Power will push to the edge in search of Masters glory

John Craven
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Seamus Power with Simon Keelan (Photo by Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

John Craven

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Seamus Power believes he will need to adopt a fearless strategy to contend at this week’s Masters tournament.

Happily flying in under the radar despite an impressive T27 result on debut last year, Power has no doubt that he can improve upon last year’s Augusta effort if he can be brave enough to take an aggressive approach to Georgia’s golfing gem.

“I still feel like I’m in the same boat as last year in that people probably aren’t expecting that much of me,” Power told Irish Golf Desk. “But I’m really feeling good about my game. And if I can do some of the right things, I can definitely improve on last year anyway.

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“You just have to execute really good shots and have the courage to be aggressive enough. That’s the balance you’re trying to strike. You have to be courageous to make some birdies. Yes, you can hit it to 40 feet and try to two-putt, but you’re obviously not making much ground doing that.”

Part of the reason Power might arrive to Augusta under-estimated is because results haven’t been great in recent weeks for the West Waterford man.

A rough weekend at Bay Hill was followed by a missed cut at The Players but despite not getting out of the group at the WGC-Dell Match Play, it was the return of Power’s baby draw to the tricky par-five 12th, a shot counter-intuitive to his stock fade, that has rekindled his belief that his game is close.

“As soon as I see that, I know I’m very close,” Power said, before highlighting the importance of hitting a draw this week at Augusta.

“On two, 10, the second shot on eight, tee shot on nine and obviously 13. So they’re a few of them.”

As ever, the wind whistling between the pine trees will separate the men from the boys as Power continues to get to grips with the intricacies of Augusta National having been fascinated by its quirks last year.

“The 12th is amazing. With no wind, it’s 140 yards, and it’s going to be a good birdie chance. But as soon as you get some breeze, it just gets so tricky down there,” he noted.

“Last year, Patrick Reed hits a shot before me, eight iron, and it gets hammered by the wind and he didn’t even cover the water on the front left. So I’m like, ‘okay, I’ll just flight down the same club’ and I hit it straight over a pin and airmailed the green, straight into the back bunker and I make four.

“We’ve both hit the same club pretty good shots. And the balls were like 30 yards apart with both struggling to make four. It was amazing. But that’s that course. It requires a lot of precision, a lot of trust; trust in the wind and trust in what you’re doing.”

And full faith in his trusty bagman no doubt, Simon Keelan, too, who Power believes can be a lethal weapon as he navigates his way through the pines.

“That’s where Simon is really good,” Power said. “You can always hear it in his voice. He knows exactly when to say something to me and can sense when I’m a little unsure.

“I think you need a really good caddie around there. You’re going to get to 12, 13, 15, 16 and there’s a lot on the line, and there’s breeze doing this and there’s trouble here and you really need that voice.”


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