Séamus Power set for PGA Tour debut in California

Luke Donald believes “mental anguish” could be behind the decision of Tiger Woods to pull out of his comeback at the Safeway Open.

The former world number one was due to make his first competitive appearance since last August at the PGA Tour’s 2017 season opener in Napa, California.

After earning his full playing rights via the Web.com Tour finals last month, Waterford’s Séamus Power will make his first start in the tournament which now lacks the huge pulling power of Woods after his withdrawal on Monday.

Donald, who had a career-threatening wrist injury in 2008, said: “It sounds like clinically he feels fine. He’s just not quite ready to tee it up from a mental standpoint perhaps. That’s certainly what I gathered from his comments. There’s a lot of mental anguish when you take time away. I think obviously Tiger’s got very high standards and expectations.

“I think that you have to weigh that up with that feel of almost failure or fear or anxiety of not performing well. If Tiger Woods is healthy like he says he is, that’s probably what he’s weighing out right now, just feeling comfortable. It’s really hard to get comfortable unless you actually put yourself through it. At some point he’s got to jump in, and if he messes up, he’s got a good opportunity to get better the next time he plays.”

Power, who represented Ireland at the Rio Olympics alongside Pádraig Harrington, will tee it up in California after finishing 12th on the Web.com Tour money list for 2016.

The 29-year-old has wasted no time in beginning life on the full tour and did so perfectly in his first practice round on Tuesday by making a hole-in-one on the 11th.