Seamus Power admitted it wasn’t pretty but as they say ‘there’s no camera on the scorecard’ but then he was ‘over the moon’ in surviving a final round war of attrition to capture the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

Power fended off the challenge of American rookie Ben Griffin and then dealt with own demons to post a closing day 70 to be a one-shot winner on the severely windswept Royal Port course.

Victory is the Waterford golfer’s second Tour success in 15 months that will see him jump 16 spots to the new World No. 32, and the certain assurance at year’s end of a second straight Masters invitation come next April.

It is also a back-to-back Irish success on the PGA Tour with Power winning a week after Rory McIlroy successfully defended the CJ Cup in South Carolina, and in the process that sees Power take McIlroy’s fifth place standing on the 2022/23 FedEx Cup standings.

Tapping it in to take home the W @Power4Seamus 👏 pic.twitter.com/qd839jboSy

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 30, 2022

And there’s also $US 1.17m in ‘green backs’ for the player wearing emerald green shoe laces.

“It was hard work out there over the closing few holes, as it was hard to putt on the exposed greens but to get my second win, well I’m ecstatic,” Power said.

‘I’m absolutely over the moon. The first one was amazing but to be able to win again, it’fantastic. I get whatever, it’s pretty much a three-year exemption and all the kind of coolthings that come with it. It’s just you’re kind of so proud and it’s amazing to be able to do it
again.

“I’d hit a poor tee shot at 15 and a poor shot at 18 and other than that, I don’t feel I did that much wrong but then I was really holding on there at the end, so while it wasn’t all that pretty I’m just glad to get over the line for victory.

“Having won a first Tour win did help make me feel a lot more comfortable out there, and while I didn’t show that with some of my shots out there, I definitely felt more comfortable and right from the birdie at the first.  That’s what I kind of learnt from the win last year.

“Irish golf is great at the moment with Shane (Lowry) winning at Wentworth and with Padraig (Harrington) winning all over the place and with Rory, of course, winning last week and while I’m ahead of Rory on the money-list, I think it will be a losing battle. So, it’s a good Irish winning stretch we’ve got going.”

It was a cloudless final day but with the wind not letting up, and averaging around 35-40 kph, coming right off the Atlantic Ocean and turning the last day into a test of the fittest.

Power went into the final round tied at 18-under-par with Griffin and with the pair turning the opening 11 holes into their own private match-play showdown.

The Irishman got the start he wanted, holing a six-footer for a first birdie at the opening hole in his four rounds and with Griffin also taking birdie.

Power soon found himself two shots behind through only four holes with some indifferent approach play, and with many of his shots landing shots around 20-feet or so from the flags over those handful of holes.

However, Power was again waving in delight to a strong Irish following at the fifth in holing an 18-footer for his second birdie of the round andmoving back to just one adrift of Griffin.

Power then moved to 21-under but stayed one behind in two-putting the par-5, seventh, and taking birdie for three of four rounds. It was just minutes before Griffin came unstuck at the par-3 eighth, dropping a shot and handing Power a share of the lead.

The pair headed into the business end of the $6m tournament tied for the lead and with Griffin seizing the initiative at 10 in holing a long downhill for his fifth birdie of his round, and minutes ahead of Power missing his 10-footer for birdie.

A Griffin birdie at 11 put him two shots clear of Power but it would be the highwater mark of his challenge, and sadly with his wife looking on, and who had flown-in for the final round, the American horribly dropped six shots in five holes, including taking double at the clifftop 16^th.

Power was also experiencing his own concerns taking bogey at 13, and while he birdied 14, he dropped shots at 15 and the 16^th where he three-putted after taking birdie on the three earlier rounds.

And then as the highest-ranked player in the field, Power finally grabbed the winning initiative taking birdie at 17 to head down the last leading by two and success, albeit by a shot after he bogeyed the 72nd.

Belgium’s Thomas Detry (67) was runner-up at 18-under-par while Griffin saw his nightmare day end in signing for 72 and slip to a share of third at 17-under.

And all credit to Griffin as he was full of praise for Power.

“Hats off to Seamus, he played great in the wind. He knows how to play in the wind more than anyone out here. So it was a grind for both of us and there was a lot of back and forthmost of the front nine and most of the start of the back nine and I just wasn’t able to execute
and he came out on top, so hats off to him,” said Griffin.