International players dominate Air Capital Classic on first day

Seamus Power is proud to say he is from Ireland.

He displays an Irish flag prominently on his golf bag, he speaks with an unmistakable Irish accent and he has plenty of stories to tell about his days as a junior golfer, back when he played alongside current prominent professionals such as Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy. They have represented Ireland well over the years, he says, and it was nice knowing them before the spotlight found them.

But it was even nicer for Power to step into the spotlight himself Thursday at the Air Capital Classic. He shot a 63, 7-under par, to take the opening-round lead at Crestview Country Club over three golfers — Henrick Norlander, D.H. Lee and Dawie vander Walt — who shot a 64.

“It was a good day for me, obviously,” Power said. “I hit some greens and made some nice putts. I got off to a nice start and chipped in for eagle on my second hole. That kind of got me started. I settled down and got rolling from there.”

Many other foreign golfers had similar experiences. The leaderboard read like a World Golf Championship event.

Norlander, of Sweden, birdied seven holes on his way to the second-best score of the day. Lee, of Korea, shrugged off windy afternoon conditions to match him. And Vander Walt, of South Africa, closed with a 30 on his final side to join them.

Two shots back at 5-under were other international players Korean Si Woo Kim and Australian Adam Crawford.

Matt Weibring, a Georgia Tech alum and Dallas native, and Timothy Madigan, a New Mexico State alum, were the lone Americans to crack the top eight — both shot 65 — on a day when 58 players broke par.

Lee summed up the results well when he concluded his media session by thanking reporters for helping him learn how to speak English.

“I am getting better and better at it,” he said, flashing a smile.

Lee was happy with his play, but his job Friday will be to catch Power. The leader played so well, making six birdies on top of an early eagle, that he got to 8-under through 14 holes. But a missed putt on the par 4 sixth hole — his 15th hole of the day — from about four feet spoiled a potential run at the tournament record of 61. He parred his final three holes, getting up-and-down from the fairway on No. 9 to avoid another bogey.

His round finished as the sun was still low in the morning sky, and he was unaware if his score would hold up, but with winds picking up on a hot afternoon he had little reason to worry.

“It was playing tough, especially the finish on the front nine there,” Power said. “I was glad to shoot the score I did.”

One of the main reasons he found success was a new driver, a Ping G30 he swung for the first time Wednesday.

Introducing a new club in a competitive format is a gamble, but Power thought it was a wise move after watching his drives fade to the right in practice rounds. He figured he made a smart choice when he hit his tee shot pin high on his second hole, the par 4 No. 11, and promptly chipped in to reach red numbers.

“I upgraded,” Power said. “I was hitting it straight and long today.”

Norlander finished at 6-under thanks to some precision ball-striking. Four of his birdies were tap-ins. He was pleased with his opening round, but he tried not to get caught up in it.

“I try not to think about that,” he said. “I should not think about that. There are 54 holes left. It is boring to say, but I just have to focus on my first shot tomorrow. It is too early to worry about where I am in the field. I was just really happy with the way I played today and now I will try to keep it going.”

Power feels the same way. He now calls Charlotte home, and after attending college at East Tennessee State he is comfortable traveling and playing all across the U.S.

But he has yet to win on the Web.com Tour, and he is looking to change that. His best opportunity came late last month when he shot a 61 to take an early lead in the Rex Hospital Open. But he followed that with rounds of 72-71-73 to finish 51st. The Irish flag came nowhere close to a trophy.

“Hopefully I learned a bit from that,” Power said. “It’s a nice start, but that’s all it is. There is a long way to go. It’s something nice to build on but, it is far from over. It is just beginning.”

This story was originally published June 25, 2015 at 7:31 PM with the headline "International players dominate Air Capital Classic on first day."