Casey looks set to play in next year's Ryder Cup after rejoining the European Tour
Paul Casey Rejoins European Tour To Boost Ryder Cup Hopes
Paul Casey has thrown his name into the hat for the 2018 European Ryder Cup team by rejoining the European Tour.
The Englishman rejoins the Tour after leaving it in 2015.
It means he can now qualify for his first Ryder Cup since he last played in 2008 at Valhalla.
Related: Why the 2018 European Ryder Cup side looks seriously strong
Casey is currently ranked 15th in the world, the sixth-highest ranked European.
He has a young child and has been living in Arizona for some time now, making it difficult to balance life on the European and PGA Tours whilst making time for his family.
Casey made one of only six Ryder Cup aces during the 2006 match at the K Club
“The reasons why I didn’t renew my membership originally was because of commitments to my family and, if anything, that’s now doubly difficult because I’ve got a seven-week-old little girl at home,” he said.
“As hard as it was trying to make it work three years ago, struggling with my game and dropping out of the world’s top 50, I have missed it too much.
Related: Paul Casey signs with TaylorMade
“Missed my contribution to European golf and watching the Ryder Cup and not being a part of that.”
He also played on the winning sides in 2004 and 2006.
He was famously overlooked for a captain’s pick by Colin Montgomerie in 2010 when he was world number seven.
Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey, Padraig Harrington and Luke Donald pose with the trophy after Europe beat the USA 18 1/2 – 9 1/2 at the 2006 Ryder Cup at The K Club. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
He was then injured for the 2012 match at Medinah and had lost form in 2014 for Gleneagles.
Casey has spoken to 2018 Captain Thomas Bjorn and hopes to play a key role in the European side next year.
“Thomas has been a massive support and has certainly assisted in me making the decision with his confidence in me and his backing of my game,” he said.
“I feel like obviously the golf I’ve played the last few years, I can be a massive contribution on the course. I would love to play the role of a senior member on Thomas’ team.
Casey holes a putt at the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills. (Photo by A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
“The number of events that we were required by both Tours at that time made it very difficult to play both well and I suffered. My game wasn’t there to do both successfully.”
The rules currently state that you need to play just 12 European Tour events to retain membership, and eight of those are majors and WGCs.
He would need to play an extra four tournaments, three of which could be ticked off in the lead-up to the Open with the French, Irish and Scottish Opens.
Casey’s last worldwide victory came on the European Tour at the 2014 KLM Open. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
The French Open takes place at 2018 Ryder Cup host Le Golf National so you would expect him to play.
He could also play any of the Middle East swing, which comprises of the Abu Dhabi Championship, Qatar Masters and Dubai Desert Classic. He has won the Abu Dhabi Championship twice.
Another tournament you might expect him to play would be the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth which he won in 2009.
Overall, Casey has won 13 European Tour titles, with his last victory coming at the 2014 KLM Open.
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