Golf: Out of rough and into a hole

His eyeballs roll as soon as you mention America and those damned "hate" and "stupid" words. In fact, if Paul Casey could get his golf balls to roll quite as predictably he would not be lining up in the forest today with an aim that rivals Friar Tuck's after a particularly heavy night on the mead.

"That's over with. Let's move on?" he beseeches as PC's decidedly non-PC tirade against all things USA is brought up for about the squillionth time since its thoroughly unwise, but he claims thoroughly misquoted, inception at the back end of last year.

"People tell me that the whole affair has affected my golf, but as I've had nothing but messages of support in America, I believe the only thing that might have affected my golf is that I've had to spend so much time doing interviews and answering questions about it," Casey says.

Point taken, although it might help if he did something noteworthy on the fairways that could force those statements "Americans are stupid" - "never said it," he declares - and "I hate Americans" - "only said it in a competitive Ryder Cup context," he asserts - out of headline-obsessed minds.

But apart from an early-season success straight from the hullabaloo in China, the only noise Casey has made on a golf course this year is when he fired up a Formula One car on Monday and screeched it up the drive to the Wentworth clubhouse in a publicity stunt for the BMW Open this month.

By chance, as he was revving up alongside Formula One driver Nick Heidfeld, Ernie Els was pulling out of his mansion - which has the West Course as its back garden - and on seeing what Casey was up to, noticeably sniggered at what lengths his lesser rivals are made to go to promote themselves. Ernie may be big, but he's not that easy.

Except, that's not quite fair, as Casey is a genuine petrol-head who relished the chance of getting behind a big engine - a Lotus Exige stands as six-figure proof of that in his garage - just as he is a genuine challenger to Els and the other golfing Fangios if his undoubted potential can be put back on track.

"Yeah, an awful lot has happened since I won the B&H in 2003," he says, reflecting on that year's equivalent of this week's Daily Telegraph Dunlop Masters at the Forest of Arden when his name was really introduced to the golf world at large.

"I had no wins last year - apart from the World Cup with Luke [Donald] - and then this year I have won in China and the rest of it has not been very good."

Not very good is an understatement for someone of his talent. More missed cuts in the US than you would care throw a meat cleaver at, and a wasted return trip to the Far East last month when the best he could manage was a tie for 30th in Beijing, Casey has descended to a low unprecedented even in his hit-or-bust career.

"I was watching Sky last week and I was second on 'The worst sporting cock-up of the month' for a shank I hit in China," he says. "Some cricketer beat me."

At least that made a change from most of the professionals he has played against in his last seven tournaments (five missed cuts).

"I can't put a finger on what's gone wrong, but I can tell you what it's not is anything to do with my mentality," he says, almost challenging you to suggest it is simply a cerebral hangover from "Stupidgate".

"The media reports that I had counselling after all that made it sound pretty dramatic, but in truth it was just to get my mind back on golf again and away from all those questions I was continually having to answer.

"Because I am such a big hitter, if I'm a fraction out it actually makes it look worse than it is. It's not like I am technically the best guy out there by any means. The ball can go sideways with me, definitely."

What he would give for his world ranking to have taken a sideways route rather than vertical. He is No 45, perilously close to tumbling out of the world's top 50 and into major-qualifying no man's land.

"I'm just glad that this year hasn't counted towards next year's Ryder Cup as I'd be struggling big-time," says Casey.

If that is a blessed mercy, a blessed cruelty of his recent demise has been in seeing Donald, his great friend and former Walker Cup soulmate, playing with distinction.

"Luke's always been a brilliant player," he says of his fellow 27-year-old, whose second place in the Players Championship and third in the Masters put him in the world's top 12.

"Look, I was proud to be England's No 1 and it is definitely something I am aiming at again," Casey says, surveying his present No 3 role behind Donald and Lee Westwood.

"But there are a lot of young Englishmen playing much, much better golf than I am right now. And that's great because it was only two or three years ago that everyone was saying, 'Oh look at the state of English golf'.

"Then we only had two or three guys in the top 100 - myself, Westwood and maybe Nick Faldo. Now there's more than twice that.

"Sure, we all get on and everything, but you still want to chase the other English guys, still want to challenge them. That's what I want - to get back up there and start jumping over people again."

To do so, there are those of the stature of Ian Woosnam, the European Ryder Cup captain, who believe that the Caseys, Poulters and Roses may be better served staying in Europe and supporting their own tour. But as an avowed Yankophile from his days at Arizona University, Casey is not about to run for Surrey, no matter how tempting that may have seemed these past six months.

"Listen, my home tour is the European Tour and if I had to choose one place to live, it would be England. But in winter times it is very tough to practise over here and there are so many world-ranking points and money to be earned in the States, you have got to play over there for a portion of the year."

For Casey, this homecoming will be particularly sweet.

"Yeah, I'm excited to be back. It's the crowds that make it - they are so different over here, so knowledgeable. They really are true golf fans."

Is Casey daring to insinuate that American fans aren't? It would have taken a brave fool to ask it. And an even stupider fool to write it.

- INDEPENDENT