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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Michael Scully

Seamus Power to leave no stone unturned in bid for first Ryder Cup qualification

Seamus Power wants to leave no stone unturned in his bid to make Europe's Ryder Cup team for the first time.

That ambition should see him compete for GB and Ireland against Continental Europe in the Hero Cup in January, the new event that will see Europe's captain Luke Donald play a part in team selection.

Power, 35, rose to a career-high 32 in the world rankings on the back of Sunday's Butterfield Bermuda Open victory - his second PGA Tour victory in 15 months.

Coming on the back of Rory McIlroy's CJ Cup triumph last week, this triumph earned Power €1.15m and, crucially, he has earned Tour exemption until the end of 2025.

READ MORE : The insane amount of money Seamus Power earned after Bermuda Championship win

With the win, Power has gained entry to his second US Masters as well as The PGA Championship, The Players Championship and a host of other high level events.

They include the Sentry Tournament of Champions, The American Express, The Genesis Invitational, the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the RBC Heritage, the Charles Schwab Challenge and the Memorial Tournament.

In terms of the Ryder Cup, Power has burst into the top 10 on the World Points List.

The top three - currently Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Shane Lowry - qualify automatically for the European team. The same trio top the European Points List.

A jubilant Power spoke afterwards of the "flexibility" his Bermuda triumph now gives him in terms of his schedule.

That flexibility could allow him to play in the new Hero Cup event on January 13-15 in Abu Dhabi, the week after the Tournament of Champions in Maui.

The Hero Cup will give European skipper Donald a better idea of his team for the showdown with the USA in Rome next September, while giving him the chance to look at possible pairings.

European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald during a press conference at the Hotel Cavalieri, Rome. The 2023 Ryder Cup will take place at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, Fri, 29 Sept 2023 – Sun, 1 Oct 2023. (PA)

"We just chatted briefly at the party on Wednesday night at the hotel," said Power of meeting Donald last week.

"There's a new event, he was just telling me some of the details about it, the GB and Ireland versus Europe team event and just some of the options I might have.

"But as I said to him, before this week I was thinking how I did (in the RSM Classic) in Georgia (inext month) was going to affect some of my schedule going forward.

"So this win is going to give me some flexibility.

"It's something I'm going to talk to him about again, now that I have a little bit more freedom to play where I want.

"So I'll talk to him and see what he recommends. If it doesn't match up then it doesn't match up, but I certainly want to ask his opinion.

"I don't want to find out next September if I would have done this then I would be on it.

"This certainly helps but I'll talk to Luke and see what happens."

Power, who hung tough in the difficult, windy conditions on the back nine on the Port Royal course, made a record 28 birdies for the event over the week and earned him a significant cash prize for the charity of his choice from sponsors RSM.

The Irishman said the award would go to Solas, a Waterford charity that helps the family of charity victims.

"Something like that is close to me," Power said. "I lost my mum at a young age to cancer, so that's something that is close to my heart and it would be cool to help out."

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