LONDON -- English Ryder Cup veteran Paul Casey believes Europe's title defense in Wisconsin later this year should be postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The biennial contest between Europe and the United States is scheduled for Whistling Straits on the shores of Lake Michigan Sept. 25-27.
Organizers earlier this week described as "inaccurate" a British newspaper report that plans were being made to push back the event by 12 months, as happened in 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
Casey cited that precedent when he was asked whether he would favour a delay of this year's clash while the world deals with the health crisis.
"Yes is the answer to that," he told the BBC. "I am never a fan of postponing stuff but it's been postponed before, so why can't it happen again?"
Like most other sports, the professional golf calendar has been heavily disrupted by the pandemic.
The first two major championships of the year, April's Masters and the PGA Championship in May, have already been postponed.
The U.S.-based PGA Tour, which runs the game's most popular circuit, has cancelled all tournaments until mid-May at the earliest.
But for the suspension of the tour, Casey would have been playing for a third successive title at the Valspar Championship in Florida this week.
"I'm obviously disappointed," the world number 24 added. "I was looking forward to going for three in a row, but it's amazing how quickly things have changed.
"The situation is no longer about golf, it's about worrying about people's safety, people's health and the economic impact of that."
source: news.abs-cbn.com
PARIS -- Paul Casey moved to the brink of a return to the world's top 10 on Monday after successfully defending his Valspar Championship title, while Dustin Johnson retained his lead at the summit.
Englishman Casey won only his third PGA Tour title on Sunday, edging out Jason Kokrak and Louis Oosthuizen by one shot, and jumped four places to 11th in the rankings.
Johnson struggled on the final day in Florida, but still finished in a tie for sixth.
The American leads the rankings from Justin Rose, although a red-hot Rory McIlroy is not far behind in fourth after six straight top-six finishes to start the season.
Jon Rahm jumped two places to eighth after a strong final round on Sunday to finish alongside Johnson.
South African Oosthuizen climbed eight spots to return to the top 20.
World top 20
1. Dustin Johnson (USA) 9.84 average pts
2. Justin Rose (ENG) 9.48
3. Brooks Koepka (USA) 8.61
4. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 8.46
5. Justin Thomas (USA) 8.38
6. Bryson DeChambeau (USA) 7.40
7. Francesco Molinari (ITA) 6.67
8. Jon Rahm (ESP) 5.98 (+2)
9. Xander Schauffele (USA) 5.95
10. Rickie Fowler (USA) 5.94 (-2)
11. Paul Casey (ENG) 5.55 (+4)
12. Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 5.22 (-1)
13. Jason Day (AUS) 5.17 (-1)
14. Tiger Woods (USA) 5.07 (-1)
15. Tony Finau (USA) 4.98 (-1)
16. Bubba Watson (USA) 4.64 (+1)
17. Patrick Reed (USA) 4.45 (-1)
18. Marc Leishman (AUS) 4.22
19. Patrick Cantlay (USA) 4.14
20. Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 4.04 (+7)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Paul Casey became the first player to successfully defend his Valspar Championship title when he secured a hard-fought one-stroke win over Louis Oosthuizen and Jason Kokrak in Florida on Sunday.
Overnight leader Casey eked out a one-over-par 72 in the final round, which was good enough to fend off his rivals in demanding, breezy and firm conditions at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor.
After a three-putt bogey at the penultimate hole, the 41-year-old Englishman hit a tournament-winning shot from a fairway bunker to the heart of the final green.
With two putts he finished at eight-under 276 for his third victory on the PGA Tour in 250 career starts.
Long-hitting American Kokrak challenged Casey and was tied for the lead playing the final hole, but he bogeyed for a 71.
Sweet-swinging South African Oosthuizen (69) made a flying start by holing a 25-yard bunker shot for eagle at the first hole, but rued a bogey at the 16th.
Casey said the self-belief attained in winning last year had held him in good stead.
"Last year's win was so big," he told NBC television. "That felt like my first victory as a professional. I've felt so different since then, new confidence.
"I'm getting older but I feel like I'm getting better. This is so cool."
While Casey celebrated, world number one Dustin Johnson lamented a birdie-less 74 that left him three shots behind in a tie for sixth, after he had started the day one back of Casey.
Casey is the third consecutive European winner on the PGA Tour, following Francesco Molinari (Arnold Palmer Invitational) and Rory McIlroy (Players Championship).
The last time Europeans enjoyed such a streak was 2010.
Casey heads to the Masters in a couple of weeks and will certainly be part of the conversation at a tournament where he has a strong recent record. He has not finished worse than 15th there over the past four years.
He is projected to rise to world number 11, not too far off his career-high ranking of third a decade ago, before injuries and a divorce temporarily sent his game into the rough.
Casey has 56 top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour.
"I've been incredibly consistent the last few years but I would almost give up some of that consistency for more victories," he said.
"I'm not a prolific winner (on the PGA Tour) but I've won 17 times around the world. I know how to win, plain and simple.
"Today was a very different attitude to maybe (what) I had had the last three, four years. I still felt Dustin was the favourite, but it didn't mean I didn't think I could beat him.
Casey played all week with the words "THE CHAMP" on the back of his caddie's bib, instead of the usual player surname.
They were words of his choosing, after tournament organisers asked him what he would like to do.
"It means I don't need to change the caddie bib for next year either," he joked.
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; editing by Clare Fallon / Ian Ransom)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
MIAMI -- Defending champion Paul Casey clung to a one-stroke lead over top-ranked Dustin Johnson despite a closing bogey in Saturday's third round of the US PGA Tour Valspar Championship.
The 41-year-old Englishman missed a 14-foot par putt at the par-4 18th and settled for a bogey and a three-under par 68.
Casey stood on nine-under 204 after 54 holes at the Innisbrook Resort Copperhead course in Palm Harbor, Florida.
"It feels really good," Casey said. "I was patient for the most part and aggressive when I had opportunities."
Johnson, a winner at last month's WGC Mexico Championship, was next on 205 after a 67 with fellow American Jason Kokrak third on 206 after a hole-in-one on his way to matching the week's low round on 66.
Casey relishes the challenge of playing alongside the world number one in Sunday's last group.
"Playing with Dustin is going to be very exciting," Casey said. "Any time I've got a chance to go up against world number one I'm excited about that."
"I do what I do because I want to play against the best in the world. And obviously he's the prominent one in the group of guys near the lead.
"Who is the favorite tomorrow? Probably Dustin. So I actually feel very kind of little pressure... it's pretty simple. If I go out tomorrow and beat him I actually might win. Plain and simple. Great scenario."
Casey has struggled to defend titles and turn 54-hole leads into victories but he stands a chance of doing both on Sunday.
He has won only once in five tries, and never broken 70, when leading a US PGA event after 54 holes. The win came at the 2009 Houston Open with a bogey on the first playoff hole to beat American J.B. Holmes.
Casey, who edged Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed by a stroke for the 2018 Valspar crown, has never defended a professional title.
But the British star has taken back-to-back titles multiple times as an amateur. He won the 1999 and 2000 English Amateurs and three consecutive Pacific-12 Conference trophies while studying at Arizona State University.
"My mindset now is I've won it, I have nothing to lose," Casey said. "I'm feeling a good position, like I don't have really any pressure. Now I've got one of those trophies. Yeah, I want another one, but it's not as much urgency."
Casey opened birdie-bogey, added a six-foot birdie putt at the par-4 sixth and made back-to-back birdie putts from three feet at the par-5 11th and eight feet at the par-4 12th.
Casey made a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-5 14th, but at 18, Casey found a greenside bunker and blasted out before rolling his par putt just off the right edge of the cup.
- 'Big birdie' -
Johnson fired his 14th consecutive round in the 60s, the longest such run of his career or by any tour player this season.
The World No. 1 sank a 33-foot birdie putt at the par-5 14th and curled in a tricky 10-footer for birdie at 18 to join Casey in the last pairing.
"It was a big birdie," Johnson said. "I'm in a good position going into the round tomorrow. I played a solid round. Missed a couple birdie opportunities but other than that I played really well."
Kokrak, seeking his first PGA crown after 197 starts over eight seasons, aced the par-3 15th with an 8-iron from 218 yards.
Kokrak delivered only the third ace in tournament history at 15 when his ball bounced twice and rolled 25 feet into the cup, briefly giving him a share of the lead at seven-under.
"We had 194 to carry it into the downgrain part," Kokrak said. "It was into the wind. We knew if we flushed it, it would go right in and it was perfect."
Britain's Luke Donald, a former world number one who has battled a back injury, began and ended with birdies in shooting 70 to share fourth on 207 with American Scott Stallings.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Bubba Watson stormed back from six strokes behind in the final round to overhaul Englishman Paul Casey and win the Travelers Championship by three strokes in Cromwell, Connecticut on Sunday.
Watson carded a seven-under-par 63, capping a dominant performance with a three-foot birdie at the final hole at TPC River Highlands after almost sinking his wedge approach shot.
The American finished at 17-under 263 to become the first three-times winner on the PGA Tour this year.
"It's been an amazing ride, my whole career, but this year has been outstanding," Watson told reporters after securing his 12th PGA Tour title.
He previously won in February at Riviera in Los Angeles, also for the third time, and in March at the World Golf Championships-Match Play in Austin, Texas.
Casey started the day with a four-shot cushion over his closest rival, American Russell Henley, but a birdie at the first hole was the Englishman's only one the entire day as his swing deserted him.
He carded 72 to tie for second at 14-under with Americans J.B. Holmes (67), Stewart Cink (62) and Beau Hossler (66). Henley finished a further shot back in a tie for sixth.
Watson took a while to reel in Casey, finally doing so with a 10-foot birdie at the 15th hole.
"That's when I think I tied him at 16-under, so that's when I really started thinking, OK, we can win this thing," said Watson, who also beat Casey in the same event in 2015 via a playoff.
Sunday's performance all but ensures Watson a spot on the United States team for the Ryder Cup against Europe in Paris in September. He failed to make the victorious 2016 team.
"I didn't think it was possible to get 10 wins. Then I get 10 wins and now I've got two more," he said.
"Now I just need one more in Augusta and that would be great."
Casey described his day as "terribly frustrating" after posting his eighth career runner-up finish on the PGA Tour, to go with two victories.
He hit some poor drives, not least at the par-five 13th, which leaked right into a hazard, but his putter saved him for most of the day, until the 16th, where his missed a four-footer.
"I fought my golf swing all day, as you could see coming down the last couple of holes," he said.
"You've got to give credit to Bubba but I'll go away and analyse this and see what we can do better in future."
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; editing by Ken Ferris/Peter Rutherford)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
NEW YORK -- Britain's Paul Casey fired an eight-under par 62, matching the lowest round of his career, to seize a four-stroke lead after Saturday's third round of the US PGA Travelers Championship.
The 40-year-old Englishman, aided by some swing advice from coach Peter Kostis, seeks his third career US PGA title and second of the year after his bogey-free weekend start at TPC River Highland in Cromwell, Connecticut.
Casey hit all 18 greens in regulation for just the third time in his career to stand on 16-under 194 for 54 holes with American Russell Henley second on 198.
Casey had complained of pulling the ball off the tee but a lesson with Kostis at the driving range saw him improve his posture and adjust his stance closer to the ball to produce the low round of the tournament.
"That's something I rarely see, 18 greens in regulation, so whatever he told me worked," Casey said.
Casey, a 13-time European Tour winner, hadn't won anywhere since 2014 until capturing March's US PGA Valspar Championship, edging Tiger Woods and soon-to-be Masters champion Patrick Reed by a stroke.
Casey had back-to-back birdies at the second and third holes and two more in a row to close the front nine, a nine-footer at the par-3 eighth and a 20-footer at the ninth.
After a tap-in birdie at the par-5 13th, Casey drove the green at 15 and made a 23-foot eagle putt to jump ahead by three strokes at 15-under.
"Hit a real neat 3-wood in there," said Casey of his approach. "I was in between clubs. Couldn't afford to be short so I went with the 3-wood."
At 18, Casey dropped his approach three feet from the cup and tapped in for birdie and a four-stroke edge.
India's Anirban Lahiri shared third on 199 after a third-round 65 with Americans J.B. Holmes and Brian Harman.
Australia's Jason Day shot 66 to stand in a pack on 200 with Americans Bubba Watson, Ryan Blaum, Beau Hossler and Bryson DeChambeau.
"I put a little bit more pressure on my short game to step up," Day said. "It has been a pretty good week with the short game. I'm chipping really nice."
The Aussie holds out hope of threatening Casey on Sunday.
"If you get away 2-under on the front side tomorrow and can get something going from 11 on, 13, 15 and one out of the last three, that's where you can start pushing," Day said. "You can put a lot of pressure on the guys in front."
Watson has won the event twice, once from six strokes back in the final round. He's chasing Casey too but admits it's a long climb.
"I've got to play a solid round," Watson said. "I have to be around 10-under to give him a scare."
American James Hahn aced the 158-yard, par-3 11th hole with an 8-iron on his way to a 67 to stand on 204.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Englishman Paul Casey surged to victory at the Valspar Championship in Florida on Sunday as Tiger Woods came tantalisingly close to ending his five-year drought.
Woods, who finished one stroke behind Casey, lamented a "couple of putts here and there" that could have led to his 80th PGA Tour victory.
His solid performance, however, provided further proof that he is a force again after last April's spinal fusion surgery on his lower back.
"Unfortunately I just didn't quite feel as sharp as I needed to with my irons, played a little conservative because of it," Woods told reporters at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor. "It showed in my amount (two) of birdies today.
"I've been here before a few times, so I felt very comfortable. As a whole I felt very good about what I did this week."
The old Tiger magic was mostly missing on Sunday as the 14-times major champion tried to record his 80th PGA Tour victory, and his first since 2013.
Missing, that is, until the par-three 17th, where Woods perfectly read and then executed a 43-foot birdie putt, his ball curling deliciously into the centre of the cup as the gallery went berserk.
But Woods could not replicate the magic at the par-four 18th, where he missed a difficult 40-foot birdie putt that would have forced a playoff with Casey.
Woods carded 70 and had to settle for second with fellow American Patrick Reed (68), who made an embarrassing bogey at the last when his first putt, through the fringe, failed to make it up the hill and rolled all the way back to his feet.
When the dust settled, Casey, long in the clubhouse with a 65 for 10-under 274, could finally celebrate his second victory on the PGA Tour.
"Probably not the most significant win of my career, but it's certainly one of the most satisfying ones, the quality of the golf I played," said Casey, who has also won 13 times on the European Tour.
"I know I made some errors yesterday -- I hit it in the water twice -- but as a whole I would say it's one of the cleanest weeks I've ever had from kind of a golf course management point of view."
Woods, meanwhile, kept his eye on the long game as he prepares for the April 5-8 Masters at Augusta National.
"I believe my game is progressing," he said. "I had really some nice building blocks at Honda (equal 12th two weeks ago) and I've had a few tweaks for this week and it paid off.
"Just a couple of things with my set-up and I was just trying to get my posture organised a little bit more ... little things (that) just make for better passes through the golf ball."
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Ken Ferris/Peter Rutherford)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
