All the pre-tournament talk was of David Howell’s shoulder injury and whether he might withdraw from the season-ending Volvo Masters at Valderrama. How ironic, then, that Howell launched his challenge with a solid 70 while Casey faced 18 holes of purgatory with a stomach ailment which left him doubled up in agony.
Casey needed an injection on the 11th tee to combat the effects of the virus which racked his body, and the Englishman admitted that, had the Order of Merit not been at stake, he might not have teed up in the first round. In the event, Casey summoned up a weak smile and declared: “I don’t like to give up. I’m not a quitter.”
After the initial sparring between the four heavyweights who can still win the Order of Merit crown, it was the players in fourth and third positions who were happiest – Sweden’s Robert Karlsson with a two under par 69 and Howell, who chipped in at the last, with a 70.
Ireland’s Padraig Harrington, Casey’s nearest pursuer in second place, bogeyed the last for a 73 while the ashen-faced Casey had to settle for a round of 76 and rely on his instinct that a good night’s sleep would help get him back on track on Friday.
So much for the sub-plot. In terms of the Volvo Masters, Spain’s José Manuel Lara kept the home fires burning with a brilliant five under par 66 containing six birdies and one bogey. Lara leads by one from three players on 67 – Niclas Fasth, Swedish winner of last week’s Mallorca Classic, Australian Richard Green and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell.
Of the Order of Merit contenders, only Karlsson has a place in the top ten on the leaderboard going into Day Two of the climax to the 2006 season. However Casey could certainly be excused his off-day.
He cut a forlorn figure in the locker room afterwards, having been forced to beat a hasty retreat to that sanctuary within seconds of signing his card.
He emerged soon afterwards to admit: “That’s the worst I’ve felt on the golf course. I wasn’t even thinking of my score. I was just trying to stay out of Padraig’s way and let him play. In other circumstances, I would probably have withdrawn.
“My stomach was really cramped up on the tenth tee and I called for a ‘shot’ to ease the cramps and a pill to, shall we say, solidify things! Hopefully it is just a 24 hour thing. Hopefully I will have a good night’s sleep and I’ll feel better tomorrow. I can’t feel any worse.”
Harrington, who needs a high finish to overhaul Casey on Sunday, struggled to contain his frustration after his 73 which he felt was the worst he could have scored. He said: “The damage is that I played well and didn’t score. I could have played awful and shot a better score.
“I could have been four under after five, but the last hole sums up my day. You hit the perfect putt, the perfect line and try to pick it out but instead I start with a horseshoe and end with a horseshoe. Some days it goes like that.
“It was obviously a very tough day as well for Paul. He was struggling to get round. Nothing seemed to go right for him either”.
Howell, meanwhile, expressed delight that his injured shoulder appeared to stand up to scrutiny. The Englishman, who led the Order of Merit from last November right up to September before surrendering top spot to Casey, explained: “I certainly feel like I’m going to be okay.
"It’s a day by day thing and I’m fairly hopeful I will get through the week.All in all, I’m very pleased. Just a few rank shots out there and I missed a tiddler at the second. I need to improve but I feel like I know what I’ve got to do to do that.”
Karlsson, who birdied the 15th and 18th to break 70, was satisfied with his effort, saying: “It was a kind of funny day. I was hitting the ball left most of the day and not getting close, but managed to get round with only one bogey, which is good around here. It was a decent, solid start.”
As Lara took route 66 around one of the toughest inland tracks in Europe, much to the delight of the home supporters, for McDowell, it was a case of the last shall be first! The Ulsterman, who teed off in the day’s first pairing with Simon Wakefield, made a superb start at Valderrama and his four under par 67 meant he sets off last with Lara in the second round.
McDowell entered 2006 full of optimism about a season culminating with The Ryder Cup on Irish soil, but after a frustrating early campaign in America never even got close - not even after leading The Open Championship at Hoylake on the opening day.
As a result, McDowell has made a firm commitment to play full-time on The European Tour in 2007 – at the expense of his US PGA Tour card – in order to strengthen his position within the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking.
"I was there at The K Club doing media work but had a bit of a flat feeling on Sunday," he said after his bogey free round. "I wanted to feel what they (the team) were feeling.But it's driving me on. I really don't want to miss the next one and I know I have the game.
"This game kind of ebbs and flows and I feel like I have learnt a lot about scheduling and technical things in my swing."
