Player Profile - Paul Casey

Paul Casey, a force to be reckoned with in British and world golf, is this week’s featured player. Born in 1977 in the English town of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire and raised in the town of Waybridge in Surrey, Casey showed a talent from golf at a young age. After completing his high school education and receiving his A levels at Strode’s College in Egham he opted to study in the United States, travelling on a golf scholarship to Arizona State University.

Casey’s amateur and college golf career in the easy-going setting of Scottsdale, Arizona was marked by several early successes. Never one to make heavy weather of a setback, Casey progressed fast and was the only male student to win three Pac-10 championships in a row, from 1998 to 2000. Not forgetting his English roots, he played frequently on the other side of the Atlantic, winning the British Amateur in 1999 and 2000.

In 2001 Casey joined the European Tour and carded his first victory in the same season, winning the Gleneagles Scottish PGA Championship. Finishing his debut season number twenty-two on the European Order of Merit, he was awarded the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award. 2002 saw Casey struggling to win, as he adjusted his game to the rigours of a top-ranked professional tour. He weathered this challenge however, and in 2003 he was back with a vigour that has stayed with him ever since. He won two championships in 2003, the ANZ Championship and the Benson and Hedges International Open. At the end of the season, Casey was number six on the Order of Merit.

After a victory in 2004 for the European Ryder Cup team which included Casey, his next big win came at the HSBC World Matchplay Championship in 2006. In 2009 he won his first title on the US PGA Tour, the Shell Houston Open, after playing on and off in America since 2005. In 2009 he won the BMW PGA Championship, beating compatriot Ross Fisher by one stroke in a playoff. At the weekend, Casey was once again victorious when he lifted the trophy at the Volvo Golf Champions in Bahrain.

Casey has residences in Weybridge, Surrey and Scottsdale, Arizona. He is unmarried and travels frequently between England and the United States, where he is equally popular.