Next stop the Masters as Séamus Power plays his way into Major league

If you’re going to lose, why not to a spectacular hole-out? And if Scottie Scheffler’s wizardry ultimately closed out Séamus Power’s interest in the WGC-Dell Technologies Matchplay in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, it only served to underscore how far the Waterford man has come in the space of a year.

At 35 years of age, Power may be seen as a late bloomer. Where his interest in the WGC championship up to this latest edition had been confined to watching from a distance on television, Power’s debut was a fruitful one – not just moneywise, with $386,000 (€350,000) going his way for being a quarter-finalist – but also in terms of future tournament planning.

The Waterford man had gone to Austin in 48th place on the world rankings, aware that the top-50 after the championship would earn a ticket to the Masters. Not only did he successfully earn that right, he also improved his ranking to a career best 41st which is the sort of elevated territory his play of the past year has merited.

While he’d tentatively entered for this week’s Valero Texas Open as a fallback should he somehow miss out on earning that ticket to the Masters from 7th-10th April, Power’s safe capture of that exemption following on from his play in the WGC has led to him withdrawing from the event in Houston to get a week off to get primed for that first trip to Augusta National.

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After his 4 and 3 win over Tyrrell Hatton in the last-16 on Saturday, Power – who had been staying with friends for the week, returned to his lodgings for a change of “shoes, socks, all that kind of stuff” – before returning to the course for his encounter with Scheffler, which ended when the American chipped in for eagle on the Par 5 16th.

A friendly handshake with his conqueror followed, before Power cast his mind ahead to the weeks ahead which will see a first appearance in a Major, never mind a first in the Masters.

“Look, it was a good week . . . . a bit disappointing to lose, but that’s golf at times. It was a fun week playing [the WGC-Dell Technologies Matchplay], my first time playing the tournament, so overall it’s been a positive appearance. My confidence was high coming in but again, it’s funny, you lose but it’s still been a good week. It’s an unusual feeling but it’s been a good finish in a very good field, so there is something positive in that,” said Power.

The decision not to commit to the Texas Open came as no surprise, given that Power had played nine events in a 12-week stretch. The plan was to return to his Las Vegas base for the upcoming week and then head to Augusta to register next Sunday ahead of the tournament.

Power will be part of a quartet of Irish players in the Masters field, with Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Pádraig Harrington also exempt.

His conqueror Scheffler continued his run in the matchplay with a semi-final win over Dustin Johnson and went in to the final against Kevin Kisner with the prospect of moving to number one in the world rankings with a win.

Scheffler – winner of the Phoenix Open and Arnold Palmer Invitational in recent weeks – got off to a great start in the final, turning three up.

Meanwhile, Graeme McDowell’s brilliant start to the Corales Puntacana Championship in the Dominican Republic fizzled out over the weekend.

McDowell had been right in contention at the midpoint after successive rounds of 68 (to lie just four shots adrift of 36-holes leader Ben Martin), but the Northern Irishman struggled to rounds of 73 and 75 to finish on four-under-par 284 in tied-50th.

Chad Ramey, a graduate of the Korn Ferry Tour, closed with a 67 for a 17-under-par 271 to claim a one-stroke winning margin over Martin and Alex Smalley to secure his breakthrough win on the PGA Tour.