Q. What were you pleased with today?
SEAMUS POWER: My wedge play was great. I hit, I had like three or four shots I hit very, very close and the way I've been putting, they were not gimmie birdie, but certainly ones you would expect to make and it just changes your whole complex of your round, of your score. So that was the most pleasing. To finish with a close one on 18 and I could pick up another shot there.
Q. How much more, how more confident are you now than when you were in April?
SEAMUS POWER: Yeah, last year, yeah, I mean it's night and day, to be honest. Golf is, it's one of those things, you want to play with confidence but how do you get confidence without playing well? So it's one of those things I've been able to work on off the course and it's led to some improved results on it. But I just feel much more comfortable in these positions, I've putting myself there a little bit more often, so it definitely seems a little easier, but still obviously a lot of work to do over the weekend.
Q. You played here four times, T-38, T-39, two missed cuts. Did you learn something in those four that's helped this week?
SEAMUS POWER: I definitely did. I love coming here. I've also -- like I haven't really showed it, I've always really enjoy playing Spyglass and played it pretty well. So I knew if I could just have my decent game I knew I could score well there, where a lot of guys kind of drop some shots and then kind of really like put the pedal down on the other two courses.
But nothing in particular, I just haven't really come here with a lot of form before and this is the first time I've had a bit of form and I think it goes a long way, no matter what course you're on, if you can play with confidence and kind of commit to your lines you've got a really good chance and I've been able to do that so far.
Q. 13 finishes of 21 or better since May. What is it that you did find? Is there one key to the thing?
SEAMUS POWER: There's a few things. Like I figured out my putting early last year and I had always been a good putter and I kind of was struggling, but I changed the grip and it's solidified that for me.
And then found a couple things with my swing.
And you kind of put all that together, did a lot of work on my wedges. And it doesn't take much, I mean it's only a shot here and a shot there that really separates from finishing top 20 versus 40th or 50th and I've been able to tidy up some of those loose ends and it's been much better.
Q. What was the change in the grip?
SEAMUS POWER: I went to like a claw grip thing, which I never used before, I was always pretty conventional. But I just hadn't putted very well, I had missed some short putts and I kind of -- you see a lot of guys try it out, so I give it a shot and it's kind of felt good ever since. It's pretty much a year on it now, so I like it.
Q. I know it worked out for you, but could you explain why you went three shot on the 18th hole?
SEAMUS POWER: Yeah, my miss especially with driver is always going to be to the right. And on that left-to-right wind that right side gets pretty short. Like it sets up pretty well for me, because I haven't been missing a lot of shots left, but it's just that right miss on that left-to-right wind if you get it just inside that bunker it gets out of bounds in a hurry.
And honestly, like having the confidence I had in my wedges, I knew if I could get myself around a hundred yards in the fairway I just was going to have something inside 10 feet for birdie, which is probably all you're looking at anyway if you hit driver, so that was my thought process on the tee.
Q. What did you hit on 12?
SEAMUS POWER: 12? 6-iron. I think it just cleared the bunker, probably lucky.
Q. 17, can we go through that?
SEAMUS POWER: Yeah, that was one of the disappointing ones. I was right in between clubs and then I just didn't kind of commit to it. I was kind of convincing myself that I had too much club and I just kind of quit on it on the way down. It's one thing I got to work on, just got to be a little more committed. Poor shot, but I was able to get away with kind of a good four in the end, which is obviously disappointing on a short par-3, but yeah, it was just kind of a poor mental mistake I kind of had there.
Q. This is your 7th round of 65 or better in the 14 rounds you played in 2022. What's been the difference?
SEAMUS POWER: I mean, honestly, the biggest thing is -- I mean, the way to shoot scores is to hit it close to the hole and make putts. My wedges have been much, much better and my putting's improved. So when I hit it in the fairway and I've got a wedge in my hand I feel like I've got a very good chance.
Then I've always been long enough to take advantage of the par-5s and you kind of put those two together and you can make plenty of birdies.
Q. Did you -- and I'm sure you've been asked this before, but when you win, what kind of a spark does that give you? Between the ears.
SEAMUS POWER: Yeah, that's -- it's massive. The thing for me -- and that's been a part of it, it's hard to explain, but the last couple of years I was in that 26 to 50 category, struggling to get starts. Give you an example, like I could have a month between starts. And it's just tough to get momentum going, it's tough to get that confidence that you need.
So that win got me in pretty much all the tournaments and I've been able to pick and choose and play when I want. Like I played three, I had last week off and was really prepared for this week. I played here before, I know what to expect, I know what my game needs to play here. So it gives you that added advantage, if you will, of knowing when you're going to play and what courses you're going to play.
Q. We are halfway through here, which is a long way to go and we're two months away from the Masters, which is a long way away, but does it cross your mind at all, given the chances you've given yourself?
SEAMUS POWER: You know, people have asked me about it, but it's one of those things that -- you would love to be there. Everyone grows up wanting to be in the Masters. But I know that if I play well and do what I'm meant to do I will get there, if not this year, certainly in the future.
So that's kind of been my mentality. Again, obviously, people ask me, well it's a dream for every golfer to play at Augusta and it's something that if I get there, like I absolutely will enjoy. But for now that's keep doing what I'm doing and keep enjoying my golf.
Q. They just want tickets, don't they?
SEAMUS POWER: Yeah, that will be part of it. (Laughing).
Q. Were you aware that you had the 36-hole record aggregate?
SEAMUS POWER: I just found out a couple minutes ago. Yeah, I didn't know that. So that's kind of a nice thing.
Q. And I think the record is five shots for 36 holes. 5-shot lead. If that should hold up, what do those numbers say to you about where you are?
SEAMUS POWER: Yeah, it's a nice thing to have, but does anyone know who had the 5-shot lead? I mean, they're only going to remember who won. It's a great start for the tournament, but it's only halfway, there' a long way to go and there's a lot of good players in the field that I'm sure are going to make a lot of birdies over the weekend. So I'm going to have to keep going and see what happens on Sunday.
Q. You did something today that not many people do. You birdie 9, 10, 11 and 12. I mean, that's one hell of a stretch -- plus birdied 6 and 7. What's it like to do that 9, 10, 11 and 12?
SEAMUS POWER: Yeah, that's fantastic. It was a strange start. I birdied the second and then I had like a big horseshoe lipout and 3 and somehow missed 4 and 3-putted 5.
I felt like I played better but was only even par. But then, obviously, like I made a nice wedge and putt on 6 and again I just made some very nice putts there on 7. Good drive on 9, got it down the hill. I mean that's not always the stretch that you're thinking you're going to get, but sometimes you're just on and you just got to roll it.
Q. Why did you hit wedge on 6? Were you out of position at all?
SEAMUS POWER: Yeah, so I went with a strategy that I was going to hammer it left of the bunkers and it actually rolled down to a poor lie. So I still had to get it up to a wedge area and wedged to 12 feet and knocked it in.
Q. Is that a smart play? I remember a couple years ago it was pretty bare over there.
SEAMUS POWER: It's not bad. I thought it would get down to the path and then it's a good play. It's one of those interesting ones if you get a decent lie over there the angle is great and it's a much easier shot. It didn't work out -- I mean, I made a birdie, but it didn't work out the way I was planning on it. But it depends on your miss and my miss at the moment with the 3-wood and driver is miss a little bit to the right. So it gives me a little bit more piece of mind just to stand up and rip it left knowing that you've got some room. So we'll see. That's what, Simon and I came up with that strategy, so we're going to go with it again on Sunday and see what happens.
Q. What did you hit on 10?
SEAMUS POWER: Driver on 10. Gap wedge to 20 feet.
Q. When you left, where was it in Tennessee?
SEAMUS POWER: East Tennessee State.
Q. From there was there a couple years before you got to the Korn Ferry?
SEAMUS POWER: There was. I ended up playing the eGolf Tour for four years, '11 through '14 and then got through Q-School in December of '14. I played the Korn Ferry '15 and '16.
Q. Never went home?
SEAMUS POWER: No, I still went home after college and got my visa sorted and come back. For me it wasn't a lot of opportunities in Europe. I wasn't, my amateur career wasn't good enough to get Challenge Tour starts or European Tour starts, so I was going to have to figure out a way of kind of trying to pay my own way. And eGolf Tour at the time was fantastic. Like a lot of guys I see out here I played against in those years.
Q. When you're going well now and you got a win on TOUR and all that good stuff, how satisfying is it to think about the dues you played to get to where you are?
SEAMUS POWER: That's certainly part of it. I've always loved playing golf, I have fond memories of playing those tours. Obviously it's not where you want to be, but I mean any time you get to play golf for a living, like you're in a pretty good spot.
So it's obviously satisfying, but, I mean, guys have gotten here a lot of different ways and it doesn't matter once you're here, it's how is your game going to hold up. That's kind of the fun part is trying to improve and just see where you can kind of put yourself.
Q. Favorite memory from eGolf?
SEAMUS POWER: So I won a tournament in '12 early in the year and it was massive for me, because I hadn't had a lot of success in 2011 and so in '12 it really got me kick started for the year. I won $15,000 at River Run, I felt like just won the lotto. So it was incredible, it was tough, I learned a lot in those stretches and so it's, yeah.
Q. What kind of car were you driving?
SEAMUS POWER: Toyota Camry.
Q. You don't still have it, do you?
SEAMUS POWER: No, not anymore. It was a good car though.
Q. Huge birdie on 18 to bounce back after the bogey on 17. What does that do for you going into the weekend finishing with some momentum?
SEAMUS POWER: It does make a difference. Golf is funny because even if you finish par, par, the way I did it's probably a little bit better, lunch tastes a little bit better. It's one of those funny things, like the 18th hole, it's nice, especially the disappointing play on 17.
But, yeah, it's huge, it makes practice a little bit easier now, lunch taste a little better and probably sleep a little better.
Q. Your fellow Irish golfer Leona Maguire leading the LPGA event. What does it say about the state of Irish golf, you're here, she's there, everyone is playing well?
SEAMUS POWER: I think its fantastic. She had a great year last year, like an incredible performance in Solheim Cup. And she's been fun to follow. I met Leona really for the first time properly in the Olympics 2016 and it's been like fantastic following her progress. She came out last year and she's up in contention and she almost won, it's not going to surprise me if she wins this week. It's great, it's great for Irish golf, it's great for Irish women's golf and hopefully she can keep it up.
Q. Last thing, since you played Kapalua and a couple other events, can you ever remember a better stretch of scoring weather than the stretch we're in right now?
SEAMUS POWER: Probably not. Obviously Kapalua the scoring was good this year, which helps. But good scores in Sony, disappointing last round in Palm Springs, but a couple of good rounds here. Yeah, it's one of those stretches you have in golf when the confidence is good and the game's in good shape, so see if I can keep it going as long as I can.
Q. People keep wondering why we have low scores, but I think the weather has a lot to do with it?
SEAMUS POWER: Yeah, I mean, the wind didn't blow, it was bizarre, in Kapalua it didn't blow, at Sony, and it hasn't blown here for two days. And obviously it rarely blows in Palm Springs. And everyone is good enough that it's just, you can't tuck pins enough. If you have players out here on a fairway from 130, 140, 150 yards you can't hide the pin. So if the standard of golf is high and the conditions are perfect, this is what happens.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports