Power finish; three late birdies help Seamus made RSM Classic cut

Seamus Power 

Seamus Power might have distance off the tee but he's also got a deft touch near the hole and three birdies in his last three holes helped the West Waterford man make the cut in the $6m RSM Classic at Sea Island.

Tied for 60th after a three under 67 on the Seaside Course at the Georgia venue, Power needed a low round on the Plantation Course to make the cut.

But after following a six at the par-five fourth with two birdies only to appear to shoot himself in the foot with a double bogey six at the 14th (he had to single putt to avoid taking seven), he recovered spectacularly with birdies at the par-five 16th, par-four 17th and a two-putt effort at the par-five 18th to make the cut on the five under par limit.

It represents another successful week for the 29-year old rookie, who is 82nd in the FedEx Cup standings having made the cut in four successive PGA Tour starts since missing the weekend on his debut in California a month ago.

This week's represents his last chance to move up the reshuffle standings before the Web.com Tour graduates are re-ordered ahead of the next re-shuffle, which comes before the Genesis Open at Riviera in February.

Power has already moved up 11 spots to 20th and can climb further with a good weekend in Georgia, increasing his chances of more starts in January and February.

He felt before the season even began that he would get to play in the Sony Hawaii Open and the CareerBuilder Challenge as well as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. 

As for the RSM Classic, rookie Mackenzie Hughes from Canada added a 67 on the Plantation Course to his opening 61 on the Seaside Course to lead by two shots on 14 under par from another Web,com Tour graduate in Cheng Tsung Pan from Chinese Taipei.

Ranked 57th for Strokes Gained Off The Tee and 63rd from Tee to Green, Power is sixth for Driving Distance, seventh for Strokes Gained Around the Green and 29th for Strokes Gained Putting. 

In other words, he's getting the ball out there and making putts, which is never bad news.

from News - Irish Golf Desk http://ift.tt/2g6MZ5H