Seamus Power sat just outside the top 30 after his first round at the World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico.
The Waterford man, requiring a strong finish to the season in order to secure full PGA playing privileges for 2026, is on four-under par after a first-round 68 at El Cardonal at Diamante.
That leaves him seven shots off clubhouse leader Nick Dunlap of America, and Finland's Sami Valimaki who both opened with brilliant rounds of 61 – the pair unsurprisingly having bogey-free cards as they tied the course record.
They hold a three-shot lead over five players, Vince Whaley, Kris Ventura, Matti Schmid, Chad Ramey and Andrew Putnam.
That wasn’t something Power could boast having dropped a shot at the fifth after requiring a drop, but five birdies - including at the closing par-five 18th - had him well positioned ahead of the second round.
Six players had not yet finished their rounds when play was suspended due todarkness at 5:41 pm local time. They will wrap up Friday morning before the second round begins as scheduled.
Dunlap went six-under through his final six holes by making four birdies and aneagle at the par-5 18th.
The 21-year-old is best known for winning the American Express in 2024 as anamateur, earning a PGA Tour card through 2026. He added a second win that year at the Barracuda Championship, but struggled mightily in 2025 and ranked No 145 in the FedEx Cup Fall standings entering the week.
"Golf's been very hard recently and today was the opposite of that," Dunlap said. "It's a hard game. Kind of seems like if something can go wrong, it has recently. Just try not to make it personal in a way and just kind of comeout here and try to have as much fun as I can. We're in a pretty cool spot."
Valimaki, 27, has yet to win on tour after having some success in Europe. He stood No 103 in the FedEx Cup Fall race entering the week and would gain a lot from a victory.
"It's not the best pressure but it's how it is," Valimaki said. "At least I made my card back in Europe so at least I have something over there, so I feel like that gives you a little extra freedom. Of course you want to play here, but I just have to play good these last three (events)."
Defending champion Austin Eckroat is likely to miss the cut Friday after opening with a two-over 74.
