Notebook: Casey withdraws; Paddy's par 4s; easy 18th

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Sep. 3, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM Staff

NORTON, Mass. -- Paul Casey, currently 27th on the FedExCup points list, withdrew from the Deutsche Bank Championship on Wednesday due to a lingering rib injury.

For Casey, it marks the second straight week he has not been able to compete in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. The world's No. 3 will not be replaced in the field, so 99 players will begin the competition on Friday at TPC Boston.

The Englishman, who dropped from 18th to 27th after withdrawing last week prior to The Barclays, appears safe for next week's BMW Championship, if he is healthy. But he'll need to compete at Cog Hill, and play well, to make the field for the finale, THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.

Casey has not played since he had to withdraw during the first round of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. He was originally injured while hitting drivers in preparation for the Open Championship and then tweaked it again hitting from the rough during a practice round at Firestone Country Club.

Casey, who has a torn oblique near the 10th rib and a strained intercostal, was unable to play in the PGA Championship, as well. He has been receiving treatment, which included a cortisone shot, at home in Arizona. He made the trip to Massachusetts, though, and on Tuesday, he had listed himself as "probable." -- Helen Ross

PADDY ON PAR-4 HOLES: If you're looking purely at statistics, one reason Padraig Harrington has turned around his season the past three weeks is due to his improved performance on par-4 holes.

Harrington

In his first 13 starts on TOUR this year, Harrington finished par or worse on the par 4s at each event. His only performance at even par, in fact, came at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. Collectively, he was 62 over par on the par 4s in those 13 starts and did not produce a single top-10 finish.

But in his last three starts, the three-time major winner is a collective 10 under on the par 4s -- 6 under on the par 4s at the Bridgestone Invitational, 1 under at the PGA Championship and 3 under last week at The Barclays. Coincidentally or not, he has his three best finishes of the year -- two ties for second, and a tie for 10th at Hazeltine.

Harrington, however, isn't sure there's a correlation.

"That's just the stats coming up with an answer when you're got the information," he said. "I don't believe in those things at all. I'm trying as hard on every single shot."

Even so, one of the strengths of his game is his ability to score on par-4 holes. Last year, he ranked ninth on TOUR in par-4 performance; the previous year, he ranked 27th. He enters the Deutsche Back Championship this week ranked 139th.

"In general over the years I would tend to perform better on a golf course with tough par 4s," he said. "That would tend to be where my strength is.

"But I think the figures are showing up something and you're using them to come up with a conclusion. You can hit a bad shot on any hole, you can hit a good shot on any hole. So I wouldn't particularly pick on any instance there." -- Mike McAllister

EASY FINISHING HOLE: You should expect the pros to finish their rounds on a high note this week.

Slocum

A year ago, TPC Boston's 528-yard par-5 18th was the easiest finishing hole on the PGA TOUR, playing to a stroke average of 0.562 under par. From a par-5 perspective, just 12 other par 5s on TOUR were easier in 2008. And just five other par 5s yielded more eagles than the 21 recorded on the 18th by the reduced field at the Deutsche Bank last year.

"When you walk off, you'd love to play that hole at least 4-under par (for the week)," said Heath Slocum, last week's winner of The Barclays. "It's just one of those things where, especially for me, first and foremost, I have to hit that fairway."

Despite the low scores, that's not a simple thing to do. Players looking to reach the green in two must carry the two bunkers situated in the middle of the 18th fairway. For the longer hitter, a bunker on the right side of the fairway at about the 320-yard mark always must be avoided.

"It's surprising that that's been the easiest hole," Slocum said, "because I feel like the past few years, that green has gotten really firm and it's hard to hit in two, and there's quite a bit of undulation."

For a rookie such as Webb Simpson, who is making his first start at this event, the 18th offers a chance to "just bomb it down there."

Said Simpson: "The more aggressive, the better, I think, on 18." -- Mike McAllister