THEY say Americans don’t do irony and the plight of Paul Casey gives a good example. The Englishman has a home in America, an American coach and an American girlfriend. He went to university in Arizona where his golfing prowess earned him the title “All-American”. And yet they say he hates America.
True, it is hard to argue with a headline in a British newspaper that reads “Americans are stupid. I hate them, says Ryder Cup star Paul Casey” but when the paper is the Daily Mirror, someone should have told the American public to take it with a pinch of salt. Casey has spent two years since that headline telling everyone that the quotes were made up by the Mirror, but don’t bet against there being some nasty barracking at The K Club in a fortnight.
It is a shame, because Casey is one of the nicest players on tour. He will just have to let his golf do the talking. A talented amateur from Weybridge, Surrey, Casey broke Tiger Woods’s university scoring record with a round of 60 in the Pacific 10 Championship, won the English Amateur Championship twice and became only the third player in 77 years of the Walker Cup to record four victories without a defeat.
His professional career is yet to match those heights, although he came second in his fifth event on the European Tour and won his eleventh. After coming fourth at the World Golf Championship event in Ohio last month, he shored up his third place in the European Order of Merit and secured his Ryder Cup place where he may play with Sergio García. The pair had two rounds together at the Open in July and Casey commented afterwards how much he liked walking with the Spaniard. “The prettiest girls always come to watch him,” Casey said.
FACT FILE
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Age: 29
Nationality: English
Wins: 6
Major wins: 0
Major record in 2006: Masters: missed cut; US Open: 15th; Open: 71st; US PGA: missed cut
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World ranking: 28
How he qualified for World Match Play: Third on the European Tour Order of Merit
Previous WMP experience: None