Shane Lowry bowed out of the FedEx Cup, and Rory McIlroy endured a week to forget in the FedEx St Jude Championship, but that won't bother Mark Power when he joins them in the Amgen Irish Open next month.
Lowry birdied three of his last four holes at TPC Southwind, but a level par 70 left him joint 54th on three-over and projected to finish 64th in the standings, well short of the top 50 who qualify for the second play-off event in St Louis this week.
McIlroy is guaranteed to make the top 30 who will contest the Tour Championship in Atlanta, but he was so rusty after three weeks off that he finished third last in the 68-man field on eight-over after a closing 72 in Memphis.
The world number two struggled from the tee and clearly has work to do to be ready for the BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club this week.
“Obviously didn’t come in here with a ton of reps, (it) almost felt like the more the week went on the more I felt lost with my golf swing a little bit,” said the Northern Irishman after a two-over 72 saw him finish 66th out of 68, failing to break par in four rounds this week.
“The swing wasn’t in sync and obviously I didn’t do a ton of practice coming in here.
“I’m so far away from where I need to be to even feel like I have a chance. I’ve just got to keep working and hope it turns around a little bit.
“I guess nice to shake the rust off a little bit but I’m going to have to work pretty hard between now and next Thursday to feel like I have any sort of golf game to compete next week.
“To me it’s more about obviously the execution of what I’m doing right now, and the execution wasn’t there this week.
“I’m going to have to sort of put the head down and grind from now until Thursday to try to feel like I have any sort of chance next week.”
Meanwhile, World number one Scottie Scheffler won his first event since January after running away with the FedEx St Jude Championship on the final day to record an eight-shot victory in Memphis.
The four-time major winner began the day two shots ahead of Sam Burns but out-scored his close friend by seven shots as he finished 17 under after a round of 66.
As Scheffler and McIlroy head to St Louis, Kilkenny man Power (26) will be in Finland for the HotelPlanner Tour's Vierumäki Finnish Challenge, looking to push on now after his tied 10th finish in the Irish Challenge at Killeen Castle saw him claim the Christy O'Connor Jnr Memorial Trophy as the leading Irish player.
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The touring professional for Mount Juliet moved up five spots to 75th in the Road to Mallorca, but more importantly, he earned a coveted Irish Open spot alongside the likes of McIlroy and Lowry at Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Doonbeg next month.
While he was disappointed to bogey two of his last three holes having moved to within two shots of the lead with three holes to go, his two-under par 70 left him just four shots behind winner Justin Harding of South Africa on nine-under.
"Yeah, definitely bittersweet," said Power, who will be making his seventh Irish Open appearance and his fourth as a professional, having finished tied 33rd on his pro debut at The K Club in 2023.
"I thought when I got into that 16th tee box I could really post a low number. With that rain coming in and how tough that last couple of holes were playing, I thought I had a chance to win it…Plenty of positives to take, but it stings right now.
"You can't beat playing at home. It would have been nice to give them something a bit more to cheer about at the end. But I suppose the Irish Open spot is always nice to get, and the Christy O'Connor Junior Award is an honour to win.
The good news for Power is that he moved up from 80th to 75th in the Road to Mallorca standings, giving him a chance to make the top 70 who will contest the big money events in China at the end of the season.
"A big goal of mine the last few weeks is to try and get myself into that top 70 to qualify for China and give myself a chance in those big events that carry more points at the end," he said.
As for the Irish Open, he said: "I didn't play great last year in it, but I've been down to the course already this year, and to get the chance to see it up there would be great.
"Obviously playing against the world's best players, so that's where you want to be, really."
As for Harding (40), the two-time DP World Tour winner claimed his maiden HotelPlanner Tour victory when he closed with a 71 to win by one stroke on 13-under from France's Mathieu Decottignies Lafon and compatriot Louis Albertse, whose bogey at the 18th cost him a play-off chance.
Like Power, Galway's Liam Nolan started the final round five shots off the lead but a closing 73 left him 18th on six-under and down one spot to 36th in the Road to Mallorca.
Meanwhile, Jeff Winther delighted home fans by securing a sensational three-shot victory after a roller-coaster final day of the 2026 Danish Golf Championship.
The Dane (38) carded a five-under-par 67 to win on 15 under and claim his second DP World Tour title following a chaotic Sunday where eight players had at least a share of the lead.
Article Link: McIlroy concerned for game as Lowry bows out of FedEx race; Power claims Irish Open spot - News - Irish Golf Desk