PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Some will look at Paul Casey’s victory at June’s Irish Open, the Englishman’s first win of any kind in nearly two years, as the tipping point in his quest to play his way back into world-class form.
For Casey, however, progress has been much more subtle.
“Coming down the stretch at Walton Heath (at the U.S. Open qualifier in England), having to par in to make the Open was hugely motivational,” said Casey, who opened with a 67 on Day 1 at the PGA Championship. “I hadn’t been in that position and I didn’t know how I’d react.”
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Casey’s fall from competitive grace has largely been a byproduct of an assortment of injuries, and even now he can’t call himself 100 percent healthy.
He had to have a cortisone shot in his right big toe during the Open Championship and says his right shoulder, which has a torn labrum, pops out of place at times when he’s sleeping. “That’s not nice,” he said.
He also said he’s recovering from a cold that slowed him for much of last week at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, but added that playing well has turned into the best medicine.