LIV UK Preview: Casey relishing the chance to shine before home fans
ROCESTER, England – Crushers GC’s Paul Casey has been one of the most consistent players on LIV Golf this season. He is now hoping that his remarkable ball-striking leads to a maiden win in the League in front of a doting home crowd.
The Englishman, who turned 47 on Sunday, comes to LIV Golf UK by JCB ranked 13th in the season-long Individual Standings. In the 10 tournaments, Casey has never finished outside 32nd, and has four top-10s, including a playoff loss in Hong Kong. In the 30 rounds played, Casey has been even-par or better 27 times. Even in a high-performing team like the table-topping Crushers, where all four players are scoring well, his scores have counted in 26 of the 30 rounds.
More than his results, it is the quality of his ball striking that has been outstanding. Casey has found 64 per cent fairways off the tee, ranking him seventh in overall list. What is even more impressive is the fact that he is No.2 in Greens in Regulation with an average of 13.07.
Casey said he has set smaller goals than winning, like trying to finish better than his Captain Bryson DeChambeau in the season-long Individual Standings.
“Sometimes, consistency doesn’t necessarily lead to victories,” said Casey. “It's like I would dearly love – and this is a compliment to Bryson – to be ahead of him come the end of the regular season. It's just a little goal I have because I know if I’m challenging a guy like that, then I know I’m putting myself in opportunities week in, week out.
“Sometimes, weeks just pan out differently. I don’t think there’s a lot that needs to be changed, to be honest. It’s just a tweak. Sometimes, it's a favorable golf course. Hong Kong for me was a golf course I just felt very comfortable with.
“Nothing is going to change. Johnny (caddie) and I are going to keep doing the same things we’ve been doing. There are a couple of roles here. One is obviously for myself to stand on podiums, but the other one is to deliver for Crushers. I take huge pride in making sure my score counts every single round, not just once or twice a week but three days. I want it right there.
“There’s a reason Bryson put me on this team. It’s because I've played consistent world-class golf for a long, long time, and that’s what I intend to do for a lot longer. I will get there.”
This is definitely a week that Casey would love to get there. LIV Golf UK by JCB has sold out every ground pass for the three days, with 14,000 fans expected to throng the course each day.
“It would be great to get it done this week. Home game for me, which I’m very excited about, lots of friends and family coming up, even friends from up north coming down,” said Casey.
“I think we’re going to have a lot of energy this week. The golf crowd in the UK are starved for golf, plain and simple. When I started playing, it was six, seven professional events on various Tours in the UK, and now there’s a lot fewer than that.
“There’s a huge appetite. Golf in the UK is massive, one of the biggest golf markets in the world. I’m expecting high energy, and they’re going to have a wonderful time.”
The reigning Team Champions continue to rule the roost in the League and are well clear of second-placed Legions XIII despite winning two titles this season compared to three by the Jon Rahm-led team. But they also have three runners-up finishes and two fourths. The one thing missing from Crushers’ profile in 2024 is individual wins.
“I feel like we’ve played well all year. We had a little bit of a lull middle of the season, and we’ve started to pick it back up, and I feel like our games are all peaking and trending, moving at the right pace and getting ready for that Team Championship in Dallas,” said DeChambeau.
“Clearly, we all want to win individual titles and we all want to do our best every single week, but our sights are definitely set on the Team Championship and doing the best we can for the team. I’m certainly excited. These guys are all behind it, and it's cool when you’ve got a team that sees the vision.”
In Friday’s opening round, Crushers have been given the honour of starting from the first tee (1415 UK time). DeChambeau, Casey and Lahiri will play together, while John Catlin, who gets another chance to play as a substitute for the injured Charles Howell III, will begin from Hole No.11.