Graeme McDowell impressed by emergence of Seamus Power

Power returned to 100th in the Official World Golf Ranking after tie for 12th with McDowell in the Bermuda Championship.

Mon, 01 Nov, 2021 - 22:46

Brian Keogh

Graeme McDowell could be European Ryder Cup skipper in 2027 and it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that West Waterford's Seamus Power could emerge as a contender for the team to do battle at Adare Manor.

The 34-year-old Tooraneena man broke into the big time in July when he beat JT Poston in a playoff to claim his maiden PGA Tour win in the Barbasol Championship in July.

Power returned to 100th in the Official World Golf Ranking yesterday after his tie for 12th with McDowell in the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

And having played with him in the first three rounds, the Portrush man walked away hugely impressed by a player who is now Irish golf's third-highest ranked star after Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, and a man clearly chasing his second PGA Tour win and a spot in all the Majors.

“He’s very good,” McDowell said. "I actually apologised to him, saying I was sorry that it had taken this long to play some competition golf together.

"We may have played a few practice holes together somewhere but last week was a first in playing a serious, competitive game in each other's company.

"So, it was really good to grouped with him for three of the four days. He's really strong off the tee. He's also a very good chipper of the ball.

"To me, Seamus is the archetypal PGA Tour player. He's strong off the tee, drives it exceptionally well and has a very tidy short game. Think he will have a long PGA Tour career just for those two facets alone."

Last week's event, which was won by reigning Dubai Duty Free Irish Open champion Lucas Herbert of Australia, earning him a spot in the Masters, was the first of four in a row for the Irish duo.

Both McDowell and Power return to action in this week's World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba in Mexico where McDowell won in 2015 to end a 16-month drought.

McDowell, who moved up 10 places in the World Rankings yesterday to 252nd, did not win again until the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in 2019 and while he would capture the Saudi International in February last year to move back into the world's top 50, his attempt to re-invent his game in 2021 did not go to plan and he's now looking to go back to what made him great in the first place.

"I felt like I was looking for something, trying to reinvent it, but you're not going to reinvent 20 years of a move," McDowell said of his failed effort to rebuild his swing.

He took time off this summer to recover from a forearm injury and take stock and came to the conclusion that it's the mental game that needs work.

"There's nothing wrong with me physically and nothing wrong with my game. Do guys hit it 50 yards past me? Yeah, but guys hit it 50 yards by a lot of people. It's not just me. I'm long enough to compete on certain course; my iron play, chipping and putting is good enough to compete anywhere. I have to start doing what I do better instead of looking for some magic potion that doesn't exist."

Unlike Power, he doesn't have the length to compete most weeks on the PGA Tour, but the 42-year-old knows he can win in Mayakoba and with his PGA Tour card set to expire at the end of this 2021-22 season, another PGA Tour victory would set him up for the last few years of his career unless he can find a way to get involved with the breakaway, Saudi-backed World Tour.

"This is a really important four weeks for me," McDowell said of forthcoming starts in Mexico, the Houston Open, and the RSM Classic.

"I need to be out there feeling a little bit under pressure and feeling the juices flowing a little bit. I've got a climb back up the ladder again. If that means feeling a little under pressure finishing top 15 here in Bermuda, that's just a step in the right direction."

McDowell is one of eight PGA Tour stars who have asked Commissioner Jay Monahan for a waiver to compete in the Saudi International at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club from February 3-6.

But he admits he's unsure what the future holds with the Saudi.

“It's such an unknown quantity right now," he told Golf Channel in Bermuda. "It's so hard to make a comment. Is it good for golf or bad for golf? It's very difficult.

"Competition is typically good for everyone. I feel that typically the PGA Tour product has never been as strong as it is right now and it continues to get stronger. I certainly don't have any contracts [from the new circuit] right now. I'm certainly very happy where I am right now on the PGA Tour.”