Séamus Power shot a five-under-par round of 66 to open his tilt at the PGA Tour’s CJ CUP Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas, as the Waterford man continues his push to regain full PGA Tour status for 2027.
The two-time PGA Tour winner came into the week ranked 112th in the FedEx Cup standings, with the top 100 at the end of the FedEx Fall series once again retaining full membership, so he needs to make the most of his opportunities without access to the Signature Events.
And he’s off to a fine start in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, at a golf course where he’s performed well on in the past – finishing ninth in 2021 – despite missing the cut in his last two visits.
Back-to-back birdies on two and three were followed by a bogey on four, but even though he couldn’t take advantage of either of the two par-5s on the front, he did add another birdie on six and made the turn at two-under.
Despite missing the fairway and being forced to layup, his third and final par-5 of the day did yield a birdie and it got him to -3 and he then drove the front edge of the green on the short par-4 14th and two-putted from 50 feet to get to four-under, and he signed off in style by draining a 28-footer for birdie on the last to record his lowest opening round since the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines back in January.
His sharpest weapon on the day was his putter, making over 111 feet of putts and ranking first in Strokes Gained with the flatstick, but he’ll need to improve off the tee if he’s to find himself in contention on Sunday.
The low round of the day came from American Taylor Moore who made nine birdies in a bogey-free 62 to take sole possession of the lead at -9.
“Obviously pretty stoked,” was Taylor’s immediate reaction afterwards. “I’ve only played a couple times in the last few weeks, so it was good to get in a rhythm early. 2-under after three, I got into a good rhythm. I was really excited.”
One behind and sharing second place are Brooks Koepka and Jesper Svensson. Koepka, who struggled with his putting in the PGA Championship at Aronimink, wasn’t at his best off the tee but was on fire with every other aspect and made six birdies and an eagle to set the early target in a marquee grouping alongside defending champion Scottie Scheffler and Si Woo Kim.
“Yeah, that was nice,” Koepka said. “I think — we were just talking about it over here in one of the interviews. It was just a comfortable group as well. Everyone is just kind of feeding off each other, easy. Everyone’s having fun. Makes it enjoyable. I feel comfortable on the golf course as well.
“Finally, I felt good with the putter. I felt good the last few days with it when I was working in my studio. Then when I got here, it felt very comfortable. Rick said the same thing from watching. Which also kind of helps build a little confidence, what you feel versus the reality of it. Just happy with the way everything went today.”
Scheffler sits alongside Power in a tie for 16th at five-under. The world number one also went bogey-free, making five birdies and he feels like he’s close to being back to his best.
“I felt like I was pretty close,” he said. “I did some good stuff. I felt I was a little short with my irons, making myself a few more looks. It’s just a matter of getting closer and holing a few more putts. Overall I felt like I did some good stuff, just keeping it closer and holing a few more putts. But overall, did a lot of good things.”
Si Woo Kim is part of a seven-way tie for fourth at -7, while another home favourite in Jordan Spieth struggled with his putter but can get himself back in the hunt from three-under if he goes low on Friday.
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