English Amateur Championship: Casey
strengthens case for Walker Cup place
By Bill Meredith - Electronic Telegraph

It seems as if nothing can stop Paul Casey, the young man from Burhill in Surrey who this year smashed Tiger Woods' American university record with a round of 60 in Seattle. Casey, 22, beat England international Simon Dyson, 21, from Sand Moor in Yorkshire, 2 & 1 in the 36-hole final of the English Amateur Championship at St Mellion to almost certainly clinch a Walker Cup place.

The side to face the United States will not be chosen until tonight, and is expected to be announced on Wednesday, but the selectors who watched Casey beat off the challenge of a field of 256 will surely have no choice but to put him near the top of their list.

Dyson, too, will be in the forefront of their minds. The Yorkshireman has a marvellous record as an England international with only half a point dropped in 10 singles matches. He never allowed Casey to get away in a final with few birdies but much good golf on a demanding course.

The crucial moment came at the long 12th hole in the afternoon when Casey, clinging on to a one-hole lead with six to play, saw his drive veer into the long ditch which runs along the right-hand side of the fairway. Casey, some 90 yards from the green, decided to play the ball despite a distinctly dodgy lie.

Luckily, it was not in the water (although one of his feet was) and he somehow managed to lift the ball on to the green about five feet from the pin. Casey's putt shaved the hole for what would have been a birdie four and he held on to a half to keep his slender lead.

It was one of several extraordinary shots executed by Casey during a hectic week in which he had to play eight rounds of golf to lift a handsome trophy which bears many famous names such as Nick Faldo, Mark James, Gerald Micklem and Michael Bonallack.

There was the breathtaking chip of some 70ft at the 18th which rocketed into the hole when he beat Matthew King on the 18th in the quarter-finals. Then there was the slide-rule wedge shot he played blind to the same hole to take Jamie Elson to the 19th in the semi-final. On that extra hole his magical birdie three shattered the England boy player from Kenilworth.

When Casey went to Arizona State University two years ago he was virtually unknown in this country. He had no England caps at any level, although he had attended the English Golf Union's junior school of excellence. Now he has returned in triumph to win the English title and claim his international recognition. "It was just nice to come back and show people here that I could play to a high standard," he said.

Dyson was outstanding on his way to the final, playing six sub-par rounds. Tomorrow he is off to play in the Finnish Amateur. "I just love all the travelling," he admitted.

Special mention must be made, too, of another Yorkshireman - Jonathan Lupton, of Middlesbrough. The 20-year-old did exceptionally well to reach the semi-finals and only gave best to Dyson on the 17th green. Credit also to Elson and to Ed Burlison-Rush, of Sussex, who contested a highly watchable sixth-round match between non-seeds.