Ryder Cup Hopeful Withdraws From Scottish Open Due To Injury
Seamus Power is a doubt for the Open Championship after being forced out of the Scottish Open with a hip injury
Seamus Power faces a race against time to make the Open Championship after he was forced to withdraw from the first round of the Genesis Scottish Open due to a hip injury.
It's also potentially a massive blow to his Ryder Cup hopes if he has to miss the trip to Royal Liverpool and those extra qualifying points on offer as well as now missing out on the elevated event in Scotland.
Power was two over after nine holes at The Renaissance Club when he was forced to retire due to his hip problem.
The 36-year-old Irishman has not had the best form of late which has seen him slide down the European Ryder Cup standings rankings after a promising period built up his dreams of playing in Rome later this year.
He's still in 11th on the World Points List but would have needed a couple of big finishes in Scotland and at the 151st Open Championship to stand any chance.
Power claimed the second of his two PGA Tour wins last October at the Bermuda Championship and followed that with another six straight finishes inside the top 25.
His form had dipped and he missed the cut at both the PGA Championship and US Open, before a T13 at the recent John Deere Classic gave hope of a return to form.
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Like many, Power was then taking on the Scottish Open and Open Championship double with not only the Claret Jug to play for but also huge Ryder Cup points and the chance to impress Luke Donald.
However, Power is now a big doubt to tee it up in just his second Open Championship if his hip problem prevents him from making it to the start line at Hoylake.
Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.
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