A rejuvenated Paul Casey said he has not disregarded the European Tour and retains aspirations of a Ryder Cup return despite controversially resigning as a member at the end of last year.
Casey’s tie for third at the Honda Classic has bounced him back into the world’s top 50, earning him a spot at this week’s WGC-Cadillac Championship and placing the Englishman on the verge of a Masters return. He has not featured at Augusta National since 2012.
The intriguing subtext relates to Casey’s decision to concentrate entirely on the US PGA Tour, which in theory would rule him out of playing in the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine next year; only registered European Tour members can feature in the continent’s team.
“I totally understood the headlines when I quit the European Tour, how I turned my back on my home tour and how I’d given up on the Ryder Cup,” Casey said. “If I was an outsider looking in, that’s what I would have thought too, but the truth is, I haven’t given up on the Ryder Cup, anything but.
“My dream is to play in another one, another few or more, but I just haven’t figured how to yet. My energy has all been focused on the PGA Tour and playing well and getting back in the top 50 as that’s where I’ll be most use to Europe.”
This wasn’t, the 37-year-old stressed, a move taken lightly. “I dwelled on that decision for a long time. I played it in my mind over and over. I’d been a member for so long, have been on the players’ committee and everything, and it was a horrid choice. Having said that, there are some changes going on and they needed change. Hopefully they are now going in the right direction.”
The likelihood is that Casey will sign up again for the European Tour before the annual deadline of 1 May, as long as his top-50 placing looks secure. From there, playing the minimum stipulation of 13 seasonal events would become fairly simple and restore his Ryder Cup chances.
“I do think about the Ryder Cup and what will happen but it’s not at the forefront right now,” Casey said. “Winning out here is primary. I haven’t considered the what-ifs. What if I’m a major champion and a top 10 in the world and I’m not a member of the European Tour? What happens then? I don’t play? Having said that I was seventh in the world in 2010 and still didn’t get picked.
“The rules state I’ll have to rejoin the European Tour and play my minimum, but I can assure you that’s far easier to do [when a top-50 player].
“Get in the top 50, play the four majors, the four WGC events and you’re roughly two thirds of the way there. I did it for years and years and it was straightforward. There was clarity, you knew what you were doing. There’s so many points around, life was good but once you are outside the top 50, life becomes comparatively difficult. I came over here trying to get back in it and now I am back in it, after really only a few months.”
Casey is part of a stellar field at Doral this week which also includes Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson, Justin Rose and Adam Scott. For the first time in three years, all of the world’s top 50 will compete in the first WGC event of the season.
