GOLF EUROPEAN TOUR: IF THERE were times over the West Course yesterday that Paul Casey appeared either infallible or simply blessed, as he sought to take a firm grip on the BMW PGA Championship, some late round shenanigans ultimately proved his fallibility and left the door ajar for those in pursuit.
Casey, who appeared as if he could do no wrong when holing out from 163 yards with a nine-iron on the 13th, for his second eagle of the day, eventually finished in a mundane manner. The Englishman signed for a 67, to reach the midway stage on eight-under 136, but it could and should have been so much better.
And, when the dust had settled on another long day in leafy Surrey, Casey – who had moved four shots clear of his pursuers with that wonder shot on the 13th and tantalised by the two par 5s that lay ahead of him – only held a two stroke lead over the chasing posse of Miguel Angel Jimenez, David Horsey, Anthony Wall, Marc Warren and Soren Kjeldsen with a number of notable others eyeing up a possible weekend charge.
One of those with a glint in his eye at the challenge ahead was Rory McIlroy. For the second day running, the 20-year-old Ulsterman finished with birdies on the two closing holes. On this occasion, the birdie-birdie conclusion enabled him to sign for a 70 – for 142 – which moved him into tied-19th. “I’m only four shots off second, and that’s all you have to look at. There’s a lot of golf left,” said McIlroy.
The gung-ho attitude was provided by the manner of his finish, especially the birdie on the 17th. It came after McIlroy pulled his tee-shot on the 610 yards par five and he was left blocked out by the trees. Caddie JP Fitzgerald advised him to lay up to the top of the hill. McIlroy had other ideas. “Can I overhook this?” he asked Fitzgerald, nominating a five-wood as his club of choice for a direct assault to the green. “No,” replied his bagman.
And so it was that McIlroy produced a quite extraordinary shot. Raising his right foot a la Tiger on impact, he hooked a five-wood from 278 yards around the corner. The shot was perfectly executed and the ball chased up to the green to finish 35 feet from the hole. The eagle putt grazed the hole, and the tap-in birdie was the least he deserved.
Ken Comboy, Graeme McDowell’s caddie, could only shake his head at the audacity of McIlroy’s approach. He called it “a kamikaze shot, one straight from the PlayStation.” All of which emboldened McIlroy, who sank an eight-footer for birdie on the last. “It doesn’t take much to get me up the leader board (over the weekend). I just have to grind away, it is tough to score on this course,” said McIlroy.
Only three Irish players survived the cut, which came on 146, two-over. McIroy was joined by Darren Clarke – who shot a 71 for 145 – while Graeme McDowell, playing after an MRI scan on Thursday provided the prognosis that there was no stress fracture in his right shin, birdied the 18th for a 71 to get in on the mark. Peter Lawrie, though, missed the cut by a shot after three-putting the 18th for bogey.
McDowell was happy that the scan had cleared up any suggestion the injury could ruin his season. “It was more manageable today. I’d good news when I found out there was nothing sinister going on. The medical people know what it is now (a second degree tear of the anterior muscle) and we can deal with it. I was able to go out there and know I wasn’t going to do myself any harm. It was important to make the weekend,” said McDowell.
Clarke, incidentally, revealed after his round that he had made contact with world number two Phil Mickelson on hearing his wife, Amy, had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Clarke’s wife, Heather, lost her battle to the disease in 2006. “I feel that I can help Phil understand the ups and downs they will experience and what to expect. All we hope is that they’ve caught the cancer early. If there is anything I can do, I will do.”
The man everyone has to catch in the run for home is Casey, who moved four shots clear of the field with his eagle two on the 13th. He was seven-under for his round at that juncture. From there on, though, his round unwound. He bogeyed the 14th and, then, on the 17th, his three-wood tee-shot finished up in the trees down the right and he bent his four-iron around a tree in attempting to execute his next shot. He made bogey, and then failed to birdie the 18th. “I’m leaving here a bit frustrated,” said Casey. “I’m thinking about the last five holes.”
Still, at least Casey – with a two shot lead – has destiny in his own hands. Angel Cabrera, the Masters champion, and Henrik Stenson, the Players champion, and Retief Goosen were among the high-profile casualties.
