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ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP

October 4, 2006

Paul Casey

ST. ANDREWS, SCOTLAND: Pre-Round

GORDON SIMPSON: Welcome to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship for 2006. You come into the interview room on top of the heap, on top of the Order of Merit. It's got just a few weeks to go, how do you assess the race, there's quite a few players, in fact, still in contention with so much prize money available.

PAUL CASEY: I feel very lucky to be on top ahead of Howler. I think if he hadn't as we know, David's been injured a lot of the year and had fitness problems. So if David had been healthy all year, I think he'd probably be so far ahead that it would be over by now. And I feel very, very honoured to be at the top of the list right now. It would be wonderful to win the Order of Merit, but that's still a couple of events, as well, and a lot of golf to be played and a very, very good player snapping at my heels.

GORDON SIMPSON: Not just the two of you, a few interesting names as well. Okay, we'll take some questions for Paul.

Q. (A case of fatigue last week?)

PAUL CASEY: Yeah, I wasn't good last week. I was toast. I just ran out of energy last week. From the previous it was from the previous two weeks. I was looking forward to the grove but I just had nothing to give unfortunately. I tried very, very hard but there was nothing there.

I mean, we got lack late on Monday, about 4:00 PM, 5:00 PM to Heathrow, and Sunday wasn't a long evening at all for me. I went to bed probably about midnight. So it was, you know, a fun evening. Spent a lot of time singing karaoke in the American team room. It was fairly calm. It was just I think the sheer effort level that went into the previous week, the mental side of things and the physical side of things, a lot of golf, just took it's toll I think.

Q. (Concerned about playing four in a row?)

PAUL CASEY: Going back to what I said a few weeks ago at The Match Play, my energy level should now be okay. Last week, I had nothing mentally to give. If I'm fresh mentally, which I think I'm regaining that in recharging the batteries, I think I'll be fine. Although these can be long days, as you say, six hour rounds, it's still 18 holes. At least we're not playing 36 holes, and if I can stay fresh and chat all the way around and have a joke, it should be all right.

Q. Knowing David has an injury, do you go and slap him on the shoulder?

PAUL CASEY: I wish he had told me that earlier. No, I don't wish David ill at all. I really think he's played great golf this season. He's won the two biggest events on The European Tour other than majors and the world golf I vents I think. I feel very privileged to be, 'on top of the heap,' as you put it.

PAUL CASEY: On top of the Money List, Order of Merit. It would be very, very special if I was to win that. It would be a great honour with a lot of the history behind that. I was fortunate enough to win Rookie of the Year my first year out. To think of the names, you know ever, the Monty's, Els, Seve, Oosterhuis, I would definitely love that to happen. There's a lot of golf to be played and I can't control what the others do.

Q. (Strength of English golf at the moment.)

PAUL CASEY: I feel very proud to be part of English golf and be listed with those other guys. Luke is No. 8 in the world now. It wasn't that long ago, a couple of years ago, that we only had one or two guys in the top hundred. It's not the change of the guard hasn't necessarily happened because we still have the Montys and everybody still hanging around, but I think a lot of the younger guys have now matured, and there's more to come, Nick Dougherty and all the rest of it. It's great, it really is, and I think we're all pushing each other along.