SEAMUS POWER HAD his short game to thank as he climbed the leaderboard with a second-round 67 at the PGA Tour Cognizant Classic on Friday.
Power had five birdies and just a single bogey on his card as he moved to four-under par for the tournament, sitting inside the clubhouse top 10 following the morning wave at Palm Beach Gardens.
The Waterford native opened with a 22-footer for birdie at the first, and hit the turn in two-under after holing another 20-foot birdie on the eighth.
Power then clicked into gear with a run of three birdies in four holes across 10, 11 and 13 to move to five-under par for the tournament.
The only blemish on his card came at the par-three 17th where he found water off the tee but escaped with nothing worse than a bogey.
“Honestly, I’m not actually playing brilliant,” Power said afterwards.
“But the short game has been excellent, scrambling, really hanging in there well, making some putts. If I can get something figured out over the weekend…
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“But it’s a tough golf course. It doesn’t let you get comfortable really at any stage, and I think that’s unique about this place. Even holes that just don’t seem that tough on the scorecard, if you’ve got a crosswind and you’ve got this and you’ve got that and you just miss it, it’s very, very tricky.
“It’s a really good layout for that. It’s going to test everyone for the next two and a half days. But it’s nice to be in under par, and two more good rounds over the weekend needed, but obviously it’s nice to be in there.”
Power, who made over 120ft of putts in Friday’s round, added: “I’ve been putting much, much better. Last couple years, [I've] been a little bit cold on the greens, which is unusual for me.
“[I've] got a bit of confidence back on the greens. Hitting it okay – still not where I want, but at least I know where it’s going so I can manage it.
“I’m not dropping too many shots, where on holes if there’s trouble on one side, I’m able to at least know how to keep it down the other side. I think that helps here.
“But obviously making a few putts is huge. It was nice to get under par like on the first, and then even getting that one on the eighth.
“This golf course is… I know it’s an obvious thing to say, but it’s easier to play from under par and it’s easier to be conservative when you need to be.
“All in all, a lot of good stuff. Some things to tidy up, but overall a good spot after two days.”
Shane Lowry teed off his second round at 5.11pm Irish time, and is two-under for his round thru six at the time of writing, sitting on three-under par for the tournament.
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Seamus Power climbs the leaderboard with second-round 67 at Cognizant Classic
SEAMUS POWER HAD his short game to thank as he climbed the leaderboard with a second-round 67 at the PGA Tour Cognizant Classic on Friday.
Power had five birdies and just a single bogey on his card as he moved to four-under par for the tournament, sitting inside the clubhouse top 10 following the morning wave at Palm Beach Gardens.
See the latest leaderboard here >
The Waterford native opened with a 22-footer for birdie at the first, and hit the turn in two-under after holing another 20-foot birdie on the eighth.
Power then clicked into gear with a run of three birdies in four holes across 10, 11 and 13 to move to five-under par for the tournament.
The only blemish on his card came at the par-three 17th where he found water off the tee but escaped with nothing worse than a bogey.
“Honestly, I’m not actually playing brilliant,” Power said afterwards.
“But it’s a tough golf course. It doesn’t let you get comfortable really at any stage, and I think that’s unique about this place. Even holes that just don’t seem that tough on the scorecard, if you’ve got a crosswind and you’ve got this and you’ve got that and you just miss it, it’s very, very tricky.
“It’s a really good layout for that. It’s going to test everyone for the next two and a half days. But it’s nice to be in under par, and two more good rounds over the weekend needed, but obviously it’s nice to be in there.”
Power, who made over 120ft of putts in Friday’s round, added: “I’ve been putting much, much better. Last couple years, [I've] been a little bit cold on the greens, which is unusual for me.
“[I've] got a bit of confidence back on the greens. Hitting it okay – still not where I want, but at least I know where it’s going so I can manage it.
“I’m not dropping too many shots, where on holes if there’s trouble on one side, I’m able to at least know how to keep it down the other side. I think that helps here.
“But obviously making a few putts is huge. It was nice to get under par like on the first, and then even getting that one on the eighth.
“All in all, a lot of good stuff. Some things to tidy up, but overall a good spot after two days.”
Shane Lowry teed off his second round at 5.11pm Irish time, and is two-under for his round thru six at the time of writing, sitting on three-under par for the tournament.
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Golf PGA Tour seamus power Shane Lowry