Seamus Power climbed above fellow countryman Shane Lowry into the automatic qualification places on the World Points List to make the European Ryder Cup team in September.
Power edged into the top-6 places in the race for Rome after a T20 finish at the Waste Management Open at TPC Scottsdale.
Rounds of 71, 71, 66 and 69 saw the Waterford star rise three places with 45.23 points and he joins Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Victor Perez, Viktor Hovland and Alex Noren in the automatic positions.
Power, bidding to become the 13th Irishman to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup has continued his consistent form since winning his second PGA Tour title at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in October with finishes of T3 and T5 to close out 2022 before opening 2023 with four successive top-25 finishes.
Currently on the bubble are Adrian Otaegui, Shane Lowry, Tyrrell Hatton and Justin Rose.
Lowry dropped out of the automatic spots after a second missed cut on the spin at the Waste Management in his first tournament since parting ways with Open Championship winning caddie, Bo Martin.
It has been a disappointing start to 2023 for Lowry in what has been built up to be a massive year for him with the Ryder Cup on the horizon.
The Clara native will also have major championship glory in his sights as he looks to firmly put himself in the top table of world golf after winning the BMW PGA at Wentworth last September.
It’s still early in the year but it certainly has been a far from ideal opening month for the 2019 Open champion who will be eager to turn around his form sooner rather than later.
Expected automatic six: Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Shane Lowry, Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick.
Predicted Captain’s picks: Alex Noren, Robert MacIntyre, Tyrrell Hatton, Seamus Power, Justin Rose, Francesco Molinari
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