Seamus Power believes the stars are starting to align for him again after he blasted a sizzling 62 on Monday qualify for this week’s $8.1 million Wells Fargo Championship.
The West Waterford man (34) made eight birdies to top the leaderboard on eight-under at Gaston Country Club in North Carolina to take top spot in a 90-man battle for just four places in a stellar field at Quail Hollow this week.
After failing to make the top 125 in the FedEx Cup standings in 2019, Power has been playing in the tenuous 126th-150th category ever since, which means never being fully sure when you are playing next.
"That’s the frustrating thing with this category,” said the 2016 Olympian. “People ask me when I’m playing and I feel like I say, ‘I don’t know’ a lot. But after getting through on Monday, I know I will be in next week’s Byron Nelson if I play well this week, so that’s the best part."
It’s been a tough last 12 months for the pride of Tooraneena, who had to wait until November to go undergo surgery on wear and tear in his left elbow after all elective surgery was cancelled due to the pandemic.
"I was hoping to get it done when the Tour was stopped but I had to wait," said Power, who is excited about getting back to Quail Hollow, where he has made three cuts out of three, finishing tied 13th two years ago. "Then it took a long time to recover — a lot longer than I thought.
"The surgeon said to me it would be six months before it would be decent and nine months before it was back to normal and I didn’t quite believe him because I got back to a reasonable point pretty quick.
"But the elbow is a weird joint for recovery. Those early events were always going to be tough but it was worth it. Most of the swelling has gone now but the nerve pain, jeez, the nerve pain was brutal.
"But look, that’s all gone now so I am really looking forward to getting back out there again. For the first time in a while the game is very close to where I want it, so it should be fun to see what happens."
Power felt he was ready to hit form again when he got his COVID-19 vaccine, tied for ninth in Las Vegas on the Korn Ferry Tour and headed for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with high hopes.
But he tested positive for the coronavirus and only just returned from 10 days self-isolation on Monday to earn his spot at Quail Hollow.
"It was disappointing not to be able to play the last couple of weeks but I knew my game was in good shape after playing in Vegas so I was delighted to get in," he said.
"It was a boring enough 10 days but I am good to go again and the game looks good. It's coming along and I am really looking forward to the summer now."
He hasn’t been home since 2019 but while an appearance in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Mount Juliet looks a long shot given he’s 200th in the FedEx Cup and desperate to move up, he has fond memories of his appearance at Lahinch.
"If the Irish Open is opposite the Rocket Mortgage, that’s one of the events I’d potentially play here but you never know," he said. "Lahinch was some craic. What a week that was. I will never forget it. Even the weather was unreal."
