drive on the ninth fuelled hope of that all elusive birdie to close the front nine. The second shot however once again showed the cruelty conjured by the greens as what seemed a superb shot soon bounced and rolled back off to the rough 23 feet away. The up and down which followed was fantastic, flopping to half a foot, and with the par saved - it was one under through the front nine, in a relatively solid showing. Even though he was playing good golf, you got the sense that Power felt aggrieved not to be one under as opposed to one over.
A divine drive on the par fourth tenth was hopefully a sign of things to come on the back nine - and that was certainly the case as he landed within six yards with the next, although he was shy of the green. It was another up and down for par. A ninth in the opening ten holes. It was proving a torrid time for his playing partner Patrick Reed who rose to +3, while Lowry had entered the clubhouse on the same score as his Déise comrade. Pádraig Harrington was one further back on +2.
A lengthy 520-yard par 4 proved the opposition at the eleventh, and the ball was crushed down the tee by the Touraneena man to leave 210. With a wealth of water to contend with, a safe meticulous approach onto the green at 64 feet was a welcome sight. It was a challenge to avoid dropping a shot when met with eight feet from ball to pin, and a challenge it proved not, Power using all his experience to drain the putt for a vital safe that would be worth its weight in gold for confidence heading toward the twelfth.
The Waterford man cleared the water to leave 24 feet to contend with, and an admirable approach to two feet made it eleven pars out of twelve. A real consistent showing that seemed devoid of any nerves.
The par-5 thirteenth, incidentally shorter than the par-4 eleventh, saw Séamus move to within 220 yards from the tee. The Barbasol Championship winner laid up to 74 out, and at this point was in the best shape of his playing group - with Reed on +3 and Lucas Herbert on +2. It was a three-putt once again, but you got the feeling that eventually, a birdie effort would deservedly find the range.
A monstrous drive on the 14th was a welcome sight, but it’s final destination, deep into the trees - was the opposite. A lay-up was seemingly the appropriate course of action, however Power and caddy Simon Keelan decided to go for gold, landing to 23 yards away on the short rough before the green. However, it was not enough, leaving himself with a tough twelve foot putt, he was soon greeted by a second bogey of the day - seeing Séamus rise to +2 and T44, with the need for a birdie to land becoming all the more apparent.
Reed, Herbert and Power all began the 550-yard fourth last on +2, and needed to showcase their driving range with some water to contend with before the green at Firethorn. A poker-straight arrow to the halfway point of hole 15 was a welcome beginning, but it was a question of whether or not to be aggressive with the second shot. The answer was no, with a lay up to 103. The water was soon cleared, 17ft for a big birdie. It was the same story once again though, close but no cigar as the first effort fell just short, and in it went afterward for par.
All things taken into consideration, the consistency within the performance was admirable, it was largely a case of a learning curve that Augusta doesn’t give out all too many opportunities. For once, the course gave Power the benefit of the doubt at 16 as he just about avoided the greenside bunker, leaving himself 24 feet to get up and down. Going close on approach once again, it was another par to go into the final two holes in search of a fine finish.
A 300-yard pinstripe down Nandina filled Power trackers with hope toward the tail end of the round, and it was a familiar sight once again as the ball clung to the fringe - with the solid two-putt again expected before a hopeful windfall at the last. As viewers became accustomed to, the approach left little room for mistake, with the requisite duly snapped up. Off Séamus went to 18, with the hope of landing a first birdie of the week on the last hole to boost morale for Friday.
465 yards of ‘Holly’ awaited Séamus Power before the opportunity to momentarily put the feet up. A 266-yard finale from the tee landed in the light rough on the left of the penultimate fairway, but it was green in regulation once again as the Touraneena man cooked it to 43 feet as he bidded to close the day out with a Hollywood putt. It was as good an approach as any, Power finishing the round to applause on a day he’ll never forget, putting from two feet for a two-over 74.
All in all, a competent opening showing from Séamus Power who is still right in the mix when it comes to booking a spot for the weekend. Just two strokes separate a group of 44 golfers, and the competition remains nicely poised with 54 holes left to play.
He’s back on course from 2.06pm Irish time tomorrow, and looks well positioned at T48 to keep the show on the road until Sunday.
