CASEY SHOWS HE’S THE DADDY AT FEDEX
NEW father Paul Casey could round off the best month of his life by scooping the richest prize in golf. The 40-year-old shot a second-round 67 to share the lead in the Tour Championship in Atlanta, the final event in the FedEx Cup. The winner collects a $10million (£7.4million) bonus if he also finishes in the top five of the FedEx rankings and Casey, who started this week tenth, will have a good chance of that if he can keep the lead. He was tied on seven under par with Justin Thomas and Webb Simpson and was millimetres from holding the lead outright as his 40 foot putt on the 18th at East Lake Golf Course rolled just past the hole. Casey, whose wife Pollyanna gave birth to their second child — a daughter called Astaria — on Monday, has not yet been back to their Arizona home to see the new baby. But he put any domestic thoughts to one side with a superb round, getting over a hiccup when he drove on to a dirt track on the 12th then also dropped a shot at the 13th to fire his fifth birdie of the day on the 16th. ‘I love this golf course, it’s a classic, it’s one of the finest we play,’ said Casey. Justin Rose, who finished second in last week’s BMW Championship, is also in contention to emulate Rory McIlroy — who won the FedEx Cup last year —after firing 66 to sit one shot off the lead. Meanwhile, Scotland’s Marc Warren gave his chances of retaining his European Tour card a much-needed boost with a superb second round of 64 in the Portugal Masters yesterday. Warren carded five birdies and an eagle at Victoria Clube de Golfe to finish 11 under par alongside Denmark’s Lucas Bjerregaard, a shot behind halfway leader Nino Bertasio. After missing the cut in more than half of his events this season, Warren began the week ranked 173rd in the Race to Dubai, with only the top 100 after the Valderrama Masters next month keeping full playing privileges. ‘I drove the ball well and after that it was about trying to be patient,’ said Warren. ‘The greens were quite firm so I was pleased with that side of my game.’