Paul Casey’s return to the Ryder Cup later next year has been given a huge lift after Thomas Bjorn chose the Englishman to contest January’s EurAsia Cup in Malaysia.
It has been four years since Casey last player in a European Tour sanctioned side and that was as a member of the victorious GB & I Seve Trophy side.
Casey last played in a Ryder Cup in Nick Faldo’s haplessly led 2008 European Team at Valhala, and after being a member of the victorious 2008 and 2008 sides.
And now less than a month after rejoining the European Tour following a self-imposed excile the 40-year old Casey is quickly back in favour and joining Frenchman Alex Levy as tthe two ‘wildcard’ picks in Bjorns European Team to tackle as Asian side starting on January 12th at the Glenmarie course in Kuala Lumpur.
Thomas Bjorn declares it was a ‘no-brainer’ not picking Paul Casey for the EurAsia Cup team
“It was a really hard task because there are so many good European players to choose from,” said Bjorn.
“All have legitimate claims and all are well qualified to be on this team, so it was a tough choice to have to make. But in the end, I went for Paul and Alex.
“Once Paul announced he was rejoining the European Tour, and therefore making himself available for selection, that decision was a no-brainer for me. He is a wonderful player with a lot of experience and I think the young guys can learn a lot from him.
“He’s also got a fantastic match play record and not just in Ryder Cups. He is comfortable with where he is in his life right now and him wanting to part of the EurAsia Cup team also shows his commitment to the European Tour and the road he is now on.
“Following on from that, I picked Alex as he is a player that has impressively risen through the ranks in the past few years. He has wonderful French character and flair as well as a lot of attitude and passion for the game. He is also very consistent which can be a great asset in match play.
“I have assembled a team which will hopefully go out and retain the EurAsia Cup, but I also have one eye on next September and selecting Alex will give him a feeling of being part of what a team event feels like, as I know it’s very much on his mind to try and make the Ryder Cup Team.
“Therefore, to get him into the fold, help him develop, and give him great opportunities for the future is important. But this is also deserved for what he’s delivered over the past couple of years. He got very close to qualifying for the team automatically and I think he definitely deserves his chance.”
Ten other ‘availably’ players qualified automatically for Bjorn’s EurAsis team headed by recently crowned European No. 1 Tommy Fleetwood along with 2016 Open Champion, Henrik Stenson.
Also in Bjorn’s side is the England trio of Tyrrell Hatton, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Ross Fisher along with Belguim’s Thomas Pieters.
British Masters champion, Paul Dunne from Ireland, along with Austrian giant, Bernd Wiesberger, Sweden’s Alex Noren, Spain’s very talented Rafa Cabrera-Bello make-up the 10 automatic qualifiers.
The European Team will tee-up looking to retain the trophy they won in convincing fashion by 18 ½ – 5 ½ in 2016, but will face a strong Asian team on home soil captained, for the first time, by India’s Arjun Atwal.
Bjørn, who played in the inaugural EurAsia Cup match in 2014 which ended in a 10-10 tie, said: “The interest from the players has been very strong and you can see that from the fact that the ten automatic qualifiers come from within the top 20 of the final Race to Dubai Rankings. That is a good indication of what the EurAsia Cup is becoming, and I think European golf is in a great place right now.
“I’m very encouraged by the make-up of the team and we are strong from 1 through to 12. I have some great experience in terms of six players who have experienced Ryder Cups, as well as the 2016 Open Champion in Henrik. But I also have some exciting young talent led by Tommy and Tyrrell.
“Obviously Tommy has had an amazing year and deserved to be crowned European Tour Number One last weekend. But Tyrrell has also had a great season, the highlights of which were his back-to-back wins in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and the Italian Open last month.
“As captain, I am looking forward to seeing how all 12 deliver on this particular stage. It’s a different kind of format to what they are used to week‑in, week‑out, so it will be interesting to see how they react to that environment.
“It’s a great honour for me to be captain and I’m looking forward to going to Malaysia in January to face what I know will be a very strong Asian team. We want to win the EurAsia Cup again and I believe we are going with a team very capable of doing that.”
The line-ups for the third EurAsia Cup will be completed next Tuesday November 28 when Arjun Atwal names his Asian team.
