Mark Power surged from the cut line and into contention at the halfway stage of the Magical Kenya Open after a sensational birdie, birdie, eagle finish took him to within five shots of the lead at Karen Country Club.
Power, who only arrived as a late invite on Wednesday, is eight-under-par after a superb 65 and sharing 16th place and after picking up four shots in his last three holes he feels his attitude has changed when under pressure late in the day.
“I had a few nerves out there but I feel like my golf has really picked up under the gun over the last little while so it’s very satisfying,” Power told IrishGolfer.ie after ending 2025 as a winner on the Clutch Pro Tour before earning a HotelPlanner Tour card at Q-School.
“I’d have taken that big time, very happy with that. Especially to do it at any time in the round at all but coming down the stretch I knew I needed to pick up maybe one more to give me some breathing room (from the cut) but to finish like that was brilliant.
“Definitely nervy but I suppose I’ve been around the cutline before in tournaments and have played to hang on so I just said to myself attack and put the foot down and I ended up putting myself into a good position for the weekend as opposed to scraping in so I was very happy with that.”
The Kilkenny man wasn’t alone in producing some late fireworks, Kenya’s very own Njoroge Kibugu also eagled the 18th to make the cut and send the home crowd into raptures.
Power had a steady front nine with two birdies and two bogeys but went above the cut mark with a birdie at the par-4 12th. Needing one more to make absolutely certain, his birdie, birdie and a second straight eagle on the 18th has opened up a world of possibilities for the 25-year-old.
Making his first competitive appearance of the season, a top-10 finish would get him into next week’s South African Open while a career-changing win is not out of the question at five shots back of Frederic Lacroix and Casey Jarvis.
“I’ve been itching to get an opportunity to play. I was disappointed I didn’t get into any of the South African events (on the HotelPlanner Tour) at all but I’m happy where I am now and hopefully I can make the most of the weekend.
“I came into the week as a free hit I won’t start making goals now, just keep enjoying it we had plenty of crowds out, the Kenyan fans get very excited when a putt drops. It would be very nice to get in the top-10 and keep rolling.
“If you had told me Tuesday morning I would be in a position to make the cut I would have said what are you talking about? Everything happened very last minute. They were a player short and I got a call when I was on the range in Mount Juliet, my manager got in contact with the tour and there was a spot for me so there was no point in holding back, it was a free hit for me but you also have to play the golf.”
Indeed, Power hadn’t hit a competitive ball in anger since November’s Q-School but not only did he retain the confidence that the end of last season had given him, he hasn’t lost the ball striking prowess that makes him such a talented player.
“A lot of the time you can finish the season in November and by the time you get going in January, February you’re just not in the same groove because golf ebbs and flows so much you can find it one week and gone the next week.
“I went to Portugal for a couple of weeks and felt the way I was swinging the club and hitting the ball was exactly where I finished off last year which was very satisfying. Being in control of your ball is just a golfers dream it removes the pressure and you can play freely.”
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