Seamus Power will certainly need to do better in today’s second round but he didn’t necessarily do badly either in setting a foundation on which to build after a day one 70 at the Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco.
Having missed the cut at event one, the West Waterford professional is back for tournament two of three in a bid to earn his PGA Tour playing privileges for next season. Power must finish inside the top-25 after event three of the finals to do so and after nine holes yesterday, he was right on track to get to where he needed to be.
Starting from the 10th, he birdied his opening hole before adding a hat-trick of gains from the 15th to brilliantly make the turn in four-under. However, a bogey on 1 was compounded by another on 2 and although he stemmed the flow of misfortune with a birdie on 3, Power dropped two more shots at 4 and 5 before parring home for a one-under par round of 70.
All told, at minus-one Power finds himself six back of the leaders in a tie for 55th. The good golf is there. It’s just a matter of trying to get away from the bigger picture and allowing himself to play it. With so much on the line, admittedly that’s easier said than done.
Out in front heading for day two is Grayson Murray and Charlie Saxon who carded rounds of seven-under par 64s at Hillcrest Country Club.
Murray is looking to strengthen his status on the PGA Tour for the 2019-20 season, while Saxon has a chance to earn his Tour card for the first time.
Murray was exempt on the PGA Tour this season by virtue of his win at the 2017 Barbasol Championship, but his year was cut short by a lower-back injury that originated in 2018. After he “tweaked it pretty bad” at the Valero Texas Open in April, Murray withdrew and didn’t touch a club for two months in order for the inflammation to reduce.
His first start after the injury was a T2 finish at the REX Hospital Open in June, and he’s coming off a T23 finish at the first Finals event, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. He took a medical exemption and will have 12 starts on Tour next season, but a finish in The Finals 25 will guarantee him a full schedule for 2019-20.
Meanwhile, Norwegian superstar in the making, Viktor Hovland opened with a rock-solid four-under par round of 67 to be trailing by just three. He finished in tied 11th at event one and looks well on his way to earning himself full PGA Tour status for next season.
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