	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

SANDERSON FARMS CHAMPIONSHIP

October 27, 2016

Seamus Power

Jackson, Mississippi

Q. Well done out there, 7-under par 65. Obviously you may not be that familiar with Bermudagrass, but how was it for you out there?
SEAMUS POWER: It was good. You know, I liked the course as soon as I got here on Monday and played the course. I knew it could be a good chance for a good week for me. I like the greens. They're rolling perfectly. Yeah, Bermudagrass is not normal for me, but I've played enough of it by now that at least I can have a better guess at what's going to happen.

Q. What was the key for you out there today?
SEAMUS POWER: I stayed patient. I was 2-under through 8 and I missed a couple chances, but I just kind of stayed patient and knocked in a few more putts there around the turn, got me going a little bit. Overall everything was pretty good, and I felt like my speed was good on the greens, which always helps you make putts.

Q. Kind of a big year for you, you play in the Olympics, win on the Web.com TOUR, now a member of the PGA TOUR. What's it been like early on?
SEAMUS POWER: Yeah, it's been great. This is where you dream about playing. Just to see some of the other guys out there that you've been watching for years on TV, it's been special. It's early yet in my season, but you just kind of have to look past that and make sure you're concentrating on your own golf and playing your own golf.

Q. Have you sought any advice from Shane, Rory and Padraig?
SEAMUS POWER: Yeah, I mean, I was obviously picking Padraig's brain quite a lot when I was at the Olympics and just getting some advice for the year, and then I had dinner with Shane last year during the Wells Fargo. So yeah, I mean, I tried to pick here and there, but they're trying to -- they're busy trying to figure stuff out, as well. I never try to annoy them too much.

But yeah, every little bit of advice I can get from those guys will be very helpful.

Q. Bogey-free day; all told after a couple of wins last year on the Web.com TOUR, after an Olympic performance that you should definitely be proud of, with all of that, how much momentum did you feel like you were carrying into this season on the PGA TOUR?
SEAMUS POWER: Yeah, I mean, a lot. That's one of the advantages for us guys coming off the Web. You don't get time to stop and think, you just kind of continue going with what's been working. So yeah, a lot of momentum throughout the summer, and just nice to try to keep it going here into the fall.

Q. Why did this golf course fit you so well when you first saw it here this week?
SEAMUS POWER: It's just one of those courses when I step on the tee boxes, I kind of like how the lines look, and then the greens are cut -- I like putting on fast greens, and these are quick, and they're a perfect surface, so you can really get the putter going.

Q. Overall with a good start right here, have you thought with all the things that you've been able to accomplish over this past year what winning on the PGA TOUR might feel like? It's only day one, but let your mind go to that at some point?
SEAMUS POWER: I mean, absolutely. I'm not on the PGA TOUR just for one year just to compete and get off. Your goal is to win, so I mean, you've definitely thought about it, but there's no FedExCup points given out on Thursdays, so it's a nice start, but there's a long ways to go. Something to build on.

Q. What do you do to get your mindset right? You're in your second PGA TOUR tournament, and right now you're on the top of the leaderboard, so how do you get yourself right?
SEAMUS POWER: I mean, the biggest thing to remember is I'm not going to win the tournament at 7-under. I'm going to have to get to 20-under, so that's the overall goal you have to get to and then see what happens from there.

I mean, it's a nice start. You're obviously going to have to shoot some low scores this week, especially if the weather stays like it is, so it's a nice start, but you're going to have to make a lot more birdies to be in contention Sunday evening.

Q. What did the Olympics do for you?
SEAMUS POWER: I mean, it's nice to play with some of the top players in the world in an event, and it gives you a little bit of inner confidence just knowing that you've played with these guys, you know a lot that they can do. It makes me feel a little more comfortable say in a week like this knowing that I've already played on a big stage with some of those guys.

Q. Being at the top of the leaderboard after the first round, does that change your approach?
SEAMUS POWER: No. I mean, my caddie and I have a pretty good game plan for the course. 7-under is obviously a nice start, but I'm going to need a lot more, so I'm going to stick to doing a lot of the same things, and hopefully some putts will go.

Q. Because you know there's going to be a lot of birdies out there and everything, is it hard to stay patient sometimes because you're trying to score on every hole?
SEAMUS POWER: It can be. That's obviously one of the things with putting on greens that are this good, you feel like you can make every putt, so when a 15- or 20-footer just misses, you obviously feel like you just let one go. You have to stay patient in golf. There's a lot of holes to go, and you don't know, you could birdie the last nine holes on Sunday. You can go on a run at any point, so you have to hang around for that run to come.

Q. What else did you feel that was working for you today?
SEAMUS POWER: You know, I hit it in play. I wasn't really in any trouble. I didn't miss too many fairways. I haven't got my stats yet worked out, but I didn't miss too many fairways, and I could get at some of the pins that were tucked away on the firm greens. If you get off position off the tee, everything else is going to be more difficult, so I was fortunate enough to hit it on the fairway and give myself some chances on the greens.

Q. You won on the Web.com --
SEAMUS POWER: Once, yeah.

Q. Have you won anywhere else before, any other --
SEAMUS POWER: I mean, I've won on the eGolf Tour, like a mini-Tour. That's about it.

Q. But do you feel like winning on the Web.com TOUR helped you prepare to win out here?
SEAMUS POWER: I mean, absolutely. The thing that prepares you more than anything is when you see guys -- last year, Peter Malnati played on the Web.com. I played with him on the Web.com in 2015, and he comes out and wins here. Grillo wins Safeway last year, and Smylie Kaufman won in Las Vegas, and all of a sudden you're like, they're the same guys we played with all year, and they're obviously good enough to compete on the PGA TOUR. It kind of hits home that the gap isn't that big, as long as you can produce your golf on a big stage.

Q. Does this tournament kind of have that reputation for being a spot that younger guys trying to make their mark, that this is a place you can possibly win?
SEAMUS POWER: Yeah, especially for us. At least it's a tournament we can get in. That's one of the hardest parts. You get your card, but it's not a full card. It's nice knowing after the Web.com season is over, everyone can kind of bank on getting in here, which is huge, so it's a chance to -- there's a lot of ex-Web.com guys playing here, so it's a chance for us to feel a little bit more comfortable and kind of get off to a good start.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297