The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Casey Makes His Move
Third-round 62 gives him a four-shot lead
CROMWELL — Paul Casey gushed about the talent level of the Travelers Championship field. You’ve heard the names plenty of times this week: Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Jason Day, Patrick Reed and Bubba Watson.
There’s not a lot of fanfare when it comes to Casey and his worldwide 13th ranking. But maybe there should be. He has 13 top-10 finishes since the start of last season and already has a PGA Tour win to his credit this year.
After blistering the TPC River Highlands course Saturday to the tune of an 8-under-par 62, Casey is the man to beat in Sunday’s final round. He leads Russell Henley by four shots.
“I can’t, obviously, determine what everybody else is going to do and I’ve got to sort of expect I’ve got to shoot something decent,” Casey said. “I’m excited. I’ve got confidence in my game.”
Casey lost in a playoff to Bubba Watson in his first appearance at TPC River Highlands in 2015, then added a tie for 17th place and a tie for fifth the last two years. Now, he is hoping to finish the deal like he did back in March at the Valspar Championship, his first win on the PGA Tour since
2009.
“The last couple of seasons, not winning has been frustrating,” Casey said. “The reason for it was not putting well enough.”
But that win at Valspar was from behind in the final round. He has lost third-round leads before, like the Tour Championship last fall.
“You’d always rather have the lead,” Casey said. “When you’re behind, there’s no room for error. No, I’m excited. I’ve got confidence in my game . ... confidence in the game plan how to get around this golf course.”
Casey is also healthy now. In between the Masters and the U.S. Open, he was dealing with a back injury. He said adjustments and taking anti-inflammatories helped get him healthy.
Casey, who was one shot shy of tying the 54-hole record set by Mark Calcavecchia in 2000, will be paired with Henley in the final group at 2 p.m. J.B. Holmes, second-round leader Brian Harman and Anirban Lahiri are tied for third place at 11-under, five shots behind Casey.
“I think I can shoot a low number on this course,” Henley said.
Said Holmes: “There’s nothing I can do about (how Casey) is hitting it or how he’s playing. All I can control is what I do.”
Holmes got himself into contention by going birdieeagle-birdie at 13 through 15 (he holed out his second shot with a wedge on the par-4 14th).
Harman had three birdies and three bogeys in a six-hole stretch on the back nine in his round of 69.
Among the five golfers tied for sixth place at 10under are Watson (67), a two-time winner, and Jason Day (66).
“For the most past, I feel good about my game,” Day said. “It all depends on how Paul plays. I’m not quite sure how many wins he’s had. I know that he’s in the past hasn’t quite got over the line with some of the wins that he possibly could have won, and that’s kind of positive in my mind knowing that.”
Said Watson: “My 7under (63 Friday), I need to do better than that. I’m going to have to get to like 10 (under) . ... As we’ve seen around this golf course, guys are going to make birdies.”
Casey vaulted into a tie for the lead with a birdie on 8, then took it outright with a birdie at 9. He almost chipped in for eagle on 13, but the tap-in was good enough to put him up by two. Then he holed a 20footer for eagle on No. 15 to open up a three-shot advantage on the field.
His birdie on the 18th hole gave him the advantage he carries into the final round.
“If I hadn’t won in awhile, then yeah, there would be more pressure. I sit here right now with no nerves,” Casey said.
Rory McIlroy chipped in for eagle on the short par-4 15th, but struggled with the putter again, shooting 69 to stand at 8-under 132, seven behind Casey. Reigning two-time U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka (4under 206) will be paired with Madison native Brett Stegmaier
Defending champion Jordan Spieth shot a 1-overpar 71 and dropped back to 3-under 207. He will play with Fairfield native and fellow Texas resident J.J. Henry.