GOLF: England's Paul Casey, who was considered for a wild card for last year's Ryder Cup, is determined to make the next one on his own merits. The next contest at Oakland Hills in Michigan may be almost two years away, but Casey is already looking ahead to when qualifying starts in September.
The 25-year-old carded a five-under 67 to lie just two shots off the lead held by Welsh pair Stephen Dodd and Bradley Dredge after yesterday's first round of the Dunhill Championship in Johannesburg.
But he admitted he already had one eye on making the European team for 2004 which will attempt to defend the trophy won in such memorable fashion at the Belfry last September.
"The overall target is the Ryder Cup in two years, and everything else falls into that," said Casey, who was considered for a wild card by captain Sam Torrance in 2001 - the year he won the Scottish PGA Championship and Rookie of the Year honours - before the contest was postponed for a year.
"You want to be in a position when the Ryder Cup qualifying starts, to be in the world's top 50 and the majors, to rack up some good points. "I definitely want to be there. It's always been great to watch when I wasn't on tour, but now I actually know the guys and watching it is something different. You feel it's attainable. You play with Ryder Cup players and you match them or beat them in a round and you think 'I can do this'."
Casey could be just one of the new generation of young English stars to make the team, with defending champion Justin Rose, close friend Ian Poulter, Nick Dougherty and Luke Donald all possible contenders.
"It could be really interesting to see who gets on the team," added Casey. "I just hope I'm part of that. I want to be a part of it, but also a valuable part. It's one thing making the team, but you don't want to be sitting on the bench.
"From playing with Poulter and Justin in the last two World Cups and Luke Donald in the Walker Cup (where they had a 100 per cent record), there are a few guys I'd like to play with and I seem to play well in partnerships, whether in foursomes or fourballs."
Casey missed the cut last week in Cape Town after rounds of 78 and 71 that included a dreaded shank on the opening day, but rediscovered his usual aggressive approach to card six birdies and just one bogey.
"I made a few phone calls to the States to my mental coach Chris Dorris," he explained. "It's amazing how through a phone call to somebody not watching you play, you can diagnose what you need to do.
"The plan for the week is to be relaxed but aggressive and clear on what I need to do. I didn't have that last week. I'm quite an aggressive player but I was almost too wary of what not to do last week."
It was a relatively quiet day for the three Irish competitors in the field. Gary Murphy was best with a one-under-par 71, while Peter Lawrie was a shot further back. But James Loughnane has his work cut out to make the cut after a four-over-par 76.
Overnight leaders Dredge and Dodd are seeking their maiden wins on tour. Dredge narrowly lost out to Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer in the Volvo Masters at the end of last season, and Dodd led going into the final round of the Hong Kong Open in December.
"Looking back over the tournaments where I've come close, I think it's getting to the point where I wouldn't have done anything differently so I'm learning all the time and I've just got to be patient," said Dredge. "I've hit the ball pretty decent tee to green and hit a lot of putts that just haven't dropped. It was tough on the back nine with Monty and Langer at Valderrama but I really enjoyed it. There was a lot of pressure and I know I can play under that pressure."
Defending champion Rose could only card a 73 at Houghton, while Lee Westwood fired a 71.
