Paul Casey tees it up in the WGC-Cadillac Championship this week without expecting to be competitive on his first outing of the year.
Englishman has low expectations ahead of tournament return
Paul Casey tees it up in the WGC-Cadillac Championship this week without expecting to be competitive on his first outing of the year.
The 34-year-old has not played since dislocating his shoulder in a snowboarding accident on Christmas Eve.
However, his plan to be back at peak fitness for the Masters in April remains on track.
"I think my expectations are fairly low," said the Englishman, who is out in the first group on Thursday with Alexander Noren of Sweden and Australia's Greg Chalmers.
"The first time I walked around 18 holes was Monday here.
Plan
"I'm very much finding my feet on the golf course, but the only way to get sharp and back into the swing of things is actually playing tournament golf.
"The goal after discovering what I've done to the shoulder was to get ready for Augusta and that's still the plan.
"Hopefully the game will get nice and sharp so we can try and win there.
"The shoulder feels very good. It's probably 90 per cent, certainly good enough to hit balls and get back on the course.
"I had absolutely no clue how long a dislocation takes to repair, but finding out that I didn't need surgery was a relief because the surgery was going to be four to six months out."
Setback
Casey, now ranked 26 in the world following his enforced lay-off, is hoping his bad luck with injuries are behind him after a rib injury scuppered his 2009 season while last year's campaign was also hit by a foot problem.
"Maybe this is it - three injuries, three strikes and that will be it," he added. "That's what I'm hoping. It's just frustrating that it takes time away from what I want to do and what I love doing.
"It's obviously a setback. I've got to work on the swing and get the confidence going again.
"It is a little bit demoralising, but it's also a challenge and it's one I can either rise to or get fed up with and let it affect me.
"It's actually sparked my love for the game again. I've been doing it 10 years and was starting to get a little bit burnt out, but sitting on the sofa lit a fire underneath me.
"I'm clearly the freshest guy out here this week."
