casey crams in cup memories
Casey - second Ryder Cup at the K Club.
By Phil Casey, PA Sport
For someone with just one Ryder Cup appearance to his name, Paul Casey has certainly experienced everything the contest has to offer. There was, of course, the incredible high of Europe's record victory at Oakland Hills, when Bernhard Langer's side thrashed the United States by 18 and a half points to nine and a half. There was the thrill of winning his first point in the competition at a vital time, the 29-year-old combining with fellow rookie David Howell to recover from one down with two to play in the Saturday morning fourballs to beat Chad Campbell and Jim Furyk just as the home side threatened to stage a comeback. There was the excitement of facing Tiger Woods in the first singles match on Sunday and giving the world number one a run for his money before eventually losing 3&2. And to cap it all, there was the embarrassment of being made to look silly in front of millions of people, by your team-mate and partner no less. Asked for his memories of Oakland Hills, Casey said: "I do remember Howler (Howell) got me on the 10th in our match on Saturday. "I made birdie on 10, I'm guessing to win the hole, and he had his hand out to say 'well done partner' and shake my hand, and I stuck my hand out and he left me hanging - he pulled it away like you did in school! "They've played it on Soccer AM a couple of times. A complete b*****d, I've never trusted him since!" Unfortunately for Casey, he was soon to experience the downside of a sporting contest which has often proved highly charged. In a newspaper interview a few weeks later he said Europe's side "properly hate" the Americans while the Ryder Cup is being played, comments which then appeared in a tabloid under the headline "Americans are stupid. I hate them". As someone who went to college in America, has a house in Arizona, an American girlfriend and American coach, Casey was at pains to point out the comments had been misconstrued - but to little avail. He received a flood of "nasty" e-mails and Amy Sabbatini, the American wife of South African player Rory Sabbatini, wore a t-shirt displaying the words "Stoopid Amerikan" at the World Cup in Seville later that year. Casey had the last laugh then, combining with Ryder Cup team-mate Luke Donald to lift the trophy for England, but admitted at the time: "I've not enjoyed what happened this week, and it's definitely affected me. I hope the crowds in America will be very receptive but I don't know whether they will be. I'm worried about it." There were inevitably problems with some spectators and players, and Casey admitted he sought "professional help" to deal with it, but has had no such worries in 2006 - one fan even shouted 'God Save the Queen' when he was in contention at the Bridgestone Invitational - and hopes this year's event at the K Club outside Dublin will provide a natural end to the story. "I think playing in another Ryder Cup will be the final chapter in the whole thing," added Casey, who sealed his place in the team with fourth place in Akron after playing the final round with eventual winner Woods. "There were some things that I should not have said, but some big things were twisted. I'm not going back into what happened. I'll have to deflect it to the future. It's just wonderful to be part of another match and I'm really looking forward to it. It's going to be a great experience, another chapter in history whoever wins. "Sure there's going to be partisanship in Ireland but it's sport."
