Séamus Power’s smile was constant, and for a good reason. The 34-year-old Waterford man worked his way around the iconic Pebble Beach Golf Links, with the Pacific Ocean pounding into the shoreline below, and with each step he moved ominously clear of all pursuers in posting a second round 64 for a midway total of 16-under 128, a record 36-holes low total in the AT&T Pro-Am Championship.
And, in potentially making for an extraordinary weekend for Irish golf, Leona Maguire shot a bogey-free 65 for a 36-holes total of 13-under-par 131 to share the lead the Drive On Championship at Fort Myers in Florida, putting her one round away from a possible breakthrough LPGA Tour win in what is a 54-holes event.
Power, ranked 50th in the world but with some of the best form on the planet the past nine months, having ranked 210th prior to his breakthrough Barbasol Championship win last July, continued his superb form in moving into a commanding position in his quest to land one of the most prized titles on the PGA Tour.
Having hit the ground running with a birdie on the second hole, Power suffered a blip with a bogey on the fifth. That seemed to kick him into life, as he went on a hot streak that yielded birdies on the sixth, seventh and ninth to turn in 33 before bringing that momentum into the homeward run with further birdies at the 10th, 11th and 12th and also at the 14th and 16th. With all facets of his game in fine working order, Power – to use a pun – powered further away from everyone.
Each birdie was met with an encouraging acknowledgement from his pro-am partner, the business tycoon Dermot Desmond; and a focused nod and occasional fist-bump from his caddie Simon Keelan.
Power suffered a rare blip in missing the green right on the par-three17th and then catching his recovery heavy into a greenside bunker. Power actually did well to limit the damage by getting up and down for a bogey, his second dropped shot of the round. The reaction to that bogey on 17 was to pose for a photo with his playing partner John Murphy and amateur players Desmond and Gerry McManus on the 18th tee, a moment to gather his thoughts and head on down the famed par-five 18th.
Power strategically played the 18th, laying up with his second shot and then hitting a lovely wedge approach to six feet. On a day where he was for the most part close to perfection, Power duly finished the task to claim that record low 36 holes total of 128.
Murphy, playing on a sponsor’s invitation, birdied the last for a 69 to get back to level-par 144 through 36 holes and, with his third round at Monterey Peninsula, still in with a chance to survive the three-round cut.
For her part, Maguire – seeking a breakthrough LPGA Tour win – moved into a share of the lead with America’s Marina Alex in the Drive On Championship with Europe’s Solheim Cup star of 2021 in magnificent form.
Maguire, the 27-year-old Co Cavan golfer in her second event of the season, was hugely impressive in adding a 65 to her opening 66 for a 131 total through 36 holes to claim the a share of lead and put a first LPGA Tour win within touching distance. Alex finished with back-to-back birdies to also make it to 13 under, with the duo four shots clear of the field.
Of her patient approach, Maguire – into her full first season having played two rookie seasons due to the Covid-disrupted nature of her first year with a full card – explained: “I think last year maybe I tried to chase things a little bit too much, put a bit too much pressure on myself, tried to force things a little bit.
“Lydia [Ko] said last week, ‘If you knock on the door enough times eventually it’ll open’. I’m adopting that same mentality, putting myself in these positions. I put a lot of work in over the off-season too, and it’s nice that it’s paying off this early in the season.”
Of potentially kicking on in the final round to win, Maguire added: “If it does, great. If not, no big deal. We’ve still got a long year ahead of us!”
On the DP World Tour, Pádraig Harrington was the lone Irish player to survive the cut in the Ras al Khaimah Championship at Al Hamra where Scotland's David Law carded an eight-under-par 64 for 14-under-par 130 to take a two-stroke advantage through 36 holes.
Harrington, at 50, continued his strong start to the new season with a second round 70 for 139, five under, to lie in tied-34th into the weekend but Jonathan Caldwell (71 for 142) and teenager Tom McKibbin (74 for 145) missed the cut which fell on 141.
On the Asian Tour, Shane Lowry alone of the three Irish players competing made it into the weekend in the Saudi International where American Harold Varner III and Spaniard Adri Arnaus led on 10 under 130. Lowry shot a 70 for 138 to lie on 138, in tied-21st.
Ras al Khaimah Championship leaderboard
British and Irish unless stated, par 72
130 David Law 66 64
132 Nicolai Hoejgaard (Den) 67 65
134 Adrian Otaegui (Esp) 71 63
135 Brandon Stone (Rsa) 66 69, Thomas Detry (Bel) 66 69, Jordan Smith 71 64, Oliver Bekker (Rsa) 70 65
136 Johannes Veerman (USA) 66 70, Marcus Armitage 69 67, Robert MacIntyre 69 67, Shaun Norris (Rsa) 68 68, Tapio Pulkkanen (Fin) 68 68, Lukas Nemecz (Aut) 70 66, Sebastian Heisele (Ger) 65 71
137 Rasmus Hoejgaard (Den) 69 68, Joachim B. Hansen (Den) 69 68, John Catlin (USA) 70 67, Francesco Laporta (Ita) 70 67, Matthieu Pavon (Fra) 68 69, Callum Shinkwin 71 66, George Coetzee (Rsa) 68 69, Ross Fisher 70 67, Julien Brun (Fra) 71 66, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (Esp) 69 68
138 Steven Brown 71 67, Jeff Winther (Den) 69 69, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 72 66, Matthew Jordan 69 69, Connor Syme 71 67, Scott Jamieson 65 73, Marcel Siem (Ger) 71 67, Niklas Noergaard Moeller (Den) 71 67, Craig Howie 69 69
139 Pádraig Harrington 69 70, Maverick Antcliff (Aus) 69 70, Matthew Southgate 67 72, Frederic Lacroix (Fra) 73 66, Hurly Long (Ger) 68 71, Zander Lombard (Rsa) 72 67
140 Danny Willett 69 71, Sami Valimaki (Fin) 71 69, Haotong Li (Chn) 74 66, Ignacio Elvira (Esp) 69 71, Masahiro Kawamura (Jpn) 68 72, Julien Guerrier (Fra) 71 69, Matthias Schmid (Ger) 73 67, Yannik Paul (Ger) 71 69, Andrew Wilson 73 67, Benjamin Hebert (Fra) 69 71, Oliver Wilson 72 68, Richard McEvoy 74 66
141 Andrea Pavan (Ita) 72 69, Thriston Lawrence (Rsa) 69 72, Kristoffer Broberg (Swe) 73 68, Grant Forrest 69 72, Daniel van Tonder (Rsa) 73 68, Richard Mansell 71 70, Guido Migliozzi (Ita) 71 70, Jason Scrivener (Aus) 73 68, Jamie Donaldson 72 69, Adrian Meronk (Pol) 70 71, Joakim Lagergren (Swe) 70 71, James Morrison 68 73, Alexander Levy (Fra) 69 72, Fabrizio Zanotti (Pry) 71 70, David Horsey 71 70, Wil Besseling (Ned) 73 68, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 69 72, Soeren Kjeldsen (Den) 74 67, Ashley Chesters 74 67, Ricardo Santos (Por) 72 69, Lorenzo Gagli (Ita) 72 69
Missed cut
142 Thorbjoern Olesen (Den) 72 70, Jonathan Caldwell 71 71, Alexander Bjoerk (Swe) 72 70, Richie Ramsay 73 69, Ryan Fox (Nzl) 71 71, Nino Bertasio (Ita) 71 71, Lucas Bjerregaard (Den) 73 69, Romain Langasque (Fra) 73 69, Marcus Helligkilde (Den) 74 68, Daan Huizing (Ned) 68 74, Niklas Lemke (Swe) 74 68
143 Richard Bland 71 72, Mikko Korhonen (Fin) 69 74, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Esp) 73 70, Maximilian Kieffer (Ger) 72 71, Nicolai von Dellingshausen (Ger) 71 72, David Drysdale 72 71, Espen Kofstad (Nor) 72 71, Oliver Farr 71 72, Aaron Cockerill (Can) 74 69
144 Sebastian Soederberg (Swe) 73 71, Colin Montgomerie 74 70, Joel Stalter (Fra) 73 71
145 Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 72 73, Tom McKibbin 71 74, Dale Whitnell 72 73, Marc Warren 77 68, Jacques Kruyswijk (Rsa) 77 68, Darren Fichardt (Rsa) 72 73, Chris Paisley 75 70, Sebastian Garcia (Esp) 73 72, Marcel Schneider (Ger) 69 76, Hugo Leon (Chi) 73 72, Eddie Pepperell 76 69
146 Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 74 72, Kalle Samooja (Fin) 71 75, Justin Walters (Rsa) 71 75, Chase Hanna (USA) 75 71
147 Chris Wood 70 77, Jorge Campillo (Esp) 76 71, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 74 73, David Howell 77 70, Angel Hidalgo (Esp) 75 72, Ricardo Gouveia (Por) 74 73, Santiago Tarrio (Esp) 73 74, Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 75 72, Graeme Storm 75 72
148 Antoine Rozner (Fra) 75 73, Alvaro Quiros (Esp) 78 70
149 Ross McGowan 76 73
150 Rikard Karlberg (Swe) 76 74, Darius van Driel (Ned) 79 71, Joel Sjoeholm (Swe) 79 71
152 Renato Paratore (Ita) 75 77
153 Ahmed Al Musharrekh (UAE) 81 72
154 Jack Singh-Brar 83 71
155 Monty Scowsill 81 74
156 Issa Abou El Ela (Egy) 78 78
159 Ahmed Skaik (UAE) 77 82
