Should either Séamus Power or Pádraig Harrington want to salvage their last chance to secure the remaining exemption for the forthcoming Masters, they will need to truly excel at the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio next week. Their competition includes American Justin Lower who sits at 157th in the world rankings and is in pursuit of the same Augusta spot. On his 35th birthday, Lower delivered a flawless round of six-under-par 66 at the Oaks Course to seize the preliminary clubhouse lead. Meanwhile, the Irish duo had a challenging start at the inaugural stage of the tournament that boasts a $9.2 million prize and provides the victor with entry into the 88th Masters tournament.
Power began with a one-over 73, marred by three bogeys and only two birdies and now faces the struggle to make the cut. Conversely, Harrington, playing on a sponsor’s invitation settled for a 75.
Only a couple of weeks after his triumph at the Hoag Classic on the Champions Tour, Harrington has found his return to the PGA Tour more difficult, with the risk of missing a second cut after the Valspar weekend.
As for Lower, solid round leadership was achieved through a strong short game and smart scrambling, helping him maintain a clean scorecard. His six birdies put him at the forefront among the early wave of players while he sought a breakthrough victory on the primary tour.
Lower’s leadership isn’t something he’s familiar with. He expressed: “I’m more of a ‘mule’ compared to others out here and my main focus is to play my best game and learn as much as possible while watching others in action on and off the greens.” At the moment, Lower holds a two-stroke clubhouse advantage over Denny McCarthy, Max Homa, world number 10, and Tyson Alexander.
On the LPGA Tour, both Stephanie Meadow and Leona Maguire safely made the cut in the innovative T-Mobile Match Play Championship at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas where the leading 65 players continue after the first two rounds.
Following the third round, only the top eight players will advance to the weekend’s matchplay phase. This phase will commence with the quarter-finals and semi-finals on Saturday and will culminate in the championship final on Sunday.
Maguire, who placed third in last year’s tournament after conceding in the semi-finals, re-established her fondness for the course. However, tough wind conditions made scoring a challenge, with each round extending over five hours.
Beginning on the 10th, Maguire initially bogeyed but gradually gained momentum with a birdie on the 12th followed by consecutive birdies on the 17th and 18th. She reciprocated a bogey on the second with successive birdies at four and five and after a further bogey at the sixth, she equalised with a birdie on the seventh. She ultimately signed off with a 69 for three-under-par 141, placing her joint fifth at the end of the round.
In another news, Meadow managed to recover from last week’s failure to make the Ford Championship cut with a steady round of par 72 for 144. This round, marked by three birdies and three bogeys, saw her comfortably within the top-20.
Carlota Ciganda, widely known for the decisive putt that clinched Europe’s Solheim Cup victory last year, persisted with her impressive streak, posting a second-round 66 in addition to her first-round figure of 73. This placed her at the top of the leaderboard in the clubhouse with a five-under 139.