Mark Power’s US Amateur Championship debut came to an end at the round of 64 stage after he suffered a 3&2 defeat to Walker Isley at Ridgewood Country Club.
Power, who was seeded 11th for the knockout stages, was unsure of his opponent until Wednesday morning with a playoff deciding the last few qualifiers but he went down to the 54th seed.
It was a match the Wake Forrest student never led and he was behind from the word go, losing the opening hole to a birdie.
A bogey on the par-5 3rd saw him slip to two down before a birdie on the par-4 4th halved the deficit as he looked to get a foothold in the match.
Looking to emulate Paul Dunne’s US Amateur debut the Kilkenny native was up against a birdie machine, with his North Carolina opponent turning in four-under after birdies on the 6th and 8th saw him go 2UP.
Power did reduce the arears briefly with a second birdie of the day on seven but a double on the 10th saw him fall three holes behind for the first time in the match and left him with a mountain to climb.
Another dropped shot on the 11th summed up an error strewn day for the 22-year-old as he fell four down which ultimately took the tie away from him despite winning the 12th with a birdie.
The last four holes were halved until Power could force his opponent no further and shook his hand.
Still, a commendable achievement to reach the knockout stages in your US Amateur debut and he can take that forward to the Eisenhower Trophy in a fortnight’s time.
Leave a comment