Awtrey: Don't be surprised to see Casey capture this major

PGATOUR.com's Stan Awtrey tells us not to be caught off guard should Paul Casey come through and win the 109th U.S. Open. After all, the 31-year-old Englishman is brimming with confidence and couldn't be happier with his game.

By Stan Awtrey, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- Could it be kismet that Paul Casey is paired in the first two rounds with Geoff Ogilvy and Jim Furyk? That's two former U.S. Open champions competing alongside a champion-in-waiting. And in Casey's case, it might not be a long wait.

Furyk won his U.S. Open in 2003 at Olympia Fields. He's the prototypical player for a U.S. Open course with his consistency and his sharpness around the greens. Rarely will Furyk dazzle, but even rarer are the times he disappoints.

Ogilvy won his U.S. Open in 2006 at Winged Foot. That victory propelled his game to the next level of competition. He's earned a well-deserved reputation for being a big-game hunter. Now it seems like Ogilvy is always in the mix at a major championship or at one of the World Golf Championships.

Don't be surprised in Casey joins the others as an Open champion. No one would gasp if he did it this week at Bethpage. This is Casey's sixth appearance in the U.S. Open (he watched Furyk's coronation outside Chicago in 2003 as a rookie) and his best showing was a tie for 10th at the 2007 Open at Oakmont.

Casey, 31, has plenty of international experience playing on the Ryder Cup team and he's been one of the hottest players on the globe in 2009. He's already won three times this year (twice on the European Tour, once on the PGA TOUR) and is ranked No. 3 in the world, which surprises many casual observers of the game.

"I'm surprised I'm No. 3 in the world, but that's how the (World Golf Rankings) system works," Casey said. "But who else has won three times around the world this year?"

The best thing about Casey: He can go low. You never know when a 63 is going to come flying out of his bag. That's what he did during the third round on his way to winning the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship earlier this spring.

Granted, it is a lot different shooting a low round at a tournament in Abu Dhabi than it will be to do it this week at Bethpage, but Casey is the same guy who shot a 68 at the Masters in 2007 when the temperature was so cold that the Nike emblem on his golf bag turned blue.

And Casey gets it. He understands that a player is eventually defined by the number of major championships he can bag. Padraig Harrington has won three of the last seven majors, has been elevated to a different level because of his recent successes. Likewise, Sergio Garcia won't come off the list of underachievers until he wins a major. Casey sees the U.S. Open as an opportunity to break away from the pack and climb into a group of elite players.

"Not that the beginning of the year hasn't sort of counted for anything, but with three majors coming up in fairly quick succession, it's very important that I continue to play good golf," Casey said. "The majors are still the things on top of the goals list. And although this year it's been phenomenal, I think (majors) are the things which ultimately define guys' careers. I don't have a major and I would dearly love one. So this is a very important time for me to try and play great golf, continue that good form through the next two, three, four months."

Casey said his favorite major remains the Open Championship and that the major he believes best suits his game in the Masters. He said the U.S. Open is "the one that maybe I've struggled at the most" and a win here would be seen as a greater personal achievement.

A win would also break a lengthy dry spell. No European player has won the U.S. Open since Tony Jacklin did it in 1970. And a lot of accomplished players from England have given it go, from Nick Faldo to Colin Montgomerie to Lee Westwood to Luke Donald.

This week they're forecasting some nasty weather - cold and wet anyone? -- in the New York area. Casey may live in the Scottsdale, Ariz., area, but he's survived many days on the golf course with cold and wet conditions while growing up in England. He's not liable to be fazed.

Besides, he and wife Jocelyn are building a new home and that U.S. Open trophy might look pretty good sitting on top of the mantle in the den. Don't be surprised if it happens this week.