Absence made Casey's heart grow more desperate
Paul Casey's coach forced him to watch the 2006 Masters on TV to make him realize how much he wanted to be there. The tough love worked, and Casey is at Augusta National this year with a renewed desire to prove himself.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (PA) -- Last year's Masters was a painful experience for Paul Casey -- just as his coach wanted it to be for him.
As the world's greatest golfers began their bids for Augusta glory, Casey, not good enough to be among them at the time, was not sure whether he wanted to watch. But the advice to him from Peter Kostis was to sit down in front of a television and suffer.
"Peter said that it would make me realize how much I wanted to be there -- and he was right," recalled Casey. "It acted as an extra spur for me the rest of the season. It was a lesson in motivation. I absolutely hated not being there."
Finishing sixth in his Masters debut in 2004 had given Casey an instant affinity for the course. It guaranteed him a return trip, but 12 months later he shot 78-77 in the early stages of a slump that also saw him quit the U.S. Open after an opening 85.
One of the consequences of that nightmare summer was his world ranking tumbled, and he failed to meet the requirements for a 2006 Masters invitation.
But he is back now, and back as one of Europe's leading hopes to end a barren spell in the majors stretching all the way back to Paul Lawrie's 1999 British Open victory at Carnoustie. That is 29 majors without success.
"It gets more and more attention every major," said Casey. "I can't explain why. Obviously, Tiger's made it very tough for guys. He's taken away half the opportunities and the other great players in the world have taken away the other half.
"Yeah, it's getting tough, but I think the talent has been there in the past and I can't explain why guys didn't win majors over the past 29 occasions.
"I do think we have a bunch of guys coming through now. Not that the others have disappeared by any means," he added. "(Thomas) Bjorn, (Darren) Clarke, (Padraig) Harrington, those sort of players, especially Bjorn (second three times in majors) have come very, very close and I still think they are very hungry for it and have the ability.
"But now we have guys like (Luke) Donald and (David) Howell and (Henrik) Stenson who not only have the skill, but they also have the desire and the determination and the drive and want to win a major and are accepting of everything that will go with that once they win," he said. "So hopefully they can hurry up -- somebody can hurry up -- and win one.
"I need to keep working and I think I can get close," he explained. "It's my ultimate goal to win a major and hopefully it will be as soon as possible. And when somebody does I think the floodgates will open.
"I think my game sets up very nicely for the Masters," he said. "My length off the tee, high ball flight with the irons and I know I can shape the ball both ways if I need to. Good enough short game and I'm a good putter when I get it going.
"It's all right there and I love the place. When I first turned up I certainly felt a familiarity. I wanted to stand there on certain holes and try to replicate shots that I had seen on TV or putts I had seen go in," he added. "Everybody knows it. Amen Corner, people know the holes you're talking about. It's just one of the coolest courses I've ever played.
"It's a fun golf course, but at the same time it can be the most penal golf course on the planet. Great shots are rewarded," he said. "They can set it up to infuriate the players, but they are still allowing a great shot to be rewarded -- it's a beautiful blend.
"The Open is the one I would like to win because it's my national championship, but the Masters is always the one I grew up as a kid watching late at night on TV," he explained.
"It's really cool. It's always at Augusta National. The nuances, the quirkiness, the locker room, the traditions and caddies in the overalls. I think it provides the best opportunity I have for winning a major, so that's why I focus on it."
Many wondered if Casey's bad times two years ago were linked to the controversy he landed himself in with his "we properly hate them" comment after his 2005 Ryder Cup debut.
It is impossible to know the answer to that, of course, but gradually he started getting his act together again. First came a win in the China Open, then he held off Colin Montgomerie and Bjorn among others to capture the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.
It helped him earn a second Ryder Cup spot and not only was that one of the best weeks of his career -- he holed-in-one to win one of his matches, of course -- it followed another dream performance in the HSBC World Match Play Championship in his native England.
Despite being edged by Padraig Harrington for the 2006 European Tour Order of Merit title, Casey was voted the 2006 European Tour Player of the Year and he could count himself amongst the world's greatest golfers again.
There will be no need to watch them in the Masters this time. He will be there -- and he hopes he will be there at the top of the leaderboard come Sunday night.
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