Casey shows ability to survive ups, downs
ERIN, Wis. - Paul Casey’s scorecard ought to come with a warning label:
Caution! May cause motion sickness.
In a span of 11 holes Friday, Casey took a share of the lead with a birdie, recorded a snowman, dropped five strokes and nearly tied the U.S. Open record with five consecutive birdies. When the funhouse ride finally came to a halt, Casey was near the top of the leaderboard, looking back at the rest of the field.
“Not every day you enjoy a round of golf with an eight on the card, but I’m a happy man,” he said, grinning broadly after his 1-under 71 left him at 7-under for the tournament. “Bit of a roller coaster. I guess it’s rare you get through a U.S. Open, or any major without some kind of hiccup.”
On a morning that the wind was blowing and the sun was baking the green, Casey was one of the few players able to make a move. And he managed to do it in both directions.
Beginning the day in a tie for second, one stroke behind Rickie Fowler, Casey got off to what looked like a fast start, making birdie on No. 11, his second hole.
He gave the stroke back on 12, but it was on the par-5 14th where his round began to resemble a dumpster fire. It started well, with a drive down the middle of the fairway. But he laid up in the rough and that’s when the real trouble began.
His third shot landed in thick, gnarly fescue behind the green, so dense it seemed to swallow up Casey’s legs below his knees. Since weed whackers are not on the U.S. Golf Association’s list of approved clubs, Casey could do little more than give a hard hack.
His ball bounced on the green several times and rolled into a valley, leaving Casey sitting on five before he even got onto the green. A three-putt later, and whatever chances he had to finally break through at a major seemed to be gone.
“All my own fault, but a good display of what can happen if you get out of position on this golf course,” he said.
For good measure, he bogeyed the next hole, too. If those watching at home switched over to The Price is Right, no one could blame them.
“I asked (caddie John McLaren) if he was all right because he was incredibly quiet,” Casey said. “He’s like, ‘Oh, fine. I’m good. Are you all right?’ I said yeah.”
Rather than get flustered, he played with incredible efficiency over the next five holes. His precise shotmaking gave him birdie opportunities, and he made five in a row to claw his way back up the leaderboard.
Casey likes to think he would have been strong enough to make such a rally in the early days of his career. But he knows his experience — a month shy of his 40th birthday, he’s been doing this for 17 years — and the curveballs life has thrown him off the course have made him resilient in a way he never could have imagined when he was younger.
Once one of England’s young guns along with Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, Casey’s career unraveled along with his first marriage in 2010. A series of injuries — rib, turf toe, dislocated shoulder — only added to his decline.
But Casey has clawed his way back — both personally and professionally. Happily remarried, to English TV personality Pollyanna Woodward, Casey has played some of his best golf in the last couple of years. He is still looking for his first PGA Tour victory since 2009, but he has finished in the top six at the last three Masters and tied for 10th at last year’s PGA Championship. He came into the U.S. Open ranked 14th in the world.
“There were times I would have rebounded like that but maybe not as calmly,” Casey said. “I was upset with the score I made (on 14), but it had, in no way, any effect on my attitude or how I was going to then approach the rest of the round or the next shot.”
Nor will his spot on the leaderboard change his approach the rest of the tournament.
“There will probably be some more nerves, more excitement,” he said. “There’s a lot of golf to be played here. I’ve shown what can happen with one bad swing. You’ve got to be very, very patient and stay in the moment.
“I know it’s clichd,” he added. “But the last thing you need to be doing is thinking ahead, especially on this golf course.”
In other words, enjoy the ride. Even when it’s on a roller coaster. You never know how it might end.