Paul Casey knew what would happen when he made his decision to join LIV Golf. The three-time PGA Tour and 15-time DP World Tour winner admitted so multiple times while speaking to media ahead of his debut at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster this week.
“There’s a lot more to my decision of sitting here than just a financial opportunity and less golf. But I was very aware of the ramifications of making this choice,” said Casey on Wednesday, noting how he’s won on five different tours. “The PGA Tour is something, it was a goal of mine to play on the PGA Tour, and it’s been an incredible journey.”
After fellow LIV rookie Henrik Stenson lost his captaincy for next year’s matches in Italy for joining the Greg Norman-led and Saudi Arabia-funded series, the five-time member of Team Europe admitted he was concerned about his own Ryder Cup future.
“As I said before, I was aware of the ramifications of my decision. You know, and I guess it’s not — the rules and decisions that are going to be put in place are out of my hands. I would still love to be a part of that, but if I’m not, then I guess there’s nothing I can do,” explained Casey.
“I’m actually not sure what to tell you because (the Ryder Cup is) such an amazing thing. Some of the moments I’ve had, some of the teams I’ve been a part of, even the bad moments, they’re just amazing,” he continued. “To know that there’s a possibility that a lot of us are going to miss out on that, I’m not sure what to tell you yet because I guess we don’t know. Right now we’re all in limbo, which is a bit frustrating. Yeah, I don’t know.”
If Casey was as conscious as he claims, then he knew this outcome was inevitable. He didn’t have to join LIV right away. If the Ryder Cup was truly that important, he could have waited. But he wanted to have his cake and eat it, too.
The 45-year-old Englishman, a former UNICEF ambassador who was initially apprehensive about playing golf in the Kingdom a couple years ago, defended the progress Saudi Arabia is making on the human rights front.
“I’ve been to the Kingdom a couple of times, and I’ve seen change happening in the Kingdom, so I can confidently say that change is happening and that what we do is having a positive effect,” Casey explained.
LIV Golf has long been criticized as a way for the Kingdom to sportswash its human rights record. Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including…
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