Liam Power is ready to roll in the birdies this weekend as he chases a maiden Annesley Williams Skoda 9-hole Matchplay Championship title.
The Rathfarnham professional already scooped the team title in Friday’s pro-am at Sutton Golf Club with a superb score of 54 points for nine holes.
“It was great, I’d say it was more the lads than myself today! It was the same team I played with two years ago as well and we had great fun out there and we all played well,” said the left hander.
“It takes the pressure off, we literally had a laugh out there today and all the putts dropped out there so it was brilliant.”
PGA in Ireland pro-ams are often a sprint aside from the occasional two-day event or Irish PGA Championship with plenty of birdies needed to go low and win.
Making birdies will be even more important this weekend with the nine hole matchplay as the holes begin to run out the moment the first tee shot is hit but Power is relishing the round robin format.
“It’s whoever makes the most birdies in the first couple of holes but talking to all the lads it’s such a great format but you need to get off to a fast start on this course because you could lose your match very quickly.
“It’s a bit different than a championship or playing strokeplay. If you lose one hole it’s not the end of the world, if you make a double it doesn’t matter so yeah all to play for, play aggressively and see how it goes.”
Power has been struggling with a back injury in recent weeks but after some warm weather, walking the fairways at the Solheim Cup in America he feels the quick format will suit him.
“Haven’t played for a couple of weeks, was quite tight today but it’s OK. It’s a short golf course so you don’t have to be hitting a lot of drives so fingers crossed.”