Power never tempted by LIV and hatching plans to make Ryder Cup dream come true
Seamus Power of Ireland hits his shot from a bunker on the sixth hole during the final round of the 2022 PGA Championship at the Southern Hills on May 22, 2022 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Montana Pritchard/PGA of America)
Séamus Power insists he would never swap his Ryder Cup dream for the LIV Golf millions.
The world number 41—the 11th highest-ranked European in the world— returned to action after a five-week break and finished tied 30th in the Sanderson Farms Championship on Sunday.
Winning one of three spots via the Ryder Cup World Points list will be tough for the West Waterford star with Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry and Viktor Hovland also US-based.
But Power is planning to make himself impossible to ignore as one of Donald’s six wildcards should he miss out automatically and hopes that by finishing as high as possible on both lists he will be impossible to ignore, even as a rookie.
“I never dreamed of money when it comes to golf,” Power said of the decision not to contemplate LIV Golf. “I love playing golf. I love the level of accomplishment and the personal reward you get.
“There’s no guarantee you are ever going to make a Ryder Cup, but at least you can set it out as a huge goal and something you’ve always dreamed of. There was no way I was going to give up on that.”
Power was never on LIV’s hit list and insists the money would never make up for the joy of competing for PGA Tour wins, Major starts and the chance of Ryder Cup glory.
“There are so many unknowns, especially for someone in my level,” he said of the Saudi-backed tour as he prepared for a “home” game in this week’s Shriners Children's Open in Las Vegas. “I feel like I’ve just had my best couple of years and I want to see where it takes me which is hopefully to Ryder Cups and into more majors.
“Honestly, I’m very happy with how it has been going. I wasn’t one of the guys they were coming up to and throwing numbers at. The unknowns around the Ryder Cup and the Majors, for me that’s too much risk and too much to give up.”
Power plans to reach out to European skipper Donald for advice on how best to plan his qualifying campaign for Rome.
“With guys like Rory, Rahm and Hovland eating up world ranking points and the fact I won’t play as much in Europe as some of those other guys, realistically for someone like me, you’re probably going to be looking towards a pick but you want to do the right things and make sure you’ve done everything you can to be in the best spot for a pick,” he said.
“Everyone who plays golf in Europe just dreams of playing the Ryder Cup. It won’t be in the back of my mind but right at the forefront of my mind for the next 12 months so hopefully I can play some golf and give myself a chance to make that team.
“There will be some new guys there but when you are anchored by Rory, Rahm, Matty Fitz, Hovland and Shane, that’s a pretty good start to a team right there. Then you have Robert Macintyre winning in Italy and guys like the Hojgaards and even Sepp Straka, who I keep forgetting is Austrian.
“If I can play really well for 12 months and get high and enough in the world rankings, it almost forces their hand into picking you. But I have to talk to Luke. It would be some spectacle to be a part of.”
Power made his first appearance for five weeks in the Sanderson Farms Championship last week and tied for 30th despite making five bogey sixes.
“Things have been going well in practice but you never know until you put it in play in the tournament,” said Power of a tournament where he made an encouraging 21 birdies.
“I think I might’ve made five sixes on par fives which I have never remotely done in my life and only one of them I was actually ever in trouble when I hit one ball in the water going for a green in two and the rest was just the weirdest thing.
“That’s where the rust could’ve showed up - in the short game where I dropped some of the shots - and so it’s encouraging when you’re making lots of birdies and it’s easier to clean up some of the mistakes.
“It was nice to be back playing, I was very encouraged by the game so I’m looking I’m very excited about this little stretch coming up.”
He was disappointed not to make it to the Tour Championship having entered the Playoffs ranked 24th but understood the stacked points system was always going to punish a weak performance.
While he’s skipping the ZOZO in Japan, he’s made no concrete plans beyond the CJ Cup and starts in Bermuda and Mexico over the next few weeks as he looks at the best way to plan his 2023 schedule with job security and the Ryder Cup his priorities.
“It’s one of those things I want to talk to Luke about,” he said of the restructured PGA Tour schedule with its elevated events still undefined. “Right now I’m not in a winner’s category and you’ve got to make sure that you take care of your job and that side of things and then figure out exactly what he would like me to do.
“It’s difficult to work out as you have the new world ranking system and don’t know how events stack up and so many things have changed.
“I’d like to talk to him not just to congratulate him, but to get his advice on what he would advise and what he would like to see.”
With only the top 70 making the Playoffs this year, Power has many questions to ask the Tour and Donald.
But he’s 100pc fit after feeling some weary and year on his elbow late in the season.
“It’s something I will be dealing with forever. The surgery was two years ago it’s just when it gets a bit of wear and tear it gets tight and sometimes it just needs a week off,” he said. “So I’m always kind of working on it. There’s no pain whatsoever which is fantastic. It was 100pc this week and it wasn’t affecting play or anything.
