Jan 12 Casey

Paul Casey has a great deal to smile about just now. Official European Golfer of the Year for 2006. Shot of the Year honours for his match-winning Ryder Cup hole-in-one at the K Club. One million pounds banked after a surprise, but deserved, triumph in the World Matchplay at Wentworth. Granted, he was pipped at the post in the European Order of Merit by a tenacious Padraig Harrington while hindered by a last-minute virus, but few could argue that golf’s Mr Colgate was Europe’s most talked-about golfer of the last 12 months.

And now Paul Casey is ready to up the ante. But the ‘when will a Brit win a Major’ question is met with a roll of the eyes and a shoulder hunch. 

He states quite matter-of-factly:  “It’s very difficult to win nowadays. Fields are so high in quality. That’s why I’m so amazed Tiger wins, it seems like, every time he tees it up.”

Very few moments elapse in any discussion about modern pro golf before Tiger’s name is mentioned, but Paul Casey has a unique synergy with golf’s ubiquitous force. Both, obviously, are Nike players, which means that the company with the Swoosh can now boast both the World and European players of the year in their stable. That is no mean feat for a company which wasn’t even heard of in golf 10 years ago. Michelle Wie is yet to hit paydirt for them, but nevertheless, Nike must be feeling very pleased with themselves.

But this is a man who knows what he wants and, crucially, how he wishes to achieve it.

“ I felt like I earned everything I got. It’s about keeping on working, working, working.”

Casey’s strong work ethic is, of course, at the heart of why he is where he is. He works tirelessly with one of the best coaches in the game, Peter Kostis, at home in Scottsdale, Arizona, but he doesn’t beat himself up about technical matters as he works. Ask Casey how he swings it and he’ll give you a rueful look.

“Everybody has a perfect swing for them. But I know I can’t swing it like Tiger. And I can’t tell you what it would take to give me that swing, I’m just not swing oriented enough.”

So what do the duo work on? “To be honest, we work on fundamentals, set-up stuff, posture, grip, especially if I haven’t seen Peter for a few weeks. And the homework is all done away from the tournament, all done before I get there. Of course he’ll watch me play and we chat on the phone. Generally speaking, my swing will deteriorate the more I’m away from him but that’s because when I’m playing, I’m playing golf, I’m not thinking about my swing. Mind you, I know before I’ve hit it if it’s a good swing or a bad swing.”

“I want to look back in, hopefully, many years time and say I’m happy with the amount of time I put in and where I got to. Keep plodding away!”

And the rest, Paul. Surely a man of his method has a specific masterplan for 2007? What does it look like and how does he set his goals?

“The goal in 2006 was to be very specific and have very short goals, every week, every event. Set myself a goal for that week, try and accomplish it. If I felt like I’m capable of winning a tournament then that would be my goal that week – the goals for the end of the year would hopefully sort themselves out.”

Well, it worked last year. Casey is keeping mum on his goals for 2007, but they should be easy to fathom – after all, he has only one more rung to go.
Picture: Angus Murray

See the full interview in the March issue fo Golf World