Seamus Power looks set for weekend action after the Waterford man put in an impressive back nine at Port Royal Golf Club to climb back inside the cutline at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
The 2022 champion found himself tied for 67th at the conclusion of round one after carding a one-over 72 in the blustery winds, but despite slightly more favourable conditions in round two, he began with nine straight pars leaving him well outside the provisional cutline as he rounded for home.
A birdie at the first – his 10th – got him back to level-par overall, and another two more back-to-back on six and seven breathed fresh life into his challenge. Two regulation pars on eight and nine got him into the clubhouse at -2, where he faced an anxious wait to see whether the afternoon starters would squeeze him out.
By the time play was suspended with a dozen left on course, it was clear that the -2 cutline would hold and Power would have two more rounds to push his way up the leaderboard and maintain his position inside the top 60 in the FedEx Fall rankings.
Justin Lower carded a second consecutive 65 on Friday to maintain his two-shot lead. Lower, who finished second last week in Mexico, sits at 12-under and will enter the weekend with a two-shot advantage over Robby Shelton and Ryan Moore.
Lower’s lead could’ve been a couple of strokes more had he taken advantage of the three par-5s which he covered in level-par, and that was the only real bone of contention he had after the round.
“Yeah, it felt good most of the day,” he said of his game, “pretty solid for the most part, a little unlucky at times.
“I had a bad break on 6 and 9. To not get the par 5s when they’re all kind of reachable other than No. 2 just being into the wind, that part kind of sucks. It would have been nice to get one of those last two putts to go in on 17, 18, but still, no, still a great round and I’m happy where I’m at.”
Sam Ryder had the most impressive round of the day, shooting a personal-best 62. He moved up 51 spots on the leaderboard to T4 at -9. Ryder, who is playing in his 200th PGA Tour event, is looking to regain his confidence and earn his first top-10 finish.
“I’ve been working really hard to try and work on my game, but I also know that I’m in a good place,” Ryder said afterwards. “I’m not kind of beating myself up too much. There’s obviously a lot at stake coming down to the end of the FedExCup season, but I feel pretty relaxed. Honestly, I feel like I’m doing all the right things and things will work themselves out and all is well.”
Lower, who is already guaranteed a tour card for next year, is looking to secure his first PGA Tour victory, which would earn him an invitation to the Masters and the first two $20 million signature events in 2025. Shelton and Moore, who are both outside the top 150 in the FedEx Cup standings, are fighting to secure their PGA Tour cards for next season.
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