Séamus Power’s hopes of a final regular season event miracle has come to a crashing end as the 39-year-old bowed out of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club after a poor Friday showing, missing the cut by five strokes.
Although Power’s chances of seeing the playoffs next week were remote, the Waterford man still held a good chance to place well at the notoriously low-scoring Sedgefield to give him some boost in the standings before FedEx Cup Fall in September.
Power posted a steady two-under-par first round on Thursday to give him a decent chance at making the weekend but it was a calamitous start for Power on Friday, making a double at the second before adding a bogey at the fifth. Power’s double was especially a sore one as he sent his approach shot into a gulley, about 30 yards short of the green forcing a penalty stroke.
Another bogey came at the 11th taking Power well out of contention but to be fair to the two-time PGA TOUR winner, he showed some fight as he went on a run of birdies – making three from the 13th to the 17th hole. That run was soon obliterated by a disaster on the 18th green.
Power somehow managed to five-putt from 13 feet at the last, making a seven at the par-4. That finish meant that Power posted a four-over-par second round, taking him to +2 for the tournament, missing the three-under-par cutline.
Power now has eight events remaining to cement himself inside the top-100 to earn full TOUR status. He entered the Wyndham at 110th but has since dropped to 114th due to this finish.
Starting the week 122nd in the standings, Beau Hossler has maintained his one stroke lead into Saturday’s third round as the 31-year-old looks to make a late surge to get inside the top-70 and into the playoffs.
Hossler began with back-to-back bogeys but quickly put that behind him to make five birdies in his three-under-par round. Hossler’s best work came at the last, where he made an 11ft putt for a three. He stands in a great position to earn his first PGA TOUR win.
Both Ben James and Jordan Smith are tied for T2, one stroke back from Hossler at 11-under.
There was plenty of drama for those who sit in and around that top-70 postion. Keegan Bradley, who entered this week 72nd in the standings looked set to miss the cut but the former Ryder Cup captain birdied three of his last six to get inside the cutline.
“I hope I get a shot this weekend to go out there and shoot some low scores and make the playoffs,” Bradley said when he finished, unaware of how it would finish. “I was really, really nervous coming down to the end, like to win the tournament sort of feel. So that was fun.”
Tony Finau has given himself an outside chance of getting into the top-70 as some clutch par saves sees him into the weekend. Finau sits 89th in the standings.
Jason Day’s 18-year playoff streak has come to an end. The former world no.1 entered this week 75th but a second round three-over-par saw him miss the cut.
“I’m looking forward to taking some time off,” Day said Friday. “My body’s been really awful actually this year, so just to try and grind through it has been tough. The last two days have been pretty hard to try and get my body ready,” said Day.
“It was a good streak obviously, but I would have loved to keep the streak going. But things happen, you know. You’re not going to keep everything going forever. Best to kind of take some time off, get my body sorted and try and come out next year and play well,” he added.
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