Casey: excited
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After shooting a third-round 69 to consolidate his position on the Masters leaderboard, Paul Casey said he believes he has the game to win his first major.
The 30-year-old Englishman produced a second straight three-under round on Saturday to stand in fourth place, four strokes behind leader Trevor Immelman.
Casey spent the majority of the afternoon at Augusta fighting for the lead with Immelman and the latter's playing partner Brandt Snedeker, and reckons he can do the same on Sunday.
"No doubt the golf course suits me down to the ground," the Ryder Cup star said after a round that included six birdies, four coming on the front nine, and three bogeys.
"I have the necessary shots. I have the high ball flight, the right-to-left, left-to-right if you need it.
"There is something about this occasion. It's a place that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and the only other place that does that to me is St Andrews."
Contention
Casey started the day as one of five Englishmen in contention; however, by the end of the day he was the only one left flying the flag as Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Justin Rose and Nick Dougherty all fell by the wayside.
It was testimony, he said, to the hard work he had put in with coach Peter Kostis after a disappointing start to the year.
"I spent a lot of time with Pete the last two weeks hitting different shots that I think are required for this golf course and a lot of time on the fitness, a lot of time on the mental side of things," Casey continued.
"I haven't played good golf coming into this tournament. So far this year it's been a little lacklustre. But I really feel the season begins here."
Over-excited
Casey is determined to enjoy the moment regardless of his final-round performance, but also admitted that he had been over-excited when also playing in the penultimate pairing on the final day of the Masters with Bernhard Langer in 2004.
"You know I'm very excited about tomorrow. I can't wait to get started," he added. "But I'm going to worry about my own game and not worry about what anybody else is doing and continue to play good golf, simple as that."
