Séamus Power makes a solid start in John Deere Classic
حوالي ٤ سنوات فى The Irish Times
Séamus Power is taking things step-by-step in his quest to move into the top-125 on the FedEx Cup standings - which would enable him to achieve the double objective of making the playoffs and also tying down a full PGA Tour card for next season - and a solid opening round of three-under-par 68 in the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois.
While Amercian Chez Reavie and Colombian Camilo Villegas shared the clubhouse lead in signing for first round 64s, seven-under, Waterford man Power - currently 140th in the FedEx Cup with four regular season tournaments left stateside - produced a bogey-free round that included three birdies, at the second, sixth and seventh to get himself into position.
Power has two top-10 finishes in his last four outings on the PGA Tour, including a tied-eighth finish in last week’s tour stop at the Rocket Mortgages Classic.
On the LPGA Tour, Leona Maguire also made a solid start - in her case an opening round 69, two under - where Japan’s Nasa Hataoka was in sizzling form in grabbing the first round lead with a 10 birdie haul that enabled her to sign for a 61.
Hataoka, who started on the 10th, strung a sequence of six successive birdies together from the 15th to the second and then added a further hat-trick of birdies from the fifth in a bogey-free round: “I think what was really working is I was able to control my iron shots to make sure that I could get close to the pin to get birdies,” said the 22-year-old Japanese player, aiming to bounce back from a missed cut in the KPMG PGA Championship on her last appearance.
Maguire, currently 61st in the world rankings and in 15th on the LPGA Tour order of merit after a strong season which has included two runner-up finishes, had three birdies and a bogey in her opening round.