Casey sees bright side after Sunday collapse

Associated Press

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland

The tee shot sailed into the prickly gorse, and with it went any chance Paul Casey had of winning the British Open.

The 32-year-old Englishman was the only player who had any hope at catching Louis Oosthuizen in the final round at the Old Course.

With no way to hit out of the thick bushes left of the 12th fairway, a penalty drop was his only option. Unnerved, Casey needed five more to finish off a triple-bogey 7.

Oosthuizen made birdie at the same hole, and — just like that — a four-shot margin grew to a staggering eight. The engraver had a little extra time to put a name on the claret jug that few people knew before this week.

Even if that shot hadn’t veered off course, it’s unlikely that he, or anyone else, would have caught Oosthuizen. The barely known South African put it all together for one magical week, and Casey would have needed something akin to a 67 — as good as anyone shot on Sunday — to have any chance of wiping out the deficit he faced at the start of the round.

“As disappointed as I am with the way I played today, Louis was in a different league,” said Casey, who struggled home with a 3-over 75 that left him tied for third. “You know, that softens my disappointment slightly, because it was a tremendous performance. Hats off to him.”

Casey’s pain was eased even more by the state of his game.

He was No. 3 in the world heading into last year’s Open, but strained a rib muscle the week before. Casey made it through four painful rounds but could only manage a tie for 47th at Turnberry. After rest and treatment, he tore the muscle at Firestone and had to withdraw. He withdrew again before the PGA Championship.

Casey didn’t play another full round until the World Match Play Championship in October, where he lost all three of his rounds.

“I’ll be honest, it was scary,” he said. “I was very worried about it. I thought, ’Is this something I’m going to be battling the rest of my career? Am I done? Will I ever be pain free?’ I had no idea. I was pretty down.”

Casey has rebounded this year, with five top-10 finishes around the world, but his performance at the birthplace of golf makes it clear he’s all the way back.

Now, all he has to do is win that first major title.

“Six months ago, I had no idea if I was going to get back to this sort of form again,” he said. “Now I know I’m going to win a major. It’s just a matter of time. This week just wasn’t my week.”