Séamus Power’s hopes of reaching the FedEx Cup playoffs next week are over as the 38-year-old needs a win to have any chance of making it, but the Waterford man currently sits 15 shots off the lead after round three.
An unusual Saturday at Sedgefield Country Club began with the completion of round two in the early morning, after play was suspended on Friday evening due to lightning. Round three then got underway later in the day.
Power started his final seven holes of round two in wet conditions, picking up where he left off the day before with a birdie on the par-3 third and then closed out his second round with another birdie on the par-4 eighth, putting him at four-under-par going into round three.
Needing something big to come in round three, Power struggled with the flat stick on the opening holes – three-putting on multiple occasions and making bogeys on two of the first three holes.
Power battled on and followed up with two birdies, but his outside chances of qualifying for the playoffs effectively ended when a double-bogey closing out the front nine.
Determined to finish the regular season with his head held high, Power made four birdies on the back nine to card a one-under-par round three to put him in T36 at five-under-par going into the final round.
Even if Power managed to minimise some of his mistakes, it would take a miracle to catch front runner Cameron Young as the 28-year-old New Yorker seems to have everything under control, comfortably sitting five shots clear in first place.
Seeking his first win on the PGA Tour, Young is widely considered to be one of the best players to never win on a main tour.
Opting for a draw off the tee, Young rarely saw himself in any danger of losing his momentum.
“I’m always looking through old videos and stuff, just found that I used to swing it just a little bit more biased towards a draw…and I felt like committing to just one shot might allow me to kind of build some feel and that seems to have worked pretty well,” said Young.
With Ryder Cup picks set to be announced at the end of August, Young’s performances will have given USA Captain Keegan Bradley a lot to think about.
“That’s been a goal this whole year. I’m trying to just look at that to just take all the small stuff that happens day to day as it comes with – in the back of my mind trying to picture myself on that team,” added Young.
Colombia’s Nico Echavarria occupies second place after round three carding an astonishing round which saw the 30-year-old make seven birdies to sit five shots off the lead on 15-under-par.
Commanding on the greens, Echavarria has a tough battle ahead of him if he is to catch Young and add to his two PGA Tour wins.
“I think I was patient out there. I hit some quality shots, I made a lot of putts, which felt good. I gave myself a chance for tomorrow. I don’t know how many back I’m going to be, but we’re going to be in the final group, which is very cool,” said the Colombian.
“I like being in the final group. I’m not going to hide tomorrow. We play tournaments to win. When I’m in the final group on Sunday, that’s why I put so much work into it,” added Echavarria.
Last year’s Wyndham Championship winner Aaron Rai sees himself in a tie for third place at 12-under-par, closely followed by amateur Jackson Koivun who is showing the golfing world that he is ready to make it in the professional game.
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