Séamus Power has one more appointment to fulfil at this week’s Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour before he needs to get the passport out for trips back across the Atlantic that will see him play the role as one of the headline acts at next week’s Horizon Irish Open at Mount Juliet and then a date in his diary for the 150th Open at St Andrews.
The 35-year-old Waterford’s man upward trajectory in virtually every ranking and order of merit is a real case of rubberstamping his consistency on the course this year: that 12th place finish in the US Open had him moving to a career best 36th in the official world rankings, to 23rd on the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings and to 25th (on limited appearances) on the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai.
Pity the European Ryder Cup qualifying for Rome next year hasn’t yet started!
Power, for sure, is excited about what the coming weeks offer. For starters he likes the TPC Highland course in Cromwell, Connecticut, where the Travelers takes place, starting on Thursday. But the main dishes are ahead, with a sense of anticipation about returning to the Irish Open next week and then then casting an eye further to the special anniversary Open. In between there is the matter of the JP McManus Invitational Pro-Am.
Donald Trump is changing America in ways that will reverberate long after he is dead
Mark O'Connell: The mystery is not why we Irish have responded to Israel’s barbarism. It’s why others have not
Afghan student nurses crushed as Taliban blocks last hope of jobs
Emer McLysaght: The seven deadly things you should never buy a child at Christmas
“I can’t wait,” is how much Power is looking forward to the Irish Open, having last played in the tournament at Lahinch in 2019.
Of course he is a different player in so many ways nowadays. Back then he was ranked 308th in the world and now he is solidly locked into the top-50 with all the dividends in terms of major qualifying and WGCs that such a position brings.
“I’d like to think I’m a lot better player now, so I’m really looking forward to it. Even watching last year on TV when Lucas (Herbert) was winning, I really wanted to be there, and I can’t wait to get home in a couple of weeks, especially knowing I’m in a good spot with my card secure. I’ve always loved Mount Juliet and playing St Andrews is a special place to play,” said Power.
He added: “The memories I have from Lahinch and even back in Carton House when I played back in the day, honestly, I can’t wait. I’ve been playing (in the USA) for a while, so a lot of my friends haven’t had the chance to see me play much. I’ve been looking forward to it since (last autumn). I was trying to make sure it was pencilled in for it and, now, being a member of the (DP World) Tour, it’s going to obviously count on the list for me too, so it’s kind of a double bonus.”
As for when the Ryder Cup qualifying gets under way, Power is waiting for an exact starting point like everyone else.
As he put it, “I kind of assumed (the delay) is some guys might be going to the LIV thing, and maybe they’re trying to figure out and decide their stance on that before making a decision. I don’t know. That’s all above my pay grade. It’ll be fun once it gets started, so you can at least see yourself on the board and racking up some points.”
While Power is in the middle of a three-week stretch in taking in this week’s Travelers, Rory McIlroy is completing a four-week run of tournaments in Connecticut that will be his last competitive outing on tour before the Open. McIlroy will of course be playing in the JP McManus Pro-Am as well, and intends to spend time that week playing links courses in Ireland ahead of going to St Andrews.
McIlroy’s tied-fifth finish in the US PGA continued a strong run in the Majors this year – second at the Masters and eighth at the US PGA – all of which has projected him up to number two in the official world rankings.
A roller-coaster front nine in Sunday’s final round effectively halted any potential charge to another Major title, his drought further extended since winning his fourth career major at the 2014 US PGA, but McIlroy has designs on capturing many more.
“I am good enough to win another Major championship. I’m 33. I still feel like I have got another 10 years left of prime golf, so that is 40 opportunities and I feel like I am good enough to win a few of those, so it is just a matter of keeping myself in position and keep doing the right things,” said McIlroy.
McIlroy has at least managed to get over the slow starts in Majors that had hindered him in recent years. “I’ve sort of found the right formula to get up and running in these championships and it is a matter of keeping it going from there . . . . it is the third Major of the year gone. I had two opportunities, two near misses. Funny, the best finish feels like the one I didn’t have a chance, second at Augusta feels like it wasn’t a missed opportunity. Whereas Southern Hills and here do. I am contending at the business end of the leaderboards again in these big tournaments and that’s a positive.”
