Paul Casey

Paul Alexander Casey (born 21 July 1977) is an English golfer who is a member of the US-based PGA Tour. In 2009 he achieved his highest position, third, in the Official World Golf Ranking.[2][3]

For other people named Paul Casey, see Paul Casey (disambiguation).

Paul Casey
Casey at the 2008 U.S. Open
Personal information
Full namePaul Alexander Casey
Born (1977-07-21) 21 July 1977
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight180 lb (82 kg; 13 st)
Nationality England
ResidenceWeybridge, Surrey, England
Scottsdale, Arizona, US
Spouse
Jocelyn Hefner
​
(m. 2008⁠–⁠2011)​

​
(m. 2015)​
Career
CollegeArizona State University
Turned professional2000
Current tour(s)PGA Tour (joined 2005)
European Tour (joined 2001)
Professional wins21
Highest ranking3 (24 May 2009)[1]
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour3
European Tour15
Asian Tour2
PGA Tour of Australasia1
Other3
Best results in major championships
Masters TournamentT4: 2016
PGA ChampionshipT2: 2020
U.S. OpenT10: 2007
The Open ChampionshipT3: 2010
Achievements and awards
European Tour
Player of the Year		2006
Sir Henry Cotton
Rookie of the Year		2001

Early and personal life

Casey was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, but moved with his family to Weybridge, Surrey at the age of six. After attending Cleves School, Weybridge and then Hampton School, west London, he studied A levels at Strode's College, Egham, Surrey. He then took a golf scholarship at Arizona State University.

In 2008, he married Jocelyn Hefner, a distant cousin of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. The couple lived a quiet life on a remote ranch in rural Arizona, where keen amateur horse woman Jocelyn competed in local equestrian events. But after she abandoned an interior design course in 2011, the couple agreed to divorce.[4]

After they met at the Formula 1 Chequered Flag Ball at the 2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Casey started dating television presenter Pollyanna Woodward.[5] The couple got engaged during the Christmas period in 2013.[5] Soon after, they welcomed their first son, Lex, on 1 September 2014. They married January 2015.

Amateur golf career

His amateur career was distinguished. In the US he won three consecutive Pac-12 Championships (1998, 1999 and 2000). In 2000 he broke the championship scoring record held by Tiger Woods (18 under par) with a 23 under par 265. Back on the other side of the Atlantic he won the English Amateur in 1999 and 2000. He was also a member of Great Britain and Ireland's winning 1999 Walker Cup team, where he was only the third player in 77 years to record four victories without a single defeat.

Professional career

Casey joined the European Tour in May 2001, and recorded a second in his fifth event and a win in his eleventh, the Gleneagles Scottish PGA Championship. He ended that season 22nd on the order of merit and won the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award. After a disappointing second season he won the ANZ Championship and the Benson and Hedges International Open in 2003, and came sixth on the Order of Merit.

Casey did not win any individual titles in 2004, but he was a member of the victorious European Ryder Cup team and also won the WGC-World Cup for England in partnership with Luke Donald. Another highlight of his year was a sixth-place finish in his first Masters. He joined the PGA Tour shortly afterwards as a Special Temporary Member and his membership of the 2004 European Ryder Cup Team qualified him for membership of the US based tour for the 2005 season. However he continues to play mainly in Europe, and was the leader of the European Tour Order of Merit in 2006, until Pádraig Harrington overtook him in the final event. He re-joined the PGA Tour in 2009.

Casey has featured in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking and was the highest ranked Englishman for a time. In January 2007 he reached a career high of No. 13 in the rankings.[6]

In 2006, Casey won the HSBC World Match Play Championship at Wentworth, beating Shaun Micheel 10 and 8 in a record victory for the final. Casey became the only player in Ryder Cup history to win a foursome match with a hole-in-one on Saturday, 23 September 2006, in Ireland.

Casey sparked controversy in November 2004, when in an interview for the Sunday Times newspaper he reportedly said, of the US Ryder Cup team, "Oh, we properly hate them. We wanted to beat them as badly as possible". Several leading American golfers, including Fred Funk and Davis Love III, publicly dismissed the controversy surrounding Casey as tabloid mischief. Casey later apologised, saying the remarks were taken out of context and using the word "hate" was an error. Casey said he has an American coach (Peter Kostis) and an American girlfriend, and says he "has nothing against America".[7]

Casey earned his first PGA Tour win on 5 April 2009 by defeating J. B. Holmes in a one-hole playoff at the Shell Houston Open.[8] This win took him to No. 6 in the Official World Golf Ranking.[9]

Casey won his milestone 10th event on the European Tour at the 2009 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey, where he won by one stroke over Wentworth resident and fellow Englishman Ross Fisher. This win vaulted Casey to a career high of 3rd in the Official World Golf Ranking.[2] He had been ranked at No. 41 at the beginning of 2009.[3] Casey suffered a rib injury at the 2009 Open Championship, limiting the amount of golf he could play in the second half of 2009.

In January 2011, Casey won the Volvo Golf Champions tournament in Bahrain, which was his first win for 20 months.[10]

Casey won the 2012 Telus World Skins Game in Canada, having defeated Jhonattan Vegas in a tiebreaker during the event in July.[11]

Casey (left) celebrates after winning the 2009 BMW PGA Championship.

In June 2013, Casey won his 12th European Tour title at The Irish Open to end a two-and-a-half-year winless drought, due to form and fitness problems.[12] He captured the title with a final round 67 in changeable conditions, to win by three strokes over Joost Luiten and Robert Rock. He had begun the day four shots behind the leader Luiten, but a run of five birdies in six holes in the middle of the round opened up a three shot lead. It was reduced to one stroke, when Casey bogeyed the 15th and 16th, but a closing eagle on the par five 18th sealed the victory.[13]

In September 2014, Casey won his 13th European Tour title at the KLM Open in the Netherlands, his first victory of the 2014 season. He took victory after posting a final round 66, putting him one shot ahead of runner up, and fellow Englishman Simon Dyson. He started the final round four strokes off the lead of Romain Wattel. The victory was especially emotional and gratifying as Casey's wife Pollyanna had given birth to the couple's first child two weeks prior to the event.[14]

In 2015, Casey chose to give up his European Tour exemption and focus solely on the PGA Tour, citing a need to lessen his travel.[15] In February 2015, Casey finished in a tie for second at the Northern Trust Open after losing in a sudden-death playoff to James Hahn. Casey finished the tournament at six-under-par, tied with Hahn and Dustin Johnson. After the trio all parred the first extra hole, Casey could only make a par on the second extra hole and was eliminated when Hahn and Johnson both got up and down for birdies from the green-side rough. Casey continued his good form in America the following week, when he finished in a tie for third at the Honda Classic, one shot outside a playoff. Two weeks later he equalled his 2004 performance by finishing tied for 6th place in the 2015 Masters.

In 2016, Casey finished 2nd at both the Deutsche Bank Championship and the BMW Championship before finishing 4th at the Tour Championship to finish 5th in the 2016 FedEx Cup Playoffs, his best career performance in the Playoffs.

In December 2015, Casey chose not to rejoin the European Tour for the following 2016 season, which made himself unavailable to qualify for the 2016 Ryder Cup.[16] Casey reached the 15th position in the Official World Golf Rankings, just prior to the 2016 Ryder Cup, due to his in-form performances in the PGA Tour playoff tournaments immediately before the Ryder Cup event.[17] Casey admitted that he was hurt that he was not able to participate in the 2016 Ryder Cup, due to his decision then not to obtain European Tour member status, whilst others noted that England’s most in-form golfer then, was remarkably absent from the premier golf team event.[18]

Casey rejoined the tour in late October 2017 with aspirations of making the European team for the 2018 match at Le Golf National.[19] Casey remarked that he needed to play in another Ryder Cup, he missed the European Tour and being part of English golf.[20] Casey was subsequently selected for the EurAsia Cup in January 2018.[21] Casey scored two points out of a possible three and, ahead of the tournament, said he had 'no issues' speaking with 2010 Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie, who infamously overlooked the then world No. 9 for a spot on the European team at Celtic Manor.[22] However, Casey admitted that he was hurt by the omission from Team Europe of the 2010 Ryder Cup, by not scoring sufficient points to qualify for the team, whilst having never questioned the captain’s decisions on selecting individual picks for the team.[23] Casey also acknowledged that he was not selected for the Ryder Cup teams in both 2012 and 2014, as he struggled with his golf game then.[24]

Casey won the Valspar Championship in 2018, his first PGA Tour win in nine years.

In September 2018, Casey was named as a captain's pick by Thomas Bjørn for the European team participating in the 2018 Ryder Cup. Europe defeated the U.S. team by a dominant margin of 17.5 to 10.5 at Le Golf National outside Paris, France. Casey went 1–1–1 and halved his singles match against Brooks Koepka.[25]

Casey missed a chance to win the 2019 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, when he failed to convert a three-stroke 54-hole lead. He was chased down and passed by Phil Mickelson, who claimed a three-stroke victory. Casey birdied the last during a Monday finish to claim solo second. He did however win the Pro-Am tournament with playing partner Don Colleran.[26]

In March 2019, Casey successfully defended his Valspar Championship title with a one-stroke victory over Jason Kokrak and Louis Oosthuizen, to claim his third PGA Tour title.

In September 2019, Casey won the Porsche European Open at Green Eagle Golf Course in Hamburg, Germany. Casey earned his 14th European Tour victory and his first since winning the KLM Open in 2014.[27]

In August 2020, Casey finished tied for second at the 2020 PGA Championship along with Dustin Johnson, both finished two strokes behind Collin Morikawa. This marked his best career finish in a major championship and moved him to 19th in the Official World Golf Ranking.

In November 2020, Casey shot a seven under 65 to hold a share of the first round lead at the Masters. He ultimately finished the tournament T38, with subsequent rounds of 74-71-77.

In January 2021, Casey claimed his 15th European Tour victory, at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, with a four-stroke victory over Brandon Stone.[28] The win saw Casey move back into the top 20 in the world rankings.

Amateur wins (5)

Professional wins (21)

PGA Tour wins (3)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 5 Apr 2009 Shell Houston Open 66-70-69-72=277 −11 Playoff J. B. Holmes
2 11 Mar 2018 Valspar Championship 70-68-71-65=274 −10 1 stroke Patrick Reed, Tiger Woods
3 24 Mar 2019 Valspar Championship (2) 70-66-68-72=276 −8 1 stroke Jason Kokrak, Louis Oosthuizen

PGA Tour playoff record (1–2)

No.YearTournamentOpponent(s)Result
1 2009 Shell Houston Open J. B. Holmes Won with bogey on first extra hole
2 2015 Northern Trust Open James Hahn, Dustin Johnson Hahn won with birdie on third extra hole
Casey eliminated with par on second hole
3 2015 Travelers Championship Bubba Watson Lost to birdie on second extra hole

European Tour wins (15)
Legend
BMW PGA Championships (1)
Other European Tour (14)
No. Date Tournament Winning score To par Margin of
victory		 Runner(s)-up
1 26 Aug 2001 Gleneagles Scottish PGA Championship 69-69-67-69=274 −14 1 stroke Alex Čejka
2 9 Feb 2003 ANZ Championship1 45 pts (8-10-21-6=45) 4 points Stuart Appleby, Nick O'Hern
3 11 May 2003 Benson & Hedges International Open 71-69-66-71=277 −11 4 strokes Pádraig Harrington
4 20 Mar 2005 TCL Classic2 64-68-68-66=266 −22 Playoff Paul McGinley
5 27 Nov 2005
(2006 season)		 Volvo China Open2 71-69-70-65=275 −13 Playoff Oliver Wilson
6 25 Jun 2006 Johnnie Walker Championship
at Gleneagles (2)		 67-71-66-72=276 −16 1 stroke Andrew Marshall, Søren Hansen
7 17 Sep 2006 HSBC World Match Play Championship 10 & 8 Shaun Micheel
8 21 Jan 2007 Abu Dhabi Golf Championship 71-68-67-65=271 −17 1 stroke Peter Hanson, Miguel Ángel Jiménez
9 18 Jan 2009 Abu Dhabi Golf Championship (2) 69-65-63-70=267 −21 1 stroke Martin Kaymer, Louis Oosthuizen
10 24 May 2009 BMW PGA Championship 69-67-67-68=271 −17 1 stroke Ross Fisher
11 30 Jan 2011 Volvo Golf Champions 67-67-66-68=268 −20 1 stroke Peter Hanson, Miguel Ángel Jiménez
12 30 Jun 2013 The Irish Open 68-72-67-67=274 −14 3 strokes Joost Luiten, Robert Rock
13 14 Sep 2014 KLM Open 68-70-62-66=266 −14 1 stroke Simon Dyson
14 8 Sep 2019 Porsche European Open 66-73-69-66=274 −14 1 stroke Robert MacIntyre, Bernd Ritthammer,
Matthias Schwab
15 31 Jan 2021 Omega Dubai Desert Classic 67-70-64-70=271 −17 4 strokes Brandon Stone

1Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia
2Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour

European Tour playoff record (2–1)

No.YearTournamentOpponentResult
1 2004 Celtic Manor Wales Open Simon Khan Lost to birdie on second extra hole
2 2005 TCL Classic Paul McGinley Won with birdie on second extra hole
3 2005 Volvo China Open Oliver Wilson Won with birdie on first extra hole

Korean Tour wins (1)
No.DateTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runners-up
1 2 Oct 2011 Shinhan Donghae Open 77-73-69-69=288 E 1 stroke Kang Sung-hoon, Kim Kyung-tae

Other wins (2)
Legend
World Golf Championships (1)
Other wins (1)
No.YearTournamentWinning scoreTo parMargin of
victory		Runner(s)-up
1 21 Nov 2004 WGC-World Cup
(with Luke Donald)		 61-64-68-64=257 −31 1 stroke  Spain − Sergio García and Miguel Ángel Jiménez
2 31 Jul 2012 Telus World Skins Game $185,000 $100,000 Jhonattan Vegas

Results in major championships

Results not in chronological order in 2020.

Tournament 20022003200420052006200720082009
Masters Tournament T6 CUT T10 T11 T20
U.S. Open CUT CUT WD 15 T10 T65 CUT
The Open Championship CUT CUT T20 CUT 71 T27 T7 T47
PGA Championship CUT 66 CUT T59 CUT T40 T15
Tournament 201020112012201320142015201620172018
Masters Tournament CUT T38 CUT T6 T4 6 T15
U.S. Open T40 CUT T45 T56 T39 CUT 26 T16
The Open Championship T3 T54 CUT T47 T74 CUT T11 T51
PGA Championship T12 T72 CUT T33 CUT T30 T10 T13 CUT
Tournament 20192020
Masters Tournament CUT T38
PGA Championship T29 T2
U.S. Open T21 T17
The Open Championship T57 NT
  Top 10
  Did not play

WD = withdrew
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary
TournamentWins2nd3rdTop-5Top-10Top-25EventsCuts made
Masters Tournament0001581410
PGA Championship0101251812
U.S. Open0000151711
The Open Championship0011241712
Totals011310226645
  • Most consecutive cuts made – 9 (2007 Masters – 2009 Masters)
  • Longest streak of top-10s – 2 (twice)

Results in The Players Championship
Tournament 2004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019
The Players Championship T10 CUT CUT CUT T14 CUT CUT WD WD T23 T22 CUT
  Top 10
  Did not play

CUT = missed the halfway cut
WD = withdrew
"T" indicates a tie for a place

Results in World Golf Championships

Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.

Tournament20032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019
Championship T8 T21 T56 T9 T51 T31 T6 T18 T51 T38 7 T16 T12 T3
Match Play R64 R64 R64 R64 QF R16 2 2 R32 QF T51 R16 T17 R16
Invitational T17 T16 T19 T4 T51 T8 WD T22 T45 T27 T17 T16 T5 T31 T27
Champions WD T6 T4 20 T23 T12 T11 T16 T38
Tournament2020
Championship 11
Match Play NT1
Invitational T67
Champions NT1

1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

  Top 10
  Did not play

WD = Withdrew
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = no tournament
"T" = tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Team appearances

Amateur

Professional

See also

References
  1. "Week 21 2009 Ending 24 May 2009" (pdf). OWGR. Retrieved 20 December 2018.
  2. "Casey holds on for Wentworth win". BBC Sport. 24 May 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
  3. "Casey Set on No. 1; Third-ranked golfer looking to justify his spot". New York Daily News. 17 June 2009. p. 54.
  4. Brown, Oliver (8 November 2011). "Casey bounces back after form dipped during painful divorce". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  5. Corrigan, James (6 January 2014). "Paul Casey starts European Tour season by getting engaged to Pollyanna Woodward". The Telegraph. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
  6. "Week 3 – Paul Casey Wins the Abu Dhabi Championship and Reaches World Number 13". Official World Golf Ranking. 22 January 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  7. "Casey apologises for 'hate' jibe". BBC Sport. 18 November 2004. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  8. "Casey clinches maiden PGA victory". BBC Sport. 5 April 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2009.
  9. "Week 14 – Paul Casey Wins the Shell Houston Open and Jumps to World Number Six". Official World Golf Ranking. 5 April 2009. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  10. "Paul Casey wins first title for 20 months in Bahrain". BBC Sport. 30 January 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
  11. "Paul Casey beats Jhonattan Vegas in skins game shootout". CBC Sports. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  12. Murray, Ewan (1 July 2013). "Paul Casey on road to recovery after winning Irish Open". The Guardian.
  13. "Paul Casey captures the Irish Open". European Tour. 30 June 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  14. Corrigan, James (14 September 2014). "Paul Casey 'over the moon' after victory, while Andy Sullivan wins a trip to space". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  15. "Casey forfeits Euro membership to focus on PGA Tour". Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  16. "Is Paul Casey not rejoining the European Tour because of a Ryder Cup snub by Colin Montgomerie five years ago?". Golf Digest. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  17. "Paul Casey sounds dejected that he won't be at the Ryder Cup". Golf Digest. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  18. "Paul Casey sounds dejected that he won't be at the Ryder Cup". Golf Digest. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  19. Inglis, Martin (30 October 2017). "Paul Casey gives Ryder Cup boost to Team Europe". bunkered.
  20. "Paul Casey to rejoin European Tour in hopes of Ryder Cup bid". Golf Digest. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  21. Inglis, Martin (23 November 2017). "Paul Casey back playing team golf for Europe". bunkered.
  22. Inglis, Martin (11 January 2018). "Paul Casey 'never had an issue' with Monty". bunkered.
  23. "Paul Casey was '˜hurt a lot' by Colin Montgomerie's snub". The Scotsman. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  24. Clerkin, Malachy (27 September 2018). "Peculiar Paul Casey glad his Ryder Cup career is back on track". The Irish Times. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  25. "Europe wins back Ryder Cup, beating US 17 1/2-10 1/2". The Hamilton Spectator. The Canadian Press. 30 September 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
  26. "After solo second, Casey hopes to achieve goal at Genesis Open". PGA Tour. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  27. Speros, Bill (8 September 2019). "Paul Casey proves prophetic with victory in European Open". Golfweek. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  28. Stafford, Ali (31 January 2021). "European Tour: Paul Casey secures four-shot victory at Omega Dubai Desert Classic". Sky Sports News. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
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