Séamus Power’s brief sojourn away from the PGA Tour, where he heads the FedEx Cup standings, to the DP World Tour – where he is seeking to turn Luke Donald’s head in attempting to make Europe’s Ryder Cup team – brought with it a positive impact in the first round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links.
As Europe’s captain Donald himself showed he can still play a bit by claiming the first round lead with a fine eight-under-par 64, Power again showcased his form on the contrived desert links by the Arabian Gulf with a bogey-free 66 that propelled him into contention for the €1.35 million winner’s cheque in the Rolex Series event.
Indeed, it proved to be an impressive opening day’s work all round for the Irish contingent: Power’s 66 left him in sole possession of fourth place, while Shane Lowry – bouncing back from a disappointing Hero Cup campaign – signed for a bogey-free 67, highlighted by an eagle three on the second hole (his 11th) and Pádraig Harrington also showed his competitive longevity with a well-constructed 68.
For Tom McKibbin, the 20-year-old from Holywood in his rookie season, a nightmare stretch from the 17th to the first – bogey-double bogey-bogey – which saw him drop four strokes in those three holes, didn’t manage to derail him and he managed to sign for a level-par 72. The prospect of surviving the cut remains in his own hands.
Power, though, was impressive in transferring his form from the PGA Tour to the European circuit in a round that started with eight straight pars and his patience was rewarded with a run of five birdies in six holes – at the 18th, first, second, fourth and fifth – and then another on his penultimate hole, the eighth, to play his way into the business end of affairs.
“It’s one of those courses though with the greens, you just have to stay patient. You can hit pretty good shots and then not end up that close to the hole, and that happened to me a couple times on the back side. But I was able to take advantage of the front,” said Power of sticking to his routine.
Lowry, too, kept to his task. After a poor week at the Hero Cup, Lowry – a winner of the tournament in 2019 when it was played at Abu Dhabi Golf Club – bounced back with a fine round to get in the mix: “It was important not to lose too much confidence from last week, and it’s important to get this year off to a good start. I feel like I did that today.”
The highlight of Lowry’s round came on the par five second where he hit a 3-wood approach from 248 yards to 25 feet and rolled in the eagle putt, with his birdies coming on the 10th, seventh and eighth holes.
In the HGV Tournament of Champions, the season-opening tournament at Lake Nona in Orlando reserved for tournament winners of the past two years on the LPGA Tour, Leona Maguire birdied her closing hole to open with a one-under-par 71 to be inside the top-10. Canada’s Brooke Henderson claimed the first round lead with a five-under-par 67.
