Seamus Power saved his week in style at the Sony Open in Hawaii, delivering a dramatic eagle on the 18th hole to punch his ticket to the weekend.
It wasn’t the smoothest of rounds for the Irishman. Battling gusty afternoon winds at Waialae Country Club, Power stumbled early, carding three bogeys over his first seven holes. That dropped him back to even par for the tournament and left his chances of making the cut hanging in the balance.
But Power, known for his resilience, found his rhythm just in time. He stuck his approach shots tight on both the eighth and ninth holes, tapping in back-to-back birdies to turn in an even-par 36.
Still, the back nine brought more turbulence. Bogeys at 11 and 16 left him one shot outside the projected one-under cut line as he stepped onto the 532-yard par-5 18th.
That’s when Power delivered one of the shots of the day. After a booming drive left him just 204 yards from the green, he dialed in a crisp approach to 21 feet.
With the pressure on, he calmly rolled in the eagle putt - a clutch finish that turned a frustrating round into a one-under total for the tournament. His second-round 71 left him tied for 47th heading into the weekend, alongside names like Robert MacIntyre and 62-year-old Vijay Singh, just seven shots off the lead.
Singh, the Hall of Famer and three-time major winner, continues to defy age. The 62-year-old carded a solid 70 to make just his second cut since 2021.
He’s playing this season on a one-time career money exemption, giving him access to full-field events for the first time in nearly a decade. And so far, he’s making the most of it.
At the top of the leaderboard, Davis Riley made the biggest move of the day. Navigating the swirling morning winds, Riley fired a six-under 64 to grab a share of the lead at nine-under.
He’s joined by defending champion Nick Taylor (69), Kevin Roy (69), S.H. Kim (68), and Adrien Dumont de Chassart (67) in a five-way tie at the top.
Riley credited the conditions for bringing out his creativity. “You have to be creative,” he said.
“It’s not like you’re trying to make perfect golf swings every time. There is definitely some feel and creativity.”
That mindset paid off, as he maneuvered the course with a mix of precision and imagination.
Just one shot back at eight-under are Maverick McNealy and Takumi Kanaya, who both shot 66, along with England’s John Parry (68) and Chris Gotterup (69). Jordan Spieth, meanwhile, sits at four-under after a 68, tied for 28th.
Spieth, never one to sugarcoat things, described the morning conditions as brutal. “It was so hard this morning,” he said.
“I hit a seven-iron into that 15th hole. I had maybe 158 hole and I think it went 120 yards and I played it like 175.
So, it was just very challenging at times. And on the greens, it just becomes really hard to make putts when it’s that windy.”
Elsewhere, Hideki Matsuyama showed some late-round magic, chipping in for birdie at the eighth and adding another at the ninth to sneak inside the cut line. But not everyone was so fortunate. Collin Morikawa and Keegan Bradley both missed the cut by a single shot, while Tony Finau struggled to a six-over total and will head home early.
With the leaderboard tightly packed and the winds continuing to play a major role, the weekend is shaping up to be a grind. But for Seamus Power, that eagle on 18 might just be the spark he needed to turn a shaky start into a strong finish.