	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

BMW CHAMPIONSHIP

September 10, 2016

Paul Casey

Carmel, Indiana

Q. You could have snuck a few more birdies in, but one of the most important things about your round you didn't give any back.
PAUL CASEY: Yeah, it was tricky today as well. We had a front row seat for something very special as well and I'll get a front row seat for it tomorrow. Really happy with that. It was good. Not the best ball striking day I've had of the three so far, but still have a lot of opportunities. And you're right, when I got out of position, I saved it. So happy, really happy.

Q. Was it difficult to adjust to the speed of greens, because obviously the golf course changed.
PAUL CASEY: Yes, they were drastically slower, but I don't know when they were cut, probably when the sun came up this morning, and we have had whatever an inch of rain since and that's now 8 o'clock at night, so they have been growing all day as well. It made it testing, but I saw a few guys leave some putts short, but maybe it made the longer stuff easier.

Q. You talked about something special that you were able to see up close, I suppose you're referring to Dustin Johnson, who is striking the ball beautifully, but you got a chance, you are in touch with the leaders, you'll have a chance in the final round.
PAUL CASEY: I am. But when he knocks 3-wood around the corner on holes like 14, about 340 yards, I mean -- okay, as the crow flies it wasn't that far, but goodness me, I mean he's a great athlete, impressive stuff. If he continues to hit it like that, he's going to be incredibly difficult to beat. I've got a chance though.

Q. Another chance to contend and you put yourself in a good position.
PAUL CASEY: Yeah, really good. Clean sheet was really nice today. It was tricky stuff. Wind was swirling, a bit of rain to start out. It was all going on. I'm really happy we got done. I'm sure BMW and everyone in the Western Golf Association are happy we got done, and it's going to be a nice fun shoot-out tomorrow. Even though everybody's starting a long way back of Dustin and if he continues to do that, what he did today, crank it around this golf course, he's going to be very, very tough to beat. But I'm in a happy position.

Q. Potentially sort of following in the Billy Horschel footsteps from a couple years ago. Second at Deutsche Bank, you get this --
PAUL CASEY: I wear way better trousers than Billy. Way better looking than Billy.

Q. It shows what you can do in these playoffs if you get a run going.
PAUL CASEY: Yeah, hopefully you'll be asking me that question or posing me that kind of statement next weekend at East Lake. So this is all just posturing for next week, that's really what it is. But, you know, I would, that's kind of in the back of the mind, because this is such a classic golf event. I want to say it's up there -- you correct me if I'm wrong -- it's maybe the second oldest professional golf championship in America or something like that. You'll have to check the stats. That would be the coolest thing. So, the fact you've got people like Jack holding that trophy behind, that's what everybody wants, that's what makes the BMW so cool.

Q. I'm not sure if you're aware, but you, at second place, you're projected for the top-5 for East Lake and that means that you control your own destiny. Will that be sort of a mini thing you'll keep in mind tomorrow if you can't reach Dustin?
PAUL CASEY: No.

(Laughter.) No, I've not put goals the last few weeks it's not been trying to finish here or trying to do that, it's trying to win a golf event. So that will be remain tomorrow.

Q. There's a different mentality between being the leader and chasing. Do you feel comfortable this week, is that any better feeling to be, all right, I just got to go low?
PAUL CASEY: I can't, I don't feel like I've got the target on my back this week. Yeah, I know exactly what I got to do. Touch wood, we have got great conditions tomorrow, and hopefully we do. I've got to make some birdies early, and if I do I can put some pressure on him. Although, you know Dustin, he doesn't react to anything. I'm not sure me putting a bit of pressure on him is going to do anything, change anything. He's got such a -- talk about strokes gained, strokes gained driving and strokes gained putting, Dustin has to have strokes gained just through his attitude. He made a bogey today and you wouldn't even know it on the par-3. He just shrugs it off and hits it 350 yards around the next corner.

Q. Do you take anything from that kind of mentality?
PAUL CASEY: Yeah, you try to. If you play with a guy that's got great rhythm, you try and gain that rhythm. Guys who sometimes walk quickly, I try and avoid walking with them walking down the fairway, because it can throw me out of rhythm. But, yeah, you try and get Dustin's attitude, I mean just so carefree. It's great.

Q. A clean scorecard for you which made you go vertical on the leaderboard. How would you rate that performance out there?
PAUL CASEY: Really solid. When we stood on the first tee, you saw the conditions, it was pretty ugly. To keep a clean sheet was, I was very, very happy with it. It wasn't necessarily my best ball striking day of the three. Probably down to conditions, damp, rainy. But having said that, still losing ground to the guy that's standing over there doing all the interviews.

(Laughter.)

This golf course is getting longer and longer, it's going to dry out a little bit tomorrow, but I don't have that firepower, so the fact that I stayed in touch is nice. But it's going to be a very tough man to beat tomorrow.

Q. How do you approach chasing in this guy with a Major Championship on the resume.
PAUL CASEY: Not much you can do. He's got maybe the best attitude in golf. He's got maybe when he gets on his game maybe the best ball-striker in golf. Maybe the longest. And he showed it today. So, if he keeps doing what he's been doing, what's his averaging? 6-under a day? If he does the same tomorrow, there's no catching him.

Q. You are projected top-5 in the FedExCup points heading to the TOUR Championship. How much are you going to be thinking about that in the final round tomorrow?
PAUL CASEY: Not at all. Just trying to do what I've been doing. Throw in a, I would like to throw in three or four or five birdies on the front nine and focus on that. That's a lovely goal to have, but I've got to be focused on what I'm doing on the golf course and I've been in that position before, but it's not going to get me distracted.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297