ENGLISHMAN AHEAD OF BUBBA WATSON WITH A PAIR OF 66s
PAUL CASEY TAKES THREE-STROKE
LEAD AT MEMORIALTOURNAMENT
-
FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM
-
FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
DUBLIN, Ohio -- Paul Casey, pictured below, isn't exactly sure when he'll know that he's back.
Will it be when he plays his way onto another European Ryder Cup team, his first since 2008?
Or, when the man who once ranked third in the world climbs from his current spot at 97th back into the top 10?
What about when he finally has another US PGA Tour victory to go on his resume along with that 2009 Shell Houston Open title?
All three certainly are milestones he could use. The way Casey sees it, though, he'd rather look forward.
"I don't want to continue to look back at where I was and measure myself against how I used to play," he explained.
"And taking something like being three in the world as a measure, if I get back to three, hey, then I'm back, I think you can't do that. You can't control how the other guys play, how world ranking points are distributed.
"All I can do is start trying to rack up wins. And I don't think (after) one victory or even a couple of victories you can then say, oh, I'm back. I think hopefully we can have this discussion in five years' time after I've played some great golf for five years and say, all right, now I'm coming back."
Five years is a long time, though, and this week's Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance offers a golden opportunity in the here and now -- just as he seized last year in winning the Irish Open.
Casey, who is playing on a sponsor's exemption, has posted matching 66s in the first two rounds to open a three-stroke lead over reigning Masters champion Bubba Watson.
The 36-year-old Englishman has been extremely steady this week -- ranking second in greens in regulation, tied for 13th in driving accuracy and 16th in putting.
Casey appears relaxed and happy, and he's clearly ready to distance himself from the man who battled a rib injury in 2009 and dislocated his left shoulder in a snowboarding accident over the Christmas holidays in 2011.
"I had very good control of the irons today," Casey said. "The driving was still good again. I was ecstatic with the way I played but there were a couple of mistakes in there.
"But that's Muirfield Village. It's a tricky golf course and you don't need to do a lot wrong to make a mistake."
Casey has spent the better part of the last two years making up for that miscue on the snowboard. His shoulder didn't need surgery but it was slow to heal, and his swing suffered, as a result.
"The change in the swing changed my ability to control the golf ball," Casey said matter-of-factly. "Ability to control the golf ball then was lost. That affects the psychological side of things. How do you fix it? You can't fix one until the body is fixed.
"The progress was gradual, 'baby steps,' he called it, "which is the most frustrating thing."
There were times when he wondered if it was worth all the work. Did he really want to play professionally at the highest level again?
"Standing in the middle of the fairway and you can't hit the green or you're standing on the tee and you can't hit the fairway, yes, lots of times," Casey said.
"And I did it out here, that was the thing. It's not like I kind of just disappeared and just went off the grid for a while. I was battling through it. I was doing it out here.
"And that was quite tough, trying to play tournament level golf and I wasn't able to. You can look up the scores. There were lots of moments out there."
At the same time, though, Casey found perspective. He's engaged with a baby due in September, a little boy. He loves the game but he has room in his life for so much more.
"Making bogey on 9 -- it actually wasn't a bad bogey, good bogey in the end, (but) I see Pollyanna, my fiancee, and it's like bogey doesn't matter," he said.
"And I know it's going to matter even less in September, and that's kind of cool. And I didn't have that a few years ago, but I have it now."
Casey also has confidence, which will be vital this weekend at Muirfield Village with victory on the line.
MORE: Tee times | LIVE@ schedule | TOUR Report | Daily Wrap-Up | Photo Gallery
Will it be when he plays his way onto another European Ryder Cup team, his first since 2008?
Or, when the man who once ranked third in the world climbs from his current spot at 97th back into the top 10?
What about when he finally has another US PGA Tour victory to go on his resume along with that 2009 Shell Houston Open title?
All three certainly are milestones he could use. The way Casey sees it, though, he'd rather look forward.
"I don't want to continue to look back at where I was and measure myself against how I used to play," he explained.
"And taking something like being three in the world as a measure, if I get back to three, hey, then I'm back, I think you can't do that. You can't control how the other guys play, how world ranking points are distributed.
"All I can do is start trying to rack up wins. And I don't think (after) one victory or even a couple of victories you can then say, oh, I'm back. I think hopefully we can have this discussion in five years' time after I've played some great golf for five years and say, all right, now I'm coming back."
Five years is a long time, though, and this week's Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance offers a golden opportunity in the here and now -- just as he seized last year in winning the Irish Open.
Casey, who is playing on a sponsor's exemption, has posted matching 66s in the first two rounds to open a three-stroke lead over reigning Masters champion Bubba Watson.
The 36-year-old Englishman has been extremely steady this week -- ranking second in greens in regulation, tied for 13th in driving accuracy and 16th in putting.
Casey appears relaxed and happy, and he's clearly ready to distance himself from the man who battled a rib injury in 2009 and dislocated his left shoulder in a snowboarding accident over the Christmas holidays in 2011.
"I had very good control of the irons today," Casey said. "The driving was still good again. I was ecstatic with the way I played but there were a couple of mistakes in there.
"But that's Muirfield Village. It's a tricky golf course and you don't need to do a lot wrong to make a mistake."
Casey has spent the better part of the last two years making up for that miscue on the snowboard. His shoulder didn't need surgery but it was slow to heal, and his swing suffered, as a result.
"The change in the swing changed my ability to control the golf ball," Casey said matter-of-factly. "Ability to control the golf ball then was lost. That affects the psychological side of things. How do you fix it? You can't fix one until the body is fixed.
"The progress was gradual, 'baby steps,' he called it, "which is the most frustrating thing."
There were times when he wondered if it was worth all the work. Did he really want to play professionally at the highest level again?
"Standing in the middle of the fairway and you can't hit the green or you're standing on the tee and you can't hit the fairway, yes, lots of times," Casey said.
"And I did it out here, that was the thing. It's not like I kind of just disappeared and just went off the grid for a while. I was battling through it. I was doing it out here.
"And that was quite tough, trying to play tournament level golf and I wasn't able to. You can look up the scores. There were lots of moments out there."
At the same time, though, Casey found perspective. He's engaged with a baby due in September, a little boy. He loves the game but he has room in his life for so much more.
"Making bogey on 9 -- it actually wasn't a bad bogey, good bogey in the end, (but) I see Pollyanna, my fiancee, and it's like bogey doesn't matter," he said.
"And I know it's going to matter even less in September, and that's kind of cool. And I didn't have that a few years ago, but I have it now."
Casey also has confidence, which will be vital this weekend at Muirfield Village with victory on the line.
MORE: Tee times | LIVE@ schedule | TOUR Report | Daily Wrap-Up | Photo Gallery
HEADING HOME: Reigning U.S. Open champion Justin Rose paid a
steep price when he double-hit a chip on the 12th hole on Friday. He
called the one-stroke penalty on himself -- and ended missing the cut by
one stroke. Rose is the 2010 Memorial champion.
Interestingly, Rory McIlroy did the same at the 15th hole on the way to his third straight double bogey. But the young Northern Irishman, who opened with a 63, had more of a cushion, finished at 3 under despite the 78 and survived the 36-hole elimination which came at even par.
Among others making early exits were Rickie Fowler, Tim Clark, Russell Henley, Rory Sabbatini and Martin Laird as well as former major champions Mike Weir, Y.E. Yang, Trevor Immelman and Vijay Singh, who won the Memorial in 1997. A total of 76 players will compete on the weekend.
Interestingly, Rory McIlroy did the same at the 15th hole on the way to his third straight double bogey. But the young Northern Irishman, who opened with a 63, had more of a cushion, finished at 3 under despite the 78 and survived the 36-hole elimination which came at even par.
Among others making early exits were Rickie Fowler, Tim Clark, Russell Henley, Rory Sabbatini and Martin Laird as well as former major champions Mike Weir, Y.E. Yang, Trevor Immelman and Vijay Singh, who won the Memorial in 1997. A total of 76 players will compete on the weekend.
ODDS AND ENDS
In the 38-year history of the Memorial Tournament, only seven international (foreigh to the USA) players have won at Muirfield Village -- most recently Justin Rose in 2010.
With rounds of 66-69, Bubba Watson has now shot consecutive rounds in the 60s for just the second time in nine appearances at Muirfield Village. ... The third round hasn't been kind to Watson, though. His scoring average on Saturday is 73.33, more than a stroke above either of the first two rounds. His final-round scoring average is 72.29. ... McIlroy didn't hit a fairway until his sixth hole of the day, and ultimately found just four of 14 for 28.6 percent and a disappointing 78.
In round one, he hit all but four for 71.4 percent and shot 63. He also missed 10 greens in the second round and took 28 putts as opposed to 22 in the opener.
QUOTESIn the 38-year history of the Memorial Tournament, only seven international (foreigh to the USA) players have won at Muirfield Village -- most recently Justin Rose in 2010.
With rounds of 66-69, Bubba Watson has now shot consecutive rounds in the 60s for just the second time in nine appearances at Muirfield Village. ... The third round hasn't been kind to Watson, though. His scoring average on Saturday is 73.33, more than a stroke above either of the first two rounds. His final-round scoring average is 72.29. ... McIlroy didn't hit a fairway until his sixth hole of the day, and ultimately found just four of 14 for 28.6 percent and a disappointing 78.
In round one, he hit all but four for 71.4 percent and shot 63. He also missed 10 greens in the second round and took 28 putts as opposed to 22 in the opener.
"The knee's okay. It was just a little sore this morning on the range because if I just keep hitting the balls continuously and just keep torquing it, then it's going to get sore. But on the course, it was fine. Painkillers kicked in ... it really didn't bother me too much," overnight leader Rory McIlroy, who followed a 63 with a 78
"I'm glad I'm playing this weekend. It will give me two more rounds on a good golf course to see if I can have something to build on," Phil Mickelson, who shot 70 in the second round.
SECOND-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2x72) Players from USA unless stated
132 Paul Casey (England) 66 66
135 Bubba Watson 66 69
136 Chris Kirk 66 70
137 Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) 70 67, Martin Flores 69 68
138 Thorbjorn Olesen (Denmark) 71 67, Hunter Mahan 68 70, Ryan Moore 68 70, Scott Langley 72 66
SELECTED SCORES
139 Adam Scott (Australia) 69 70 (T10)
140 Luke Donald (England) 71 69 (T17)
141 Jason Day (Australia) 72 69, Rory McIlroy (N Ireland) 63 78 (T24)
142 Phil Mickelson 72 70, Ernie Els (S Africa) 70 72, Freddie Jacobson (Sweden) 71 71 (T37)
143 Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spain) 73 70 (T48)
MISSED THE CUT
145 Justin Rose (England) 73 72
146 Russell Knox (Scotland) 73 73
147 Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) 76 71
151 Brian Davis (England) 72 79
152 Martin Laird (Scotland) 78 74
Labels: US PGA TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Saturday, May 31, 2014
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home