‘Apparently I lost at St Andrews as I was smiling too much’
Paul Casey has no plans to stop being friendly with his fellow players as he tries to end his country’s Open famine, he tells James Corrigan
The realisation hit Paul Casey on the first tee at Royal Birkdale. “I bloody love the Open,” he said to himself. Yet in that moment, another thought struck the Englishman, one that could prove the difference between European ecstasy and agony in Paris in September.
“The crowd gave me a brilliant reception and I wasn’t sure they would, considering that I’d been playing predominantly in America, they hadn’t seen me, and, of course, I wasn’t eligible for the Ryder Cup,” Casey says.
“I’d been mulling it over and doing my due diligence whether I would rejoin the European Tour, but their reaction made me decide right there and then – ‘I’ve got to do this’. What golf means to those fans is incredible.”
A year on and Casey is back in the fold and once again a Ryder Cup player on paper. Having missed out on the not insignificant number of points he would have earned at the end of last season, the 40-year-old has made such impressive strides up the standings that at his last event – a second place at the Travelers Championship three weeks ago
– he jumped into the automatic positions. Casey is keen to point out that “I’m only in eighth”, which is the last qualifying spot and he is not yet counting any poulets.
Indeed, he did not even discuss the Ryder Cup or his recent progression when he was with Thomas Bjorn, the European captain, at Wimbledon last week. “It’s funny. When I got there I looked at the seating plan and saw [Ian] Poulter was sat behind me and I thought ‘Yeah, great, he’ll be flicking my ear’, and then Tyrrell [Hatton] was by me, too, and I was like ‘He’s a possible partner’. And then I spotted the captain’s name and he was next to us. So I put Pollyanna [Woodward, his wife] on that side, just to try and butter him up. I didn’t want to bug him all afternoon about the Ryder Cup.”
In truth, Bjorn would require no encouragement to talk blue and gold where Casey is concerned. The Dane put a lot of energy into persuading him to return after he ruled himself out for the 2016 match and, as the world No14 and one of the most consistent golfers currently operating, Casey is all but guaranteed his place, wild card or not. Birkdale was also important in this regard for Bjorn because his performance underlined how important it was to have Casey in his corner. He began with a 66, standing one off the lead, but followed up with a 77 and only scraped inside the cut.
“Many players would have gone into their shell on the weekend after that second round, but class player that he is, Paul battled on and made the most of it,” Bjorn told me. Casey enjoyed a 67-67 weekend and hauled himself up to 11th. Other observers were not as impressed as Bjorn. “I was driving home, listening to the radio, and John Inverdale was saying ‘Oh Casey would have won this if he’d shot level par in the second round – what a waste’,” Casey says. “And I was like ‘Hang about’. If I’d shot level par I would still would have lost to Jordan [Spieth] by three or four. Don’t get me wrong, I wish I had shot level par, but it’s a bit daft and simplistic to say I’d have won without it. But then, this isn’t the first time I haven’t agreed with other people’s opinions about my Opens.”
At St Andrews in 2010, Casey went out in the last group of the final day with the South African Louis Oosthuizen. He was four behind, but the pacesetter was considered inexperienced enough for Casey – then the world No8 – to be classed as joint favourite. In the event, Oosthuizen pulled away to finish seven clear, with Casey back in third. “When I look back, I want to make that putt on Saturday on the 18th green and I need to make that putt on the first green on Sunday and then it’s a completely different ball game. It doesn’t mean I win but it’s a different mindset in terms of the pressure I could exert on Louis. But do you know how a few others saw it? That I lost because I smiled too much and was too ‘pally’. I mean, some of the best golf I’ve played in the last three months has been smiling. I won at Valspar in March with Tiger in second when I was smiling. Phil Mickelson has won a few majors smiling, you know?
“Look at Rickie [Fowler], Jordan... you can walk around a golf course in a good mood, looking happy and still play great
‘In 2007 the 18th grandstand sang ‘Happy Birthday’. I’m 41 on Saturday so hopefully I’ll play a good round and they will all sing it again’
golf. So they can stick it. Did it make me any less than competitive that day? Louis played amazing golf and if he did miss a shot it missed a bunker. So no, that is complete crock. You can tell I didn’t appreciate those comments.”
Casey’s laughter signifies he has long let go any residual bitterness but he accepts there is angst that St Andrews eight years ago remains his best finish in a major.
“I should have contended in more,” he says. “But there have been things that have got in the way of a nice smooth career. Injuries, divorce... but then they also add to it in a weird way. If those things had not happened.
“I might no longer have the drive and might even be out the game. I still want a major and it would be incredibly fulfilling if and when I don’t. But if it doesn’t happen does it make me any less of a person? It is interesting my career is long enough now that I’ve seen guys who’ve won a major and you think ‘Ah, he’s made his mark’. But then you stop seeing them when they stop playing and then you notice they are never ever talked about anymore. This game is amazing as it just moves on, it keeps going. So you can’t get too wrapped up in making your mark.
“Saying that I’d obviously love to win here and becoming the first Englishman to win an Open in 26 years would be pretty cool. I like Carnoustie. It’s a great course. I remember in 2007 I shot a 69 in the third round, which was one of the lower scores, and the 18th grandstand sang me ‘Happy Birthday’. I’m 41 on Saturday so hopefully I’ll play another good round and they will sing it again.”
They could still be belting out the Casey refrains on Sunday. Certainly, there is nothing on his CV that counters the inkling that his time could be nigh. His victory over Tiger Woods in Tampa four months ago was his first win in four years and since then he has registered two more top fives in seven events. He comes in on the back of his runner-up finish in Connecticut, having lost a four-shot lead in the final round.
“I hadn’t played well on the Thursday and Friday and then had brilliant Saturday. But then I reverted to the first two rounds. I drove it everywhere and flat-out struggled. And it wasn’t great playing behind JB Holmes to be brutally honest – I got no rhythm. By all accounts, he was three holes behind and that isn’t good and it definitely isn’t fun. They need to do something about slow play.
“One of my most enjoyable rounds of golf was with Mark Foster in Switzerland. It took 2hr 30min, I shot a 64 and I won a watch but, even better, I got a kiss off Cindy Crawford. Now if it had been the usual four hours or so, I would have missed that opportunity.” As Casey says, it is not just about the golf.