Casey is ace in the pack

14 April 2012

Paul Casey hit an historic hole-in-one to hole-in-clinch one of four European victories on another day of breathtaking excitement at the Ryder Cup.

As captain Ian Woosnam's team kept up Europe the pace to win both sessions yesterday, amassing a 10-6 lead as they go into today's 12 singles, the 29-year-old Englishman stole the glory with only the fifth ace since the for a Ryder Cup began in 1927.

Casey's four-iron at the 213-yard 14th pitched on the green, trickled towards the cup and dropped in on the final roll. The man from Surrey, a former star of the US college circuit, was unsure at first what had happened but, as realisation dawned, he flung his arms wide in celebration before hugging his playing partner, David Howell.

The eagle, which his opponents inevitably could not better, meant that Casey and Howell earned a 5& 4 victory over Stewart Cink and Zach Johnson to ensure that Europe remained in a commanding position.

Casey later revealed that he had ignored advice from Woosnam to make sure he hit the perfect shot. "It was dodgy advice from Woosie," joked Casey.

"I ignored him over the club selection and went with a four-iron. I hit it very, very hard and, watching it on the replay, it just made it.

"It was a nice way to finish off the match. Unbelievable, really. It was my first hole-in-one in a professional tournament, so it was remarkable. We played some great golf and had a bit of help from Stewart and Zach. It was just one of those days."

Casey's ace was the first hole-in-one in the Ryder Cup since Howard Clarke at Oak Hill, New York, in 1995.

Nick Faldo, one of Clarke's fellow commentators covering the event for TV, also recorded an ace at The Belfry during his record-breaking 11 appearances. But neither of them did so to clinch victory in the finest fashion.

Howell said : "It was a wonderful moment. Paul will probably go down in history as the first person to do that: win a match with a hole in one."

What a week it has been for Casey, who two years ago had to apologise for saying that he 'hated' Americans. On Sunday he pocketed £1million for becoming the first player since Ernie Els in 1994 to win the World Match Play Championship at Wentworth on his debut.

Yesterday morning he superbly birdied the final hole to ensure that Europe won the fourballs session and in the afternoon he teamed up with Howell to score a resounding foursomes win, finishing off in the grandest manner.

His team-mates played their part too, continuing to resist an American fightback to win each session by an identical scoreline of two-and-a-half and one-and-a-half.

Europe now need to win only four of the 12 singles today to retain the trophy, while four-and-a-half points will give them a third successive victory for the first time.

Everything is going according to plan for Woosnam, who claimed before the match that he has the strongest 12 that Europe had ever fielded. He will be mindful that the last time America won the trophy, they trailed 10-6 on the Saturday night of the match that turned into the infamous Battle of Brookline in 1999.

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