Casey takes Houston Open in playoff

2009-04-05

Share this article:  Digg |  StumbleUpon |  del.icio.us |  Reddit

HUMBLE, TEXAS (TICKER) —Paul Casey finally ended a long drought on the PGA Tour - even if it took him one more hole than he would have liked.

Casey needed a one-hole playoff to outlast J.B. Holmes and win the Shell Houston Open on Sunday.

It was the first tour victory in 52 starts for the Englishman, who held a one-shot lead with one hole to play before bogeying the tortuous 18th hole in regulation.

Casey also bogeyed No. 18 in the playoff, but that was enough to dispatch Holmes, who had driven his tee shot into the water after a wait of just over 2 1/2 hours.

“It’s a little bit like my first win felt in Europe, which I can remember very vividly,” Casey said. “First win in Europe, first Ryder Cup experience, and now first PGA Tour win. Three fairly major events in my life, in my golfing life.

“So I think I need to give it a couple days to let this one sink in.”

The long-hitting Holmes held the clubhouse lead at 11-under 277 but had to endure an arduous delay to find out he was in a playoff when Casey bogeyed the final hole.

“I don’t think I could have put any more pressure on him than what I did,” Holmes said. “I posted that (11-under) three hours before they were done. Lot of hard holes. That was an advantage I thought I had, but then when you get into a playoff waiting three hours, it turns into a little bit of a disadvantage.

“There’s no excuse. I hit a bad shot and didn’t deserve to win.”

Casey was among six players tied for the lead following the completion of Sunday’s third round of this weather-plagued event.

According to tour officials, it marked the largest number of players to share the lead after 54 holes since 1970 - the first year that statistic was kept.

Casey said that despite the cluster atop the leaderboard, he was more preoccupied with focusing on his game.

“I kept my head down, to be honest, and didn’t pay too much attention to what was going on,” Casey said. “I just thought it was incredibly difficult out there, so why burden myself with knowing too much. Just get on with it. It’s an incredibly difficult golf course with a very difficult conditions. They set it up brilliantly.”

Fred Couples, who was among the cluster at 11-under 205, led for most of the final round until a bogey at the par-3 16th dropped him into a tie with Holmes and one shot behind a surging Casey.

Seeking his PGA Tour victory since winning here in 2003, Couples unraveled with bogeys on the final three holes - one more than he had in his first three rounds combined.

“I am disappointed. I felt like I needed a couple birdies, I made bogey the last three holes,” Couples said. “I’m happy with the way I played. Obviously, a lot of people out there supporting me, but I just couldn’t make any - too tough.”

Couples, who will turn 50 in October, signed for a 74 to finish at 9-under 279 and in a tie for third place with Henrik Stenson and Nick O’Hern, who each closed with a 2-under 70.

The four other third-round co-leaders - Geoff Ogilvy, Ryan Moore, Colt Knost and Bo Van Pelt - never were in contention in the final round.

Ogilvy was seeking his third victory of the young season, having already triumphed at the season-opening Mercedes Benz Championship to go with his win in the WGC-CA Championship. He skied to a 75 and finished in a five-way tie for sixth at 8-under 280.

Reigning British Open and PGA champion Padraig Harrington was within one shot of the lead after a birdie on the first hole before falling apart. He stumbled to a 77 that was punctuated by a double-bogey on 18 in which he chipped in the hole.

Harrington already is looking ahead to next week’s Masters, where he has a chance to win his third consecutive major championship.

“You know, it’s awfully tough today,” he said. “You start looking forward to next week and it has been a good week for me in terms of where my game is at. Lot of patience today. Well, you know, it was windy today.

“Slipped a bit of patience today. Don’t want to do that next week.”

Greg Norman, making a rare appearance on the regular tour to prepare for next week’s Masters, staggered to a final-round 81, as did Spain’s Sergio Garcia.