Séamus Power has given himself something to work with at the Wyndham Championship, but he’ll need a big weekend if he is to turn a decent position into a meaningful boost to his season.
Power opened the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club with a two-under-par 68 to sit T54 after 18-holes – seven strokes back from Beau Hossler who leads at nine-under.
Starting his round on the back nine, Power made his first birdie at the par-4 13th and another at the par-4 17th but they were split by two bogeys at the 15th and 16th. Power’s loose tee ball at the 15th forced a penalty as it found the right trees – something that has been happening far too often for the 39-year-old lately.
Taking on the front nine, Power birdied the first and the sixth to finish at two-under.
The Wyndham is particularly important for the Waterford man because he entered the week 110th in the FedExCup with 310.18 points, well outside the top 70 required for the FedExCup Playoffs. Power’s realistic objective now won’t be the playoffs, but to maximise points before heading into FedEx Cup Fall.
There is also reason for optimism. Power has shown flashes of good form recently, most notably his top-10 finish at the 3M Open, his first individual top 10 of the season. He also ranks extremely well on the PGA TOUR from 50–125 yards, where he is first on the TOUR in relative-to-par scoring.
31-year-old Beau Hossler stormed into the lead with a bogey free nine-under-par 61. Hossler made five birdies one the front, followed by an eagle and two more birdies on the back.
Hossler is at 122nd in the FedExCup and also has to win to reach the first playoff event next week, the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
“Try and win a golf tournament,” Hossler said. “That’s all there is to it.”
“There’s lots of players that this week’s performance does impact moving on or not or whatever,” Hossler added. “Obviously, every week that we play out here has implications for future years. I think if you let that consume you, it’s a dangerous thing. I’m going to go try and play great golf and kind of see where the cards fall.”
Sahith Theegala and young gun Ben James share T2 at eight-under. Theegala posted one of the craziest front nines this year, making eight birdies and a bogey as he didn’t par a hole until the 10th.
“Pretty wild,” Theegala said. “I’ve never had a round like that. I think historically I’ve always struggled to start rounds really well, so that was the first time I ever started a round with six (birdies) in a row. That was an incredible start. It didn’t feel like a fluke or anything, either.”
Ben James made two eagles in his 62 round. James, the No. 1 player in the 2026 PGA TOUR University ranking that came with a TOUR card, has to win to reach the top 70.
“Every week someone always shoots anywhere from 63 to 60 or 59 the first day, so it’s always there. You just try to put yourself in position, play the best you can,” James said.
Eric Cole holds fourth place at seven-under, and his followed by six players in T5 at six-under. Five of those players sit outside the top 70.
The end of round one was suspended due to weather as 12 players will return Friday morning to complete their round before round two.
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