Casey fails to make the cut as brotherly love reigns supreme

Casey fails to make the cut (with no pun intended)

The dye was cast, the decision was made. All that was left to do was for legendary European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomery to do was to inform those concerned whether they would be competing in the 38th edition of the event at Celtic Manor at the start of October. And after making his three chosen wild cards (Edoardo Molinari, Padraig Harrington and Luke Donald) aware of their selection, it was left to Monty to make one of the hardest phone call he will ever to have made - to inform Paul Casey that he had missed out on one of the three spots.
In reality, though, Casey had only himself to blame by passing up the opportunity for valuable ranking points in the penultimate event on the European Tour, the Czech Open, last week. Instead, he opted to compete in the FedEx Cup in America, with the increased price money and lustre being the perceived draw. How that decision backfired on Casey, who was made to pay the ultimate price for his arrogant attitude and laid-back approach to Ryder Cup matters, as, having been knocked out of the automatic places by his decision to miss the event in Prague, was hit by the ultimate sucker-punch as Molinari's superb win in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles last weekend convinced Monty that the Italian deserved to be given his Ryder Cup debut.
This also sets a Ryder Cup first - following his shock triumph, the older Molinari will be joining his brother, Francesco, in being the first European set of brothers to play in the event. And boy does he deserve his place, following a fairytale rise up the rankings. The careers of Molinari and Casey have taken different trajectories. Just over a year ago Casey won the PGA Championship at Wentworth, elevating him to a career high third in the world rankings. In contrast, Molinari was ranked 653rd in the world at the time, and was scratching around the tour just playing for his card. But his fortunes started looking up by winning Italy their first World Cup in China last November, and he has become a regular on the tour this season. But his win at Gleneagles was still only his second on the European Tour (his other being last month at the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond) and his best finish in a major is just tied for 27th, at this year's Open.
In that respect, it certainly a brave choice by Montgomery, especially considering how close he himself is to Casey. The Englishman was a guest at the captain's wedding two years ago, and they were teammates in Montgomery's last two Ryder Cup appearances as a player, in 2004 and 2006, both of which ended up as wins for the European side (Casey even struck a hole-in-one on his Saturday afternoon fourballs.) But Molinari is the player in form, with his two wins in the past couple of months. He has a fiery, flamboyant temperament which could be ideal in the specialised atmosphere of the Ryder Cup, and he has a ready-made partner for both the foursomes and fourballs - not only is Francesco his brother, they are best friends and do everything together. But most importantly, he has a team spirit which Casey seems to lack (or has lost since his elevation up the world rankings swelled his ego). Currently at eight in the rankings, he is the highest ranked player who will not be turning up at Celtic Manor, as the seven above him are either European or American, and have long since secured their places in their respective teams. As Casey was teetering on the edge of the final qualifying places prior to the Czech Open last week, competing with the likes of the Molinari's and veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez, he clearly thought Monty would pick him regardless of his final finishing position in the race. But following Molinari's superb finish at Gleneagles, where three consecutive birdies from the 16th gave him a one shot win over Australian Brett Rumford. Completing a family affair, Francesco finished tied for third two shots further back.
Not surprisingly, Monty preferred to accentuate the positives rather than dwell on those who missed out: 'I don't think I've seen a finish of that quality under that pressure by anyone before,' on Molinari's win. The kind of commitment to the cause the Scot wanted to see from Casey was definitely displayed by Jimenez, who had originally decided to skip the event to attend his nephew's wedding. But with his place in jeopardy, he turned up and finished tied for third, which was more than enough to clinch one of the final two places up for grabs, along with Sweden's Peter Hansson. If Monty hopes Molinari will be the bright spark needed in the European camp, then he has gone for two tried and trusted competitors as his other two picks. Harrington is the only British golfer to win a Major in over a decade - three in fact, with his back-to-back Open wins in 2007 and 2008, and his US PGA win in the same year as the latter. Although he is hideously out of form, with that US PGA win being his last title in any way, shape or form, the captain clearly feels having him in the side for his experience will be an asset given the inexperience of the team. The affable Irishman is one of only two players (along with Lee Westwood, who has one of the best Ryder Cup records of anyone, either side of the pond, ever), to have appeared in more than three editions.
Donald, on the other hand, has a superb Ryder Cup record from his two appearances, in 2004 and 2006. But despite being given the call by his captain, Donald started the inevitable questioning of the system, which he feels places too great an emphasis on the European Tour. Donald, along with Casey, Harrington and Justin Rose (who also missed out on being a wild card selection) all played in the FedEx Cup, and spend large chunks of their season on the PGA Tour in the States. 'I understand they want to protect the European Tour but at the same time the top players are going to want to play against the best players in the world, so they shouldn't be penalised for that. Maybe so, but although golf is essentially an individual pursuit, playing in the Ryder Cup should be one of the pinnacles of a players' career, but some players have clearly placed their priorities elsewhere. But if the playing side of the team lacks experiences (with six debutants being the Molinari brothers, Martin Kaymer, Rory McIlroy, Ross Fisher and Hansson), that is certainly not the case away from the greens and fairways. The news that Sergio Garcia will be Monty's fourth vice-captain means that between them, and the other three vice-captains (Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley and Thomas Bjorn), they have a staggering 23 Ryder Cup appearances between them. McGinley especially will be aware how the event can make a hero out of an individual, as his putt to half his singles match against Jim Furyk was the match winning putt, and he consequently ended up in the water at the Belfry. And such was Garcia's desire to be involved, following a horrible slump in the last year which has seen the Spaniard career out of the world's top 50 and taken a self-imposed sabbatical from the game, that he begged Monty to include him in some capacity. Now that's commitment, and at just 30, there is surely more to come from such a talented golfer.
Hopefully Caseyand Rose will take heed of their rejection should the Ryder Cup mean to them what it means to the likes of Jimenez and Garcia. But Montgomery's counterpart Corey Pavin has an altogether tougher decision to make when the American wild card picks are announced at the start of next week (he has the 'luxury' of four as opposed to Monty's three.) Namely, whether to include the great Tiger Woods as one of those four picks. It is certainly a tricky one, as America themselves have a young team laden with rookies (half of the automatic qualifiers in Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Jeff Overton and Matt Kucher) so could use Tiger's experience, and he is still world number one despite his travails. On the flip side, he hasn't been in great form since his self-imposed exile from the game and his Ryder Cup record is shoddy for someone of his ability. He has often appeared to be a divisive influence in the US camp, and his brilliance is better suited for the pursuit of individual glory. I wouldn't like to make that call, but whoever they are up against, the stage is set for the Molinari to steal the show, and prove themselves to be the perfect double act.