Following his tied-ninth finish at the US PGA Championship, Seamus Power walked away from Southern Hills safe in the knowledge that his game can compete for the biggest prizes in golf.
Power went into the final round in Tulsa hopeful of a big showing before signing for a two-over 72 and an eventual one-under tally and a first top-10 in a Major.
Understandably disappointed given how his 54-hole tally ultimately fell just two shots shy of the playoff mark, on reflection, Power, who admits he didn’t have his best stuff last week, was heartened with just how close he came to winning golf’s biggest prizes despite leaving his best stuff at home for much of the tournament.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Power told the Independent. “I think if my game is on in a given week, I think I’m good enough to win.
“I always say this: if someone like Rory (McIlroy) goes out there and plays his best golf for four days, you are not going to win. He’s going to win the tournament.
“But I feel like if I play my best golf for four days, there’s very few guys who will be able to top me. So that’s my thought process going forward.
“It’s like anything; you need a couple of breaks. I didn’t quite get them this week.”
The West Waterford star’s result has seen him match his career-high ranking of 40th in golf’s world charts with more Major dates to come at next month’s US Open at Brookline and the following month’s 150th Open at the Home of Golf.
Far from dwelling on the what ifs, though naturally there was some lingering frustration, Power was intent on focussing on the positives having rubber-stamped his ability to compete with the best players in the world following a stellar T27 on his major debut at the Masters.
“No, absolutely,” he said. “I think every golfer initially you’re always looking at the what if’s, but I also did a lot of good things.
“I am definitely going to look back on it in a very positive way. There are a lot of things to build on, and if I clean up a couple of things, I’ll be good to go.”
“I felt really good,” Power added of how he handled the pressure of playing in the third last group on Sunday. “Over the last year, I’ve been in some sort of contention regularly enough. That definitely helped in this situation and it’s something to lean on. I know they haven’t been majors, but you still learn some things to make you confident the next time.
“I think it was a lot of fun and kind of similar to Augusta. Obviously, two solid starts (in majors), and hopefully, this should get me in the next two majors, so something to look forward to as well.”
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