Paul Casey

Just seen on the Twittersphere that Casey has dislocated his shoulder while snowboarding in Colorado - and is likely to be unable to play for "a few months". That going to make a mess of his season and surely puts any chance of a Ryder Cup spot in serious doubt.

Shame really, as he just seemed to be starting to show a little form after his personal problems (and toe injury?) of last year.

Bit of an idiot indulging in snowboarding though?

Yes indeed, a severe blow to his RC chances! Didn't Phil Mick break/dislocate something skiing during the off season a few years ago as well?

Seems to be very little news so far - in fact I've only seen one tweet and a google search only brings up one mention on a golf fantasy league site!

From what I can tell he was due to defnd some Volvo title in South Africa in a couple of weeks time? Clearly if the story is true then that won't happen but it could be he'll be out of action at least until after the Masters

Really felt for casey when he didn't make the RC team, and suspected that he was on his way back to form again recently. If this is true then another season for him is ruined and I make that 3 injuries that have curtailed his career. Was his side strain at Wentworth a couple of years ago, followed by this seasons toe. We could have really done with him this October

It's definitely true. Was just reported on 5 Live. Out for 2 months they say so may yet make the Masters

He might make the Masters but | wouldn't bet on him making the cut. I find it quite bizarre that a top professional golfer would be indulging in a sport which has such a high risk of injury as snowboarding.

I wish him a speedy and full recovery but I do wonder if an injury like that may have some effect on his career, not only for this year but in the long term.

Don't find it that strange he was snow boarding if you know his personality he has shown in past he likes extreme sports.

Don't think his omission in the Ryder cup was that big a surprise either. He was meant to be defending the champions event that has moved to a new home at Fancourt this year.

What he has done though is kiss goodbye to this years RC as well. Even if he's back in 2 months will take that amount of time again to be back playing properly pain free at least!

Seems he was enjoying his new freedom and why bot after a torrid personal year last year

Perhaps it was his way of keeping his mind off the split with his wife. Can't say I blame him.

BlueCoverman wrote:I find it quite bizarre that a top professional golfer would be indulging in a sport which has such a high risk of injury as snowboarding.

Can’t really wrap these guys up in cotton wool all the time they still have to live normal“ish” lives.

Indeed hogie. Golf is their work when all said and done. He's a strong, fit wee fella so it's not at all surprising that he'd want to indulge himself in something 'extra' sporty. After all, yer only young once.

That's a fair comment Gael but I suppose that it all boils down to how much desire you have to achieve as much as you can in the sport that you are most gifted at. Can't imagine that Nicklaus, Watson or Tiger in the prime of their careers spent much time bouncing down snow covered mountains, but I could be wrong.

Anyway as Mav said perhaps he was enjoying his new freedom, he will certainly have time to enjoy it a bit more whilst he kicks his heels waiting for the shoulder to heal.

Erm - I think that Tiger DID spend a lot of his time "bouncing" in the prime of his career!!

BlueCoverman wrote:That's a fair comment Gael but I suppose that it all boils down to how much desire you have to achieve as much as you can in the sport that you are most gifted at. Can't imagine that Nicklaus, Watson or Tiger in the prime of their careers spent much time bouncing down snow covered mountains, but I could be wrong.

Anyway as Mav said perhaps he was enjoying his new freedom, he will certainly have time to enjoy it a bit more whilst he kicks his heels waiting for the shoulder to heal.

I would have thought that Nicklaus was just the right shape for bouncing down a mountain!<retracts claws>

Ordinarily I might have agreed with you BC but a bit of snowboarding (minus the duff shoulder) was probably just what Casey was needing. There's an element of risk in pretty much any sport anyway and, given the level of concentration required to stay on the blimmin thing, it would certainly have fullly occupied his mind.

In any event, I don't think he's blown his chances at all of playing in the RC. With it being on US territory, there's more chance of him getting a pick should that again be necessary.

Got to be honest, as I've been striving to get my handicap down I've gradually drifted away from another activity that I love i.e. Karate...Mainly due to not wanting to play/practice through cracked ribs, dislocated fingers etc or take an enforced injury break altogether. I can see both sides of the argument though, other sports do give you an outlet and some do have complimentary benefits however those have to be balanced against the injury risk. Tough one.

As far as Casey's RC chances are concerned I would imagine he'll slip down the rankings over the next few weeks, It'll probably take him a good couple of months to get back in the groove (assuming a quick trouble/complication free healing process). Never say never but he'd have to have an absolute golden run of form over the summer.

What would you do if you were Ollie and it gets to selection time, Casey has won 3 tournaments through June, July, August but is still lower in the rankings than say another 4 potential wildcard picks, all of whose form was stagnant?

Can't blame him for going boarding really, being a touring pro must get a bit boring so doing something that normal people do was probably what he needed.
Some people injure themselves getting out of bed and are out for weeks or poor swings have been known to cause career threatening injuries so taking a slight risk of getting injured by going boarding is probably worth it.