World Match Play / Bill Elliott / 02 March 2009 / Leave a comment

Only Geoff Ogilvy's brilliance could stop Paul Casey in the end. Good things await the pair this year, says Bill Elliott.

Eighteen months ago I was having a drink at The Wisley Club in Surrey with a couple of pals when we were joined at the bar by Paul Casey. The Englishman ordered up a Coke as the sweat from a serious practice session dripped rather charmingly down his face.

"You're obviously working hard," I rather needlessly pointed out at the time. His reply has stuck in my memory..."I need to, "he said. "I've got to crank my game up a gear if I'm to achieve what I want to. The Fedex Cup (the first one) is about to take place and I'm not in the field for example. Well, I should be playing in all these big money events by now."

He was right and what has happened since confirms that he has continued to graft away at a game that is something of a gift from the sporting gods in the first place. His play over the last 12 months has taken place on a seriously rising graft of achievement and if he still does not win as much as he should, at least his scores have put him into the mix more often than not.

Those wins surely will come although first he has to do something about his putting. This is not bad but it is inconsistent and inconsistency is what drives these guys - and us punters - nuts. At times during his final last weekend against the irresistible Geoff Ogilvy he seemed to be trying too hard on the greens, reading too much into lines. This happens when a player is not truly in 'The Zone', that magical place where hand and eye are operating on optimum octane.

Ogilvy's putting appeared effortless, almost mindless, by comparison. Casey, however, will have weeks like this too and when he does the rest of his game is now so solid, so dependable and soooooo long that victories will be his. Ogilvy, meanwhile, needs to begin to impose himself more than he has done on the major weeks because one United States Open to date does not accurately reflect his ability.

He is, however, presently in the form of his life, this latest World Championship win going on top of his Australian PGA title in December and then the Mercedes-Benz in January. "I think I'm a pretty decent golfer with a pretty decent record," he says defensively.

"Obviously there are a few guys who are way ahead of me at the moment. I'm behind Tiger, Mickelson, Garcia and Harrington but I reckon I'm at least fifth."

Actually, he is now ranked fourth in the world lists. Casey, for one, believes he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the very best.

"Playing him can be incredibly frustrating at times. What's tough about Geoff is that his demeanour never changes and that's a huge attribute. He walks at the same pace whether is playing really well or poorly."

This pair of pals - they live close to each other in Arizona - get the chance to joust again in the next World Championship, the CA Championship in Miami next week when Ogilvy defends. Tiger Woods presumably will be there as well. It was terrific to see the master at work again last week but his game remains as understandably rusty as expected. He will not be happy at going out in Round Two but he will console himself that the One That Matters is still five weeks away.

Georgia, not Arizona, is what is really on his mind. I've no real doubt that he will either win or come awfully close at the Masters. Just as I had no doubt that Ogilvy would win the Matchplay. When he turned out against my sensational compatriot, Wee Rory, one of my sons asked me if I was going with my heart or my wallet? Sometimes the innocence of youth is a wonder to behold. Don't you think?