Paul Casey is raring to go as he belatedly makes his first appearance of the 2012 campaign at the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
The Ryder Cup star dislocated his shoulder in a snowboarding accident last December, leaving him unable to defend his Volvo Golf Champions title and ruling the 34 year old out of the Middle East swing and more recently the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.
With his shoulder now “probably 90 per cent”, Casey accepts that while he may be short of practice, the lay-off may ultimately prove beneficial.
“I’ve had really good rehab,” he said, ahead of taking on the renowned Doral Golf Resort & Spa’s ‘Blue Monster’ Course.
“Luckily there was no surgery, it was just purely rehab, so it’s feeling strong and now I have to do a lot of work on my golf game to get it back to where it was before the accident.
“I didn’t miss any Majors, and that was the fortunate timing of it. I think my expectations are fairly low, the first time I walked around 18 holes was Monday here. I’ve not even managed 18 holes back at home.
“I'm here and I want to play well, and I’d love to win this tournament, but my main focus is getting ready to go into Augusta. I’m feeling fresh and excited, and hopefully my golf game will get nice and sharp and I can try and win there.”
Avoided surgery was a huge boost for Casey, given that an operation would have resulted in a four to six month lay-off which would have decimated his 2012 campaign.
“I was worried because I didn’t know what I had done to the shoulder,” he added. “When we got back down the mountain, I had it X-rayed and they told me I had dislocated it. Then an hour after it came out of its socket, it went back in again, which reduced the pain for a nine or a ten to a one. It was a worrying time, so it was a huge relief when I found out I wouldn’t need surgery.”
Casey spent much of his rehabilitation in front of the television, watching the exploits of the likes of Rory McIlroy and wishing he was out there playing instead.
He said: “Sitting on the sofa and watching the great golf that’s been played so far this year has really lit a fire underneath me.
“It’s certainly renewed my love for the game and my passion for it, so maybe in some ways it’s the best injury I’ve ever had, and there’s actually a lot of positives that come out of it.
“Without it, I may be sitting here already tired and fatigued and drained. I’m clearly the freshest guy out here this week, and hopefully that can work to my advantage.”
