Europe
Profile: Paul Casey
| Born | Cheltenham, England |
|---|---|
| age | 29 |
| height | 5ft 10in |
| Turned Pro | 2000 |
| World ranking | 17 |
| Appearances | (1) 2004 |
| Won | Lost | Halved | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singles | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Foursomes | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fourball | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Win Rate | 50% |
Paul Casey has been one of the form horses this season and for a period the Englishman was contending every tournament he teed it up in. For four tournaments in a row he was never out of the top five, and although he didn't win he was tied fourth in China, tied fifth at the Asian Open and British Masters then second in the Irish Open.
It has been such steady from which brought the 29-year-old to second on the order of merit behind fellow Englishman David Howell. After knocking on the door so many times his sixth European Tour win finally came at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in June. At the end of last year he also won the Volvo China Open in November, which counts towards the 2006 order of merit race.
Casey has strong credentials playing in a tea format. Firstly he played on the 1999 winning Walker Cup side as an amateur. In the paid ranks he went on to win the 2004 World Cup in Seville when playing alongside Luke Donald. Colin Montgomerie picked him for the 2005 Seve Trophy and he didn't let the Scot by by claiming four points from a possible five.
Casey was lambasted in the press for coming out with a rather clumsy, if unfortunate, line to the effect “We properly hate the Americans”. He always maintained this was misconstrued but the damage was done and as a result Casey, who bases himself in the States, took a serious dip in form after the furore. Thankfully it all seems to be behind him and had let his golf do the talking.
He will also draw from his experience at Oakland Hills last time around when he narrowly won one up in the fourballs alongside Howell against Jim Furyk and Chad Campbell. But he lost the in the top singles match 3 and 2 against Tiger Woods – no shame in that though.
- Paul Gallagher