PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Paul Casey is out to make history this weekend at the Valspar Championship. But after two days, his chances are not looking good.
The back-to-back champion is the only player to win the tournament in consecutive years (2018 and 2019) and has a chance to make it a “three-peat” with a win this weekend on Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course.
But after two rounds, Casey is in an eight-way tie for 33rd place, nine shots behind leader Keegan Bradley.
Casey’s par-70 finish in Friday’s second round kept him at 3-under for the tournament, just two strokes above the 36-hole cut (1-under).
Still, while his route back to the top of the leaderboard will be difficult, it’s not impossible.
Only eight times over the past 40 years has a PGA Tour player won the same tournament at least three consecutive times. And only 25 players have done it over the history of the tour.
Tiger Woods has done it six times (1999-2001 World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, 1999-2001 Memorial Tournament, 2000-03 Arnold Palmer Invitational, 2005-07 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, 2005-07 WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession and 2005-08 Farmers Insurance Open).
Stuart Appleby (2004-06 Sentry Tournament of Champions) and Steve Stricker (2009-11 John Deere Classic) have each done it once.
Before the start of this year’s Valspar tournament, Casey said he hadn’t thought about what it would mean to accomplish the feat. But if he somehow manages to pull it off, he’ll be in good company.
“It would just be extremely cool, flat out,” Casey, of England, said. “I think even more so with the gap, as well, with the one-year sort of hiatus (the tournament was canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic).”
It wouldn’t be completely unfamiliar territory for Casey. At the amateur level, he won three straight Pac-10 (now Pac-12) championships at Arizona State from 1998-2000.
“I’d won back-to-back English Amateur titles (in 1999 and 2000),” he said, “but I’d never won anything three in a row.
“There was talk about it back then, having won one and then won the second one and then talking about the third. I remember a little bit like now, I wasn’t really that nervous. There was a level of expectation, but it ... I felt like there was no pressure because nobody is expecting me to do it, which is a little bit the same case this week.”
Casey said he remembers his three straight conference titles being “the coolest feeling ever.”
As a sophomore in 1999, he entered the final round at Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs, Colorado, eight strokes behind leader Joel Kribel, a Stanford senior.
Then, Casey pulled off a final round for the record books, shooting 10-under 60 to break the course record of 61 and finish two strokes ahead of Kribel (267).
“I don’t think he’s ever forgiven me,” Casey said, laughing. “I just saw Joel Kribel (Tuesday).”
Now, Casey’s eyes are set on adding his nameplate to the Valspar trophy for a third straight time.
But he’s got a lot of work ahead of him.
“I’ve been in the game long enough, but there’s numerous things that I still want to win and wish I had won,,” he said. “So just to add something to the fabric of everything would be very, very cool. I’ll tell you on Sunday how it feels.”
