Paul Casey will be proud to go into battle alongside his European team-mates, singing the praises of Captain Padraig Harrington for unifying the boys in blue.
The 44-year old Englishman enters his fifth Ryder Cup contest on Friday at Whistling Straits paired alongside rookie Viktor Hovland in the second of the morning foursomes against Collin Morikawa and Dustin Johnson. And although Casey was hesitant to compare this team to previous ones, he believes the unity in Harrington’s side is second to none ahead of the matches.
The Friday morning pairings.
Let the games begin.@Rolex | #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/w5ozZSxzIh
— Ryder Cup (@rydercup) September 23, 2021
“I think firstly the dynamic is brilliant,” Casey said. “I don’t like to compare teams and say this team is better than another team I’ve played on, but this team as a unified team is so strong. It’s broad in its age range, the experience.
“I’m proud to be standing next to my 11 team-mates and captains and vice captains. We have such a unified team going, and Paddy has been a major role in that because you can have brilliant teams and maybe be slightly rudderless.
“We tend not to say what goes on behind closed doors but this is my fifth [Ryder Cup]. It gets better and better every single time.”
It’s been all smiles in Team Europe’s camp since arriving in Wisconsin on Monday and although the emphasis might seem like it’s firmly on fun, Casey expects his team-mates to be at their fiercest when competition begins on later today – not that they still won’t enjoy it.
“We are going to have a great time this week no matter what,” he said. “It just ramps up [on Friday]. I think maybe there are a few less smiles that are visible, that are showing, but we’re still trying to have the time of our life and play amazing golf.
“The whole week we’re very serious in our preparation. We are methodical, attention to detail. We try to leave no stone unturned because we know the margins are so small. You know, you can look up world rankings and all these things, but we all know, you know, it could be down to one putt or a fraction of a shot every day that’s going to make the difference.
“It’s serious all week and I guess we probably try to maybe deflect a little in a way, having humour. I still think it will be there come tomorrow. It’s just maybe not as visible.”
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