THE OPEN RELATED STORIES The Open Home Page Clubhouse Leaderboard/Scores Round 4: Stewart Cink beats Tom Watson in a playoff Round 4: Paul Lawrie scores a rare albatross Round 4: Padraig Harrington positive after final 73 Round 4: Matteo Manassero wins Silver Medal Round 4: Luke Donald gains best Open finish Round 4: An eight costs Ross Fisher dear Round 4: Chris Wood so close to Open glory Round 4: Tom Watson misses fairy tale ending Round 4: Lee Westwood in "sickening" loss Round 4: Questions asked about Tiger Woods swing Round 4: Age a factor for Tom Watson Round 4: Westwood & Garcia wait for breakthrough Round 4: Tom Watson thanks Jack Nicklaus for talk Round 4: Classy Open victory from Stewart Cink Round 3: Tom Watson takes lead in to final round Round 3: Padraig Harrington stumbles to a 76 Round 3: Henrik Stenson critical of fencing Round 3: Family still comes first for Ross Fisher Round 3: Jim Furyk looking forward to Sunday Round 3: Mathew Goggin earns a major chance Round 2: Marino & Watson lead, Tiger misses cut Round 2: Tiger Woods misses the cut Round 2: Watson has sights on record sixth win Round 2: Padraig Harrington still optimistic Round 2: Calcacecchia pleased to be in the hunt Round 2: Montgomerie distracted by Lyle row Round 2: Third Round pairings and tee times Round 1: Jimenez edges ahead of Watson, Curtis Round 1: Tiger fails to shine in perfect conditions Round 1: Montgomerie in "Drama Queen" row Round 1: Harrington happy to be under par Round 1: Ben Curtis in contention at another Open Round 1: The Open gets underway at Turnberry Course Guide: Turnberry Ideal weather forecast for Turnberry Sergio Garcia still chasing elusive first major title Greg Norman still the centre of attention KJ Choi hoping practice makes perfect Ryo Ishikawa ready for new challenge Same Open strategy for Tiger Woods Colin Montgomerie unhappy with Sandy Lyle Kenny Perry happy to be at Open this year Game turning around slowly for Adam Scott Driving the key for Paul Casey Woods, Westwood & Ishikawa drawn together First and second round tee-off times Practice begins in earnest at Turnberry Thomas Levet gets late entry Phil Mickelson confirms Open withdrawal Duel in the Sun remembered Padraig Harrington prepares for Open defence Interview with Peter Thomson Trevor Immelman pulls out of The Open Tiger Woods in preparation for The Open The Open: Turnberry-Architect-Green Keeper Turnberry: Play right after the pros The Open: Prize Money 2009 European Tour Schedule Open Champions 1860-2008 Open Championship scoring and other records Open Championship quotes

Driving the key for Paul Casey

Paul Casey, although brimful of confidence while enjoying the most successful season of his career, has played down his lofty world ranking ahead of this week’s British Open.

In the absence of world number two Phil Mickelson, third-ranked Casey is headed by only Tiger Woods in the Turnberry field but he believes several players are capable of winning the third major of the year.

“It’s exciting to be the second highest-ranked guy here but it doesn’t really mean anything,” Casey told reporters on Tuesday after playing a practice round with fellow Englishmen Nick Dougherty and Justin Rose.

“You hope you get a little bit of luck with the draw and you’ve got to play extremely good golf here. It’s as simple as that.

“There’s a whole bunch of guys who are capable of winning this thing,” added Casey, who has triumphed twice on the European Tour this year and once on the lucrative U.S. circuit.

“This is a tee-shot golf course. Obviously Tiger is the favourite but he’s going to have to drive the ball extremely well if he wants to win.

“Somebody who does that well and manages their game for 72 holes is going to be the guy who has a chance come Sunday, and that’s what I’ve got to do. Being ranked number three in the world means absolutely nothing so far for this week.”

Arizona-based Casey won the European Tour’s flagship PGA Championship in May, one month after claiming his first title on the PGA Tour at the Houston Open.

“The win in Houston was huge, a big boost to get that win in the States finally,” the 31-year-old said. “I’ve wanted that for a long time.

“The next thing on the list is the big stuff, the majors, the World Golf (Championship) events. I’m comfortable with that.”

Casey said he had quickly adjusted to increased media scrutiny at the majors since climbing to a career-high three in the rankings.

“The attention hasn’t bothered me,” he added. “Maybe it was a little bit strange the first couple of weeks but I feel absolutely fine with it now. The pressure I put on myself to play well in an Open championship is enough.”

Casey has been grouped with U.S. Masters champion Angel Cabrera of Argentina and Japan’s Ryuji Imada for the first two rounds at Turnberry on Thursday and Friday.

July 15, 2009