LIV GOLF HONG KONG

March 8, 2025

Paul Casey

Hong Kong Golf Club

Crushers GC

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome Paul Casey from Crushers GC. You are currently still sitting in first place, T1. You are sitting at 11-under, fired off a 4-under today. Tell us about your round.

PAUL CASEY: Really good round of golf. Started off well. I probably, if you'd ask me, I was probably frustrated after nine or ten holes because I had only made one birdie to that point, but I had given myself a lot of chances.

These greens are difficult to read, and with the grain and the slope -- and we talked about it yesterday how maybe it's going to dry out and be a little trickier. But finally got it going, which I kind of had to because I just watched the Peter Uihlein show today. Phil talked about eliminating mistakes. If Peter had done that, I think he was eight birdies or nine birdies and an eagle. It was impressive stuff. I'm very happy that I'm sitting here tied for the lead.

Q. I think you've fired off two bogey-free rounds in a row. You were bogey-free yesterday, as well. How difficult is that to do out here?

PAUL CASEY: Admittedly I've struck the ball very well, and combined with I've got a good strategy around this golf course, but you never know. Maybe there's a little bit of luck. The par save on 18 yesterday, chipping in after being in the penalty area. Yeah, a really good shot but a little bit of luck. You've got to ride that, and I'm going to have to keep my nose clean tomorrow with the firepower that's just behind me because clearly there's lots of birdies on this golf course to be had.

I don't know what Sergio is on, but still going to take a decent round of golf tomorrow.

Q. You've had a lot of close calls in the last couple years to win a LIV event. You're going to be on that first tee box tomorrow in that final group. What do you have to do to close it out?

PAUL CASEY: You want the obvious answer?

Q. I want the real answer.

PAUL CASEY: Keep doing what I'm doing and then there's an opportunity, plain and simple. You can never control what the others do, as Pete Uihlein demonstrated today. There's guys like Pete with an awful lot of firepower, and if he does what he did today and eliminates the bogeys, then that's how you overcome an 8-, 9-, 10-under round of golf because that's what he's capable of doing. But we'll see. Stick to the strategy and keep doing what I'm doing.

Q. Any nerves on that first tee box, or is experience on your side here having been in this position?

PAUL CASEY: There's nerves on every -- I don't know how many events I've played, 500 plus. There's nerves on every single tee box, so it doesn't matter, and it doesn't matter whether it's a first round or a final group. It doesn't matter. I'm nervous in a pro-am.

Q. I wanted to ask you about the course because at 6,800 yards obviously it allows a lot of different types of players to compete. How nice is it to come to a course like that where the outcome is pretty wide open?

PAUL CASEY: I think it's not just the yardage, it's the architecture. There's history here at Hong Kong Golf Club. I don't know the history of the architecture, but it's just brilliant if you look at it and the way it plays.

I think if you polled the membership and you asked them favorite golf holes around the world, you'd find they're probably shorter holes rather than longer, and if you go wide, it's differentiation in score, the ability to make bogeys and birdies. Long golf courses don't produce that sort of excitement and that variability. This is great architecture. They don't have to have a long golf course to be difficult.

This is brilliant. We should play more of these because you get to see all kinds of things out there, from irons off the tee to drivers, so it's brilliant stuff.

Q. Your last win was only a few years ago, but what would a win now at this stage of your career mean?

PAUL CASEY: Every win is special. I don't know what I'm -- we just had Phil in here. I don't know what he's up to, dozens and dozens and dozens. I don't know what it is, 50, 70. I have no idea. But I'm 21 or something like that, and every single one is special, from the most recent to the very first that I ever had.

Hopefully I can answer that again tomorrow.

Q. Paul, your family is here this week. How special would that be to win in front of your --

PAUL CASEY: Well, they'll be at day care, so I'm not sure they really care. He's playing Battleship and my little girl is making pottery or something. They came back home yesterday and they're like, did you win? I'm like, well, I'm leading. I didn't win -- but that's so sweet.

Q. So might they be on the 18th green tomorrow?

PAUL CASEY: Probably not. It's awesome having them here, and they're enjoying Hong Kong and eating Peking duck and been to Hong Kong Disneyland and things like that. I'm in a very fortunate position where I can share these experiences with them. It doesn't matter what I do tomorrow, I'm still Dad.

Q. You just talked about the family and how you're enjoying it here in Hong Kong. Is there a chance we could see you back here later in the year at the Hong Kong Open or somewhere else along the line?

PAUL CASEY: I mean, there's always a chance. You've got to talk to Raul probably. There's a chance. Yeah, there's a chance.

Q. Would you love to do that? You haven't played the Hong Kong Open since 2012 was the last time --

PAUL CASEY: I'd love to, and what's interesting is this is a golf course I don't think I've played particularly well, and Johnny came in last year and he's like, this is a perfect golf course for you, and I hadn't necessarily figured it out.

I think with Johnny's expertise and the way he kind of guides me around a golf course, I've clearly shown I can play it very well, and we've had that in the past on other golf courses around the world, where I haven't necessarily seen a way around, and he's kind of opened my eyes to it.

Yeah, clearly it suits me, so I'd be foolish not to -- I always look at golf courses I play well because you've got to get a return on your investment.

Q. It's funny you say it's a course you haven't played well, but you have the last two years.

PAUL CASEY: But I didn't. I think if you go back to 2012, probably a missed cut or something like that or whatever it was. But I like it.

Q. Obviously it's suiting you. Is that because as you get a little bit older, the shots get a little bit shorter or it's a little bit easier --

PAUL CASEY: I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe.