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BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 23, 2009

Paul Casey

VIRGINIA WATER, ENGLAND

STEVE TODD: Paul, 67 today, five birdies, no bogeys, you must be delighted with that.
PAUL CASEY: Yeah, felt like a couple of bogeys on the last two holes, but let's focus on the good. It was a good, solid round of golf. Extended the lead slightly. It was a lot of fun. Fairly relaxed out there. Gave myself lots of opportunities to make birdies and the 4-iron is fine. I hit that twice today, the tee on 16 and the second shot into 17. So everything's good.
STEVE TODD: Three-shot lead going into tomorrow. How do you approach it? You've got a good field behind you there, but you must be confident going into the final day.
PAUL CASEY: It's difficult to know how guys are going to play tomorrow. I've got to focus on my own golf ball, more of the same, give myself as many birdie opportunities as possible, keep the head down, and expect one of these guys to come out of the pack and shoot a low number.
Rory shot 65 today, and I've got to expect one of those guys to replicate that kind of score tomorrow. So this golf tournament is just starting to get interesting.
STEVE TODD: You've won both sides of the Atlantic already this year; how good would it feel just to win at home though.
PAUL CASEY: It would feel great, it really would. Another victory at Wentworth would be wonderful. Would love to finally win a BMW event, as well; Marco (Kaussler) back there.
For me, also the history of the BMW PGA Championship, you know, the great players really have their names etched on this trophy, so it would be nice to get my name on that role of honour. For me, that's the biggest thing.

Q. You mention the illustrious names on the trophy; is it fair to say that this is one of the tournaments alongside the majors that you've always targeted?
PAUL CASEY: Yes, it was the one I watched as a kid growing up. I was a member at Foxhills just down the road. I was a Fox kid on that foundation and we used to come down and watch the tournament on sort of the Bank Holiday weekend. And as I said all week, the great shots you remember, Seve out of the trees and Faldo's cut shot on 15, Langer dropping the trophy on the green one year, things like that. It was the dream, sort of really what's sparked my love of golf.
Winning the Match Play was wonderful around here, but something about stroke-play events, and the BMW would be -- I think if you go down and you go majors first, world golf events, this is Europe's version of The Players; this is our Flagship Event. This would be one that's right up there with all of the regular season events, this is the one.

Q. You sounded pretty stoic about those last two; were you seething inside, or were those putts beyond your control?
PAUL CASEY: I think they are beyond my control. I sort of re played the one on 18 and I was trying to hit it firm and in the middle and it looked like it came out firm and in the middle. So that's the way it is.
But I had some good breaks today. I had a ball bounce out of the trees on 12. Obviously the shot on 13 yesterday, those are pretty good breaks. I'm not going to criticise the greens. I think they have been the best we have seen in a long, long time. They have been very, very good. But.
Any course is going to have some footprints when you've got 80 guys; although we've got 78, that are playing. They always have been extremely difficult to read. For me that's the reason it's difficult to hole putts around here. In the shadows, subtle little breaks, they are just very, very difficult.

Q. Which 67 is better?
PAUL CASEY: I guess today's, because 67 today didn't have the dropped shots but yen they had the 67 had the 5-wood. I'll go for the one without the mistakes.

Q. On the first day, you said you were fighting the driver; you looked so much more comfortable today, apart from the one at 12, were you anything but very smooth?
PAUL CASEY: 12 was only the second time I used the driver today. The first time was 11, I didn't hit it very well. Tried to hit it a bit too hard off the 12th and hooked it.
It might stay in the bag all day tomorrow, I'm not sure. But I've battled the swing a little bit, and I've focused very much on the shots I've been trying to hit. And I have hit a couple of poor shots, but I find when you focus very closely on what you're trying to do and very specific targets, then if you do slightly miss-hit, you are going to be okay. 10 would be an example of that. It was a fairly poor tee shot in my belief on No. 10. Finished okay and ended up making birdie.

Q. Do you think your finishes in the last two days will leave any scars, because clearly it could be important tomorrow when you come to those closing holes that you play them well if you want to win.
PAUL CASEY: I need to hit it closer, clearly. Certainly 18 was not easy. That's always difficult. It's a difficult 2-putt from the front of that green.
But no, no scars whatsoever. I've got plenty of other scars, but the last couple of holes are not going to bother me in the slightest.

Q. After a 65, Rory said he was able to draw or fade the ball at will today; can you do that?
PAUL CASEY: Damn him. (Laughter).

Q. Can you do that?
PAUL CASEY: I can hook and slice the ball at will. (Smiling).
I have been moving the golf ball both ways, but I haven't -- I won't say I've got total control of the golf ball right now. But that is the way to get around this golf course. You have to move the golf ball around to make the targets as big as possible and to hold these greens.
And if that's what he was doing, I can -- that's exactly why he shot 7-under today and I expect him to go out there and probably replicate that tomorrow.

Q. The crowds have been huge these last two days, and very supportive I thought. Did you take a lot from their support?
PAUL CASEY: I think the crowds are always fantastic around here. The crowds are great. Do I get anything extra out of them? Maybe a little bit. They are very knowledgeable. They love watching great golf, and they are going to support whoever is playing well. Maybe I got a little added support.
But then again, playing with SÃ¸ren Kjeldsen tomorrow, he's a local, plays at Wisley, as do I, and I think he lives in Sunningdale or Ascot or something like that. He's going to have his little fan group out there, as well. It's just going to be a huge day, but I don't think there's any huge advantage to being local around here.

Q. With the level of support the last couple of years for English golfers, Justin Rose and Oliver Wilson, do you think they would like to see an English golfer like yourself win?
PAUL CASEY: I'm sure they would. I'm sure you'd have to asked the crowd, I'm sure they would love to see an English winner, and I would love to provide that for them tomorrow but there's a lot of golf left.
As I said, this thing is just starting to get interesting. It's a golf course that yields birdies and eagles, and it can punish you if you get it slightly wrong.
You know, got to focus on getting that golf ball in the hole and as few shots as possible.

Q. How much strength will you draw tomorrow, the fact that you've had such a great season this year on both sides of the Atlantic, and the fact that you won the Match Play around here, as well, does that count, or is it all just back to square one tomorrow?
PAUL CASEY: It counts, but rather than being a strength, I think it just makes me very relaxed. It's really been a great season so far, and I'd like to pile it on and have more success and, you know, get more World Ranking points and move up the Money List and all the rest of it.
But I just feel, you know, I feel very relaxed. I don't feel like I've got to go out there tomorrow and prove anything; prove anything to anybody else. I've got to prove it to myself. I'm my biggest critic, and I desperately would love to win this thing, but I've got to be very patient and take one shot at a time.

Q. What distracted you on the 18th green before your second putt?
PAUL CASEY: BBC Surrey distracted me. (Chuckling).

Q. Was that a factor in you missing the putt?
PAUL CASEY: No, it was not. Yes, he distracted me, but no I hit the putt exactly where I was trying to hit the putt. Yeah, his voice was a little loud.

Q. You may have answered this one already, but how many times in total did you use the driver?
PAUL CASEY: Twice.

Q. That was 11 and 12?
PAUL CASEY: 11 and 12. Hit two good ones on the range, thought that was great, and then okay one on 11 and a bad one on 12. So 50/50 is not great, is it.
STEVE TODD: Okay, thanks a lot, good luck tomorrow, Paul.

End of FastScripts

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