Casey says US team will be strong despite stars missing the cut
England’s Paul Casey insists America’s top two players failing at the Open means little in the context of September’s Ryder Cup.
The United States travel to Le Golf National near Paris in a couple of months to defend the trophy they won at Hazeltine, and with five players in the world’s top 10 their team looks strong. Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas did not make the cut at Carnoustie but heading into the final round there were still 11 Americans in the top 19, compared to five Europeans.
“You can take this as a little bit of a reference, but not much of one,” said Casey, 41, who is just inside the qualification line, with big name players Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter possibly looking at needing picks from captain Thomas Bjorn.
“It’s an Open Championship. We’ve seen Dustin Johnson missing a cut, some of Europe’s team members missing a cut. It means very little from what we’re going to face in September,” Casey said. “In terms of how the teams are shaping up, I haven’t spent too much time looking at the US team. I know it’s going to be incredibly strong. I hope I’m a part of Europe’s team because I think it’s very good.
“Guys like Francesco Molinari have played stellar golf in the last couple of months. From where it was 12 months ago to where’s it going to be, looking all over the world rankings, it’s very strong.”
A number of the Americans are house-sharing this week to reinforce the suggestion they are more of a unit than before – not that Casey is too worried.
“They’ve got something going. They’ve got momentum on their side. They have the Presidents Cup. They have the Ryder Cup, world No 1, the majors,” he added. “They’ve got a lot of momentum, and then you throw that into the mix, the fact they all get along, it means they’re going to be a very good team.
“Europe have always had that ability to come together nicely. Maybe it’s something we’ve had as a bit of a strength in the past. We can’t rely on that, but I also think we’ve got a very good team when you look at it as well.”