West Waterford's Seamus Power became the first Irish golfer to win on the Web.com Tour in the United States on Sunday night when he took home the $108,000 (€94,000) first prize from the United Leasing & Finance Championship in Indiana.
The 29-year-old carded a five-under 67, the only bogey-free final round at Victoria National Golf Club, to finish on 12 under, one clear of a trio of Americans in second place.
Power took the clubhouse lead and watched as both Canada's Roger Sloan and America's Cody Gribble fell apart over the closing two holes.
Sloan was two shots ahead of Power standing on the 17th tee but found water on each of the closing holes and recorded two double-bogeys in a three-under 69 that saw him slip back to fifth position on 10 under.
That handed Gribble a one-shot lead but he bogeyed the 17th and the 18th, where he found water at the back of the green.
Reacting to his win, Power told the Web.com website: “It still hasn’t really sunk in. Crazy day. But, yeah, obviously, over the moon. It’s going to take me a couple hours to figure out what it all means, but yeah, right now I’m just very happy and obviously over the moon.
“To be honest, I was just trying to post a number and hope for the best. I knew the finish was playing very, very difficult, so to pick one up at 17 was a huge bonus. Then got a good up and down at the last after a poor second shot. So when I finished I didn’t think it was going to win, but I saw some of the guys dropping shots and just hoped for the best. It obviously worked out.”
Power now jumps to seventh in the Web.com money list with earnings of $131,733 (€114,750) and is just $30,000 short of the mark required to earn a full PGA Tour card last season.
“That’s where you’re trying to get. If I didn’t see myself doing that, there wouldn’t be a point in playing,” admitted Power. “ This is a huge win, but at the same time, it’s a stepping stone for where I’m trying to be. But it’s a huge step, so I’m excited.”
