Seamus Power has Rory McIlroy in playing all four rounds of a maiden Masters at Augusta National.

Power put aside an early four-hole sour stretch to savour the real likelihood of making the cut in also a maiden major championship in bright but continuing windy and difficult conditions on the Georgian golfing gem.

Power ended his round with a pair of 74s to be sharing 49^th place and just a shot inside the projected five-over-par mark, and with the official cut-off mark in the 86^th hosting of the Masters not confirmed to the close of play.

The World No. 41 started his round at two-over and had slumped to five-over after six holes and while he birdied 10, he then dropped to six-over in total through a dozen holes in also bogeying the 11^th and 12^th holes, but in a manner we’ve become accustomed in recent months, the Waterford golfer dug deep playing his closing seven holes in a two-under for a second 74 and a four-over total on his Masters debut.

Unfortunately, it was a sloppy McIlroy double-bogey at the the 11^th, and having bogeyed the 10^th, that opened the weekend doors for those near 60-odd players on four-over, and including not only Power but also hopefully Padraig Harrington who, at the time, was four-over through 11 holes.

“It was really tough out there today, and with the course very soft down around 10, 11 and 12, while the wind is gusting and I was thinking that when I got to plus-6, well I am delighted to finish at plus-4”, Power said.

“It’s going to be a long way back so hopefully, and I am saying it now looks pretty good, but I am going to be here for the next couple of days.

“Overall, I can’t be too upset considering the kind of way I was struggling out there near the end of my front nine. Hopefully, I can now sneak into the weekend”.

Power had pared his opening four holes but dropped a first of three shots in four holes when he was in the trees right at five and had to chip out sideways, and then at the par-3 sixth, it took him three-shot get down from around 20-feet pin-high left of the flag.

He caught a fairway bunker down the par-5 eighth and found the green in three but three-putted for a bogey ‘6’ ahead of making his way back in sight of the clubhouse at three-over for his outward half.

There was little extra venom when Power teed-off at the downhill 10^th with zest, sending a 300-yard drive down the fairway and superbly landing his approach shot to just four-feet, for a long overdue first birdie of his round.

However, it was back on the bogey train for Power with dropped shots at 11 and 12, to be now six-over and probably already thinking of heading home early to Las Vegas.

Though two holes are never the same in golf and with Power pulling the ‘shot of his round’ at the par-5 13^th, laying-up short of Rae’s Creek and brilliantly chipping his third to a foot.

Power then moved back to four-under-par, and then inside the expected cut mark, when he landed his 165-yard tee shot at the famed par-3 16^th to only four feet for birdie number three and now one-under for the back nine and four-over.

Power pared the 17^th and surperbly split the fairway up the last, landed his second to 20-feet and then holed out from two-feet for a par, in his round of 76 to be then sharing 49^th place and inside the expected five-over cut-off mark”..

If Power does make a maiden Masters cut, and there is every likelihood he will, it will be one for one in the majors, and 11 of 16 cuts in the 2020/21 PGA Tour season.