Golf

Seamus Power fades as Cody Gribble seizes his chance

Waterford man’s final round 77 costs him in Sanderson Farms Championship

Seamus Power plays a shot during his final round of the Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi. Photograph: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
Seamus Power plays a shot during his final round of the Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi. Photograph: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
Sun Oct 30 2016 - 22:01

Séamus Power was obliged to play a minor role in the drama as the Sanderson Farms Championship on the PGA Tour in Jackson, Mississippi meandered towards a conclusion: the 29-year-old Waterford man birdied his opening hole to get right into the thick of the action only to fall away, with two double-bogeys on his back nine proving very costly.

Power – playing in only his second tournament on the PGA Tour had gone into the final round with genuine ambitions of a breakthrough victory on the main tour stateside only to slip and slide out of the picture with Cody Gribble, a fellow graduate of the Web.com Tour, marking this arrival on the main stage with an impressive win.

Bogeys

A poor back nine proved Power’s undoing as he eventually signed for a finishing 77 for 281, seven-under-par, that gave him a tied-29th finish.

An opening hole birdie had moved Power within one stroke of the lead but it was all downhill after that as he suffered bogeys on the fourth, ninth and 10th only for his round to unravel with double-bogeys on the 12th and 14th.

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On the 12th, Power’s drive was pushed into the right rough and his approach found a greenside bunker from where he was unable to find the green and finished in greenside rough. He ran up a double-bogey six and that catalogue of errors was compounded with another double-bogey on the Par 5 14th where he put his tee shot into the lake.

After taking a penalty drop, Power’s next shot found rough and he ran up a seven that saw him plunge down the leaderboard.

He finished with four straight birdies to come home in 40 strokes, signing for a 77 for 281 that at least earned him his first prizemoney cheque on the PGA Tour. It moved him to 103rd on the early FedEx Cup standings.

Gribble, from Texas, who marked his PGA Tour debut with a top-10 finish in the Safeway Open, made an even bigger impression in Mississippi with a final round 65 for 268, 20-under-oar, that gave him a four stroke winning margin over tied-runners up Greg Owen, Luke List and Chris Kirk.

The left-hander finished in some style with three birdies in his closing four holes to claim the win.