Casey inspired by Scottish atmosphere

Published on Friday 6 October 2006 00:17

WHATEVER lingers in the air at the home of golf, Paul Casey and Johan Edfors both find the Scottish effect intoxicating. The respective winners of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles and the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond this summer returned to Scottish turf at Kingsbarns yesterday and were inspired by their surroundings.

Casey carded 63, nine under par, to lead the Dunhill Links by a shot from Edfors and Bradley Dredge. The Englishman played a lot of golf in Scotland as an amateur and admits he feels at ease whenever he tees up in this part of the world. "The most knowledgeable fans in the world are here," he said.

Even those bereft of erudition understood that Casey played flawlessly yesterday. He carded seven birdies and an eagle in a round of golf which edged Europe's No1 closer to a first success in the Order of Merit.

Colin Montgomerie, the defending champion and a winner of eight Order of Merit titles, played in the same group as the Englishman and could only look on admiringly. "Paul hit the ball very long and just played beautifully," said the Scot, who was less enchanted with his own 73.

Casey carded four 2s, most tellingly on the sixth, when he holed a wedge shot from 80 yards. "If I'd entered a 2s sweep, I might have won some golf balls," grinned the man who pocketed 1 million at Wentworth the other week and aced the 14th in the Ryder Cup at the K Club.

"It's been nice to have a couple of hole-outs over the past few weeks," he added. "It tidies up the scorecard."

Edfors has far less experience of links golf than Casey, but feels just as much at home in Scotland. He signed off with 63 on the bonnie banks in July and was back in the tartan groove with a 64 at Kingsbarns. "It's just such fun to be at these great locations," he said. "Walking around St Andrews is wonderful. It motivates me a little extra, I guess."

Edfors always dreamed of playing at St Andrews as a boy and has fond memories of a family holiday in Fife during the late Eighties when he stepped onto the Old Course for the first time.

Playing with fellow-Swede Henrik Stenson, Edfors' only complaint was the lack of atmosphere caused by spreading the galleries who watch the pro-am between three courses at St Andrews, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie. "Sometimes, it doesn't seem like a real tournament," he reflected. "It's more like you're doing a company day."

Perhaps the biggest threat to the Englishman and the Swede lies in the formidable presence of Vijay Singh.

The former world No1 - he's slipped to fifth in the rankings this year - carded 65 at Kingsbarns in spite of feeling a gap still exists between his work on the range and form on the links.

"There are a lot of good shots in between the bad ones," he reported. "If I can get rid of those bad ones and keep believing in myself then I have a good chance."

If the natives felt it was relatively mild for the East Neuk in October, the Fijian, who lives in Florida, fears the weather may be a factor. "It's not so windy, but the cold is getting everybody," he rued.

On a benign day, when the combination of soft turf underfoot and relatively still conditions overhead combined to encourage low scores, Dredge established a new record on the extended Old Course of 64. (Curtis Strange, of course, once carded 62 on a shorter version of the venerable links).

The Welshman, who started at the tenth, reeled off five consecutive birdies on the back nine before blotting his copybook by going out of bounds at the Road Hole and marring his card with a double-bogey. Dredge needed to hole a 15-footer for that 6 with his second ball, so reckoned it was a pretty good double.

"There are a lot of tremendous players who have played the Old Course over the years, so to be the current record-holder is nice at the moment," he reflected. "But you never know. If the weather stays good, the record might not stay at 64."

In spite of eagling the third at Kingsbarns - he immediately gave the shots back on the fourth with a double-bogey - Monty started the defence of his title like a tortoise chasing the hares. His opening 73 left the Scot trailing Casey by ten. "It was a mixed bag overall and I didn't play too well," admitted the Scot.

A number of Tour veterans are making their farewell appearances at the home of golf this week, including Mark Roe, on 67, who joined the circuit in 1985, and Gary Evans, a regular since 1992.

Evans, who was fined 10,000 last year by the European Tour for making comments about Montgomerie after the Scot placed his ball incorrectly in Indonesia ("the players all feel there's been a bit of smoke around Monty," he said), reckons no tears will be shed over his imminent departure. "I don't think I'll be particularly missed, do you?" pondered the Englishman after posting a fine 65 at St Andrews.

"I've never been a glowing light on the European Tour, I've just been a regular supporter and I've had a great time doing it. Ten years ago I was playing with Nick Faldo, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer and Jose-Maria Olazabal. Not many can say they did that for a living, and I feel very proud I had the opportunity."