The Sanderson Farms Championship got underway on Thursday in prime conditions for low scoring, as players in the field strive to improve their rankings by capitalising on the points available during the FedEx Fall.
Sitting outside the top 100 and in need of points to earn full exemption is Waterford’s Séamus Power, as the 38-year-old currently sits 130th with 288 points.
A strong finish at Sanderson Farms would provide a significant boost for the two-time PGA Tour winner, but an even-par round one has left Power seven shots off the leaders and tied for 88th.
Power began his 18 holes on the back nine, carding a birdie on the par-5 10th before adding another on the other par-5 on the back nine, the 14th.
Steady golf from Power saw him complete his first nine holes without a blemish, heading towards the turn at two-under. However, this changed quickly as an error after a textbook drive on the par-5 third resulted in a bogey, followed by another after a missed green on the par-3 fourth.
Remaining composed, Power steadied himself and played even-par back to the clubhouse, posting a 72.
Many players took advantage of the conditions on Thursday, reflected in the leaderboard, with a four-way tie for the lead heading into Friday’s second round.
Sam Ryder played bogey-free, and Danny Walker finished with a pair of birdies, each posting a seven-under-par 65 to share the lead alongside Garrick Higgo and Eric Cole.
Eric Cole recorded 10 birdies, offsetting a double bogey from the trees late in the round, while Garrick Higgo continued to show signs of form since a shoulder injury slowed his progress after a win earlier this year.
Sam Ryder has made a habit of leaving it late to secure his PGA status, with the 35-year-old on the brink of full exemption for the past seven years. He currently sits 110th in the rankings.
“I’m very aware of where I’m at. You know it all year,” Ryder said. “You get a text every single week that tells you exactly where you are in the FedEx standings. You can’t hide from it. But it doesn’t dictate my schedule.”
Walker tied for sixth at THE PLAYERS Championship, but the last five months have been challenging. He arrived at The Country Club of Jackson having missed eight consecutive cuts, falling out of the top 100.
“It’s really hard when you’ve missed a bunch of cuts not to go into a week thinking only about making the cut, and that’s where it got to,” Walker said.
“When all you’re thinking about is results … it really got in my head, and I felt like going into this week I finally reached a place where I wasn’t really worried about that,” added the 29-year-old.
There is an eight-way tie for second place, including Max Homa, Kevin Yu, and Mac Meissner, all of whom posted a five-under-par 67.
Matt Kuchar and Niklas Nørgaard both made an ace at the par-3 fourth. Nørgaard’s compatriot Rasmus Højgaard, fresh from a Ryder Cup victory in New York in his debut for the European Team, posted a three-under-par round.
“Still a bit low on energy, so I’m going to manage myself over the next couple of days and hopefully restore some of it,” Højgaard said.
Round two at The Country Club of Jackson is set to begin at 1:05pm Irish time on Friday, with Power teeing off at 6:23pm Irish time.
Leave a comment