Paul Casey, Justin Rose miss trip to Celtic Manor 2010
30-year-old Justin Rose and 33-year-old Paul Casey failed to impress Captain Colin Montgomery earlier on Sunday. Where some golfers tried to lead the board for the win, other golfers had more serious problems in mind - the Ryder Cup. Liard was also seen in the same situation along with Rose and Casey.
On Sunday, Laird aimed to shield his 3 stroke lead. For Liard and Rose, this was similar to a last minute audition and hence held a lot of meaning for the players.
Rose on Saturday explained that he has to make a lot of noise with his scores in order to impress the European captain. He shot a 65 with a six under and exclaimed that this was a big day for the golfer.
Rose shot 6 birdies and a round which was bogey free, hence making an acceptable amount of noise. He was tied for the 5th place after hitting this play thereby moving from the unidentifiable position to the peaks of the board.
At the PGA championship, the 30-year-old had a chat with Colin Montgomery. The captain informed Rose that he will not be appearing in The Johnnie Walker Championship claiming his attention towards the FedEx Cup chances.
Padraig Harrington and Luke Donald also played this event whereas Molinari's performance from the Johnnie Walker tournament was enough to rest his case. Paul Casey may have achieved the FedEx nickname, but he was no match for the Italian swings of Molinari. As a result, the Englishman faced rejection from the Ryder Cup team, which allowed Harrington to make it to the team.
The tournament included Casey with Harrington playing together. The news of Harrington’s entry however reached him after a thumbs-up by Caroline Harrington. Casey was close to tears when he stated that Caroline should have told him since they were good friends. Casey claimed that he needed some time to take the information in. He played a good game, ending in the top 13.
Harrington was beaten by six shots, but it is said that Casey lost the card due to popularity shortage. Comparing Harrington and Casey, the Irishman has played nine European events as compared to the Englishman’s 12. Even the Ryder Cup stats speak in Casey’s favour, Harrington won only one out of nine tournaments while Casey has won 4 out of 7 events. Harrington ranks 10 names below Casey as well. Given the previous record of the two players, it all gets down to having more friends in the team room.
Montgomerie explained that he felt sorry for Paul and Justin. The European captain claimed that it wasn’t easy leaving the world number 9 out of the team. He added that the move did not involve anything personal and the decision was taken due to team requirements.
Critics don’t seem to disagree with the earlier statement either as the team couldn’t leave out Edoardo at any cost. His performances in the recent past were worth considering. Edoardo Molinari claimed victory with a ten under par 278. Montgomerie very carefully avoided saying anything derogatory about the players. “There is embarrassment of the riches,” Montgomerie opined, further explaining that out of all the events in his career, this was the most stressful one.
Given the top five guesses, all five of the players made solid variables. Rose stood much higher on the Ryder Cup hopefuls list. Casey and Harrington were two strokes back, tied for the 12th and Donald for twenty eight with a 3 under. However, in the end, there were only three lucky picks; Donald, Harrington and Molinari.
It looks as if Rose and Casey paid the price for missing the qualifying tournament. Not being able to make it to the Ryder Cup team surely had its retorts. The Italian Birdie by Molinari seemed to have worked its magic upon Colin Montgomery, leaving him with no choice but to invite Molinari to the trip to the Celtic Manor, leaving Casey and Rose behind.
Tags: