THE 150TH OPEN

July 15, 2022

Seamus Power

Mixed Zone

Q. Hard to take, first Open, missing the cut?

SEAMUS POWER: I just didn't play really well, to be honest, that's about it.

Q. The start was hard on (indiscernible) three-putting and bunker off the tee on 2, was it?

SEAMUS POWER: I didn't three-putt the first. I left it short, chipped up and two-putted. And the 2nd, I thought I hit a good tee shot on the 2nd, ended up in the bunker and missed a good chance for par. Didn't really get much going in two days. That's what happens.

Q. The experience overall, can you sum it up? I know you're going home early. Can you sum it up?

SEAMUS POWER: I just didn't play very well. I just didn't do anything particularly well. (Indiscernible) much of a chance.

Q. And (indiscernible) next year on fire?

SEAMUS POWER: Yes, (indiscernible) played very nicely. It's a great golf course for him. If he's going to miss, he's going to miss it left. And he's as good a wedge putter as you're going to have. He'll be tough to beat.

Q. You did the same thing at the Irish Open. You had Jack on Saturday as well who's playing really well, Jack Sr. But you ended up kind of falling backwards and he was going forward. And I think the reverse happened on Sunday with him then?

SEAMUS POWER: Yeah, that's golf sometimes. You always like playing with someone who is playing well, but obviously you need to be able to execute on your shots yourself.

Q. On the back nine you picked up a couple of birdies. Did you think then at that point that this is my opportunity to make a surge?

SEAMUS POWER: Yes, obviously you're never going to give up until you run out of holes. Even on 13, I made probably a 50-footer and made a nice birdie, actually decent birdie on 14, but just a lot of poor shots.

Missed the fairway on 15. Actually hit 16 pretty well, but it's a tough pin. It's a tough course when you're chasing it. Some of those pins you have no business going at. But obviously when you need to make a bunch of birdies you have to. That's what happens. You make mistakes.

Q. The pressure was building and that caused the mistakes?

SEAMUS POWER: No, just run out of holes. I was 4-over playing 13. You have to make four or five birdies coming in, so you have to go at pins you really have no business going at. But you're kind of hoping for something kind of special.

Q. What didn't work? You were playing so well?

SEAMUS POWER: I definitely never got comfortable. Today was an odd day. My biggest struggle is, like a lot of righties, a left-to-right wind. And we timed it horribly today. So we played 16 of the 18 holes in a left-to-right wind, which is almost impossible to do normally.

Then I made a couple of mistakes. I said it's a difficult golf course when you're behind. There's four or five obvious chances, and then outside of that you have to hit to 40, 50 feet and be okay with it.

And I wasn't playing well enough to take advantage of the ones that you should take advantage of. And you're trying to chase your tail on the other ones. And you just kind of -- you get out of position and it's difficult.

And then you combine that with I didn't make many putts from distance. And you know, you just don't leave yourself many opportunities.

Q. Coming here, trying too hard, it's The Open and you want to do well?

SEAMUS POWER: Not particularly. I didn't feel any extra pressure than any of the other majors. It was funny, yesterday I was going along nicely. When I got going the other way, I just wasn't able to turn it around.

I probably didn't have my best game. So it was one of those weeks you kind of need a couple of breaks to hang in there. Didn't get those, didn't get the putts to go in, and that's what happens.

Normally if you had to, you probably get in a little bit better there at the end, but you're going at pins on 15, or even 16, or some of those others you really can't get at. But when you need to birdie like the last two, three, four holes, or whatever, you kind of have to. So that adds to it.

It wasn't my best week. Something to work on the next couple of weeks.

Q. (No microphone.)

SEAMUS POWER: That's what it is at times. I wasn't swinging my best coming in, but I was managing. But this week it's a lot of left-to-right winds where I've just struggled and I'm just losing them right on the wind, which is obviously the worst miss around here.

And then you kind of -- you're afraid of that and you overcompensate, and you're kind of chasing your tail a little bit. That's what happened. That's golf sometimes. We're back to the drawing board, back to the practise area and figure out the next couple of weeks.

Q. (Indiscernible) in the FedEx, you're well placed (indiscernible)?

SEAMUS POWER: I'm not sure if I'll play Detroit yet. I won't play Minnesota. I'll play Detroit. Won't play Greensboro, and then I'll go to Memphis. Detroit's the only one I'm not sure. Hopefully I'll say Memphis, Maryland, and then hopefully all the way to Atlanta. We'll see how it goes.

Q. (No microphone.)

SEAMUS POWER: When you're in big tournaments, there are weeks you want to play well but sometimes it just doesn't happen like that. So back to some practise and build it back up again.

Q. It's been an incredible year, Seamus. When you look back to Barracuda last year and where things like that. You must be delighted at the big events at this stage?

SEAMUS POWER: Absolutely. This is where you want to be playing. Like, even I remember I was in -- was it Barbasol? Barbasol was after The Open last year. So obviously you're so happy to be here.

Again, that's golf. Things can change very quickly. So a lot of good momentum. So I learned what I can from this week and get back to it and see if I can get on a positive run again.

Q. Do you see Cam winning?

SEAMUS POWER: I could, very much so. He's putting as well -- the most impressive two-putting rounds I've seen. I don't know what his footage would have been today. But yeah, he was -- it was amazing.

I said to Simon on the 1st yesterday -- I hadn't played with him but I'd seen a number of the players missed a couple of drives left. That looks like it's going to be his miss, which obviously you can do all day here. He's as good with a wedge and a putter as I've seen. Like, he was very impressive.

Even the putts that he doesn't make, a lot of them look like they're scaring the hole, even from all sorts of distances. His speed is down. He's an aggressive putter, bouncing off the back of the hole.

And it was very impressive. Obviously I know The Open is different and it's going to be a lot of pressure on the weekend, but I think he'll be tough to catch. I could see him, he's the guy that could go out, having another couple rounds over the weekend, nobody can get near him.

Q. Came up short of the burn?

SEAMUS POWER: Short of the burn. When it landed, I was looking at Simon. I wasn't even sure. It's always a little more difficult, like yesterday's weird angle, you didn't hit a lot of shots directly into the wind.

So we were playing it like 15 yards, which I thought was enough. I thought it was a pretty good shot in the air. Brooks after me did the same thing. He bounces into the burn. Obviously Cam hit it like 60 feet by.

It was a strange one. Strange shot. The most odd -- most odd chip shots I ever had I too. I was on a downslope, a yard short of the water, trying to only hit it like probably nine feet.

It was all strange. It was surprising. It really got me. Like I said, kind of just misjudged it. It was much longer than I would have expected.

Q. (No microphone.)

SEAMUS POWER: It was such an odd chip. If the water wasn't there, easiest chip in the world. I don't know if I've ever hit a chip shot that close to the water and having to chip it so close over to the other side of the water, it's kind of funny.

Q. 60 feet, in the back of the hole?

SEAMUS POWER: Absolutely, hammer off the back of the hole. I said to Simon, golf is funny like that, and you see over the weekend, like that one went in. That was probably eight, nine feet past the hole, flying.

And golf, it can be so fickle like that. That could easily be a 5, and all of a sudden you're going the other way. Me and him hit on pretty much the same line up 2. He ends up making a birdie, and I catch the edge of the bunker, make bogey. Just like that, he's four shots ahead of you.

But that's the beauty of golf especially on a course like this where you're just humps and hollows, the greens are firm and fast. It was fun to watch. He's a very impressive player now.

Q. David Carey is doing well. He's 5-under.

SEAMUS POWER: Is he really?

Q. Is he a guy that's come onto your radar at any stage?

SEAMUS POWER: I met him the other day. I wouldn't have known him at all, to be honest. I've seen the name here and there. That's brilliant. I'm not a big leaderboard watcher. That's brilliant. Someone said Rory is doing well as well. That's great.

Q. Are you going to stay around for the weekend or heading back?

SEAMUS POWER: I have no clue yet. I'll figure it out here tonight or tomorrow morning.

Q. Are you going to stay around in Ireland or heading back?

SEAMUS POWER: If I'm going to play Detroit I'll be flying back earlier in the week. I'll kind of decide on that and go from there.