Waterford golfer Seamus Power made a little bit of history overnight in the States after he became the first Irish winner on the Web.com Tour to put himself in line for his PGA Tour card next season.
A final round 67 at the United Leasing and Finance Championship in Indiana was enough for the 29 year old to cling on for victory and the $108,000 prize money will go quite some way to ensuring that Power moves off the Web.com Tour and is mixing it with the best of the best next season.
After making this putt on No. 18, @Power4Seamus thought he would fall one short.
But it proved to be just enough. ? https://t.co/DyvJe81F90
— Web.com Tour (@WebDotComTour) May 2, 2016
That par-saving putt on 18 gave Power the clubhouse lead on 12 under. It was looking unlikely that that would be enough but the four closest challengers all had trouble in the final stretch and Power picked up the trophy and the cheque which moves him up to 7th in the Tour money rankings.
And that's crucially important when it comes to moving up to the highest level. The Web.com Tour essentially acts as a second tier to the PGA Tour with the Top 25 earners given a full tour card the following season.
Seamus Power made history on Sunday.
He became the first Irish-born #WebTour winner. https://t.co/TdOuSQmmeC pic.twitter.com/j1K3sbVfmo— Korn Ferry Tour (@KornFerryTour) May 2, 2016
Understandably enough, Power was absolutely delighted with his weekend exertions telling PGA.com
It’s going to take me a couple hours to figure out what it all means, but right now I’m just very happy. To be honest, I was just trying to post a number and hope for the best. I knew the finish was playing very, very difficult, so to pick one up at 17 was a huge bonus. Then got a good up and down at the last after a poor second shot.
So when I finished I didn’t think it was going to win, but I saw some of the guys dropping shots and just hoped for the best. It obviously worked out.
And with that first Web.com Tour win under his belt, thoughts are already turning to what's coming around the corner.
If I didn’t see myself doing that [playing on the PGA Tour], there wouldn’t be a point in playing. This is a huge win but, at the same time, it’s a stepping stone for where I’m trying to be. But it’s a huge step, so I’m excited.
Thanks everyone for all the messages of support this week. Had a great week on a great course and happy to get my first @webdotcom tour win
— Seamus Power (@Power4Seamus) May 2, 2016
