An opening round of 74 leaves Seamus Power seven shots off the pace at Augusta, with 18 holes beckoning for Friday's second round.
The Touraneena native got his first taste of Major golf on Thursday in Georgia at the twice-weather delayed Masters where the course bore its teeth for the field of 90.
Two dropped shots, mixed in with 16 level scores is a fine return for his first outing at the iconic course where South Korea's Sungjae Im scorched ahead to 5 under.
Speaking to the media after his round, Power was content with his efforts but is hoping that he can improve his offering on Friday, "I did a lot of good things so that was encouraging. I need to take advantage of some of the opportunities I gave myself and hopefully, I can do that tomorrow."
Having earned his place at the tournament by shooting up to 41st in the world rankings, Power is part of an Irish quartet of Harrington, McIlroy and Lowry who are all over par after their first round. Power and former Ryder Cup Captain Harrington are both tied for 43rd along with 15 others, while Lowry, and McIlroy who is seeking the career grand slam are one better.
Photo Credit Masters Images
With plenty of the worlds top pros struggling to break even - Zach Johnson, Jon Rahm, Colin Morikawa, Parick Reed, and Brooks Koepka to name a few - it's no surprise that Seamus found the going challenging.
"It was very tricky. My speed on the greens was a little bit off and I missed a couple of chances because of it."
"I left one in the jaws on seven and ran out of speed on eight. You didn't get too many chances out there with the breeze, and I left it in the jaws again on fifteen"
"It's one of those days when I was just a little bit off, but some good things and learned a few things that hopefully I can use tomorrow."
While the Irish representation was busy fighting to get below par, the biggest attraction of the weekend was undoubtedly Tiger Woods. The five-time Masters champions made a miraculous return to Augusta National shooting 71 for 1 under.
On the 23rd of February 2021, Woods was in Rolling Hills Estate in the LA suburbs when he left the road at high speed suffering serious injuries. He was transported to Harbor-UCLA Medical Hospital for surgery with his doctor stating he had suffered "Open fractures affecting both the upper and lower portions of the tibia and fibula". Medical experts at the time contemplated amputating his right leg due to the severity of his injuries.
To see him walking around the fairways of Augusta is nothing short of miraculous, but nonetheless, here he is fourteen months later and almost hitting an ace on the sixth.
Tiger reaches red numbers in the 86th Masters. #themasters pic.twitter.com/yhaEU4i32T
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 7, 2022
Seamus will get his second round underway from five past two this afternoon, where he will once again play with Patrick Reed and Lucas Herbert. While he may have left a few shots behind him on Thursday, he was happy to be able to learn from his mistakes along the way.
"You get to test everything because it's tricky. On seventeen, I probably missed my landing spot by two or three paces. You do have to hit your spots and it's tricky when the breeze is blowing a little more like this. It's very fun because you do have chances. You have tough holes and it's a good mix, but I wasn't quite able to take advantage on the greens."
It's tough, but you have to just wait for your opportunities. Patience will be massive - good or bad start, you're going to have to stay patient because you will get chances."
