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Paul Casey did what? How he likely cost himself a stroke at 18, though he remains in contention
Sam Greenwood
ATLANTA — We’ve seen it plenty of times before, a player glaring or barking at his caddie over a yardage after a bad shot.
So there was Paul Casey late on Friday afternoon at East Lake looking perplexed if not annoyed after having just one-hop nuked his second to the par-5 18th at East Lake Golf Club over the back of the green.
He turned to caddie John McLaren.
What happened?
Casey mistakenly pulled a 3-iron from his bag, instead of the intended 4-iron, and watched helplessly as the ball bounded over the putting surface, forcing him to get up-and-down to save par.
Oof. Sorry, Paul, this one’s on you—and he admitted as much afterward.
“I mean, it couldn't have been any better looking,” he said of the shot from 234 yards. “I didn't give [my caddie] a glare or anything, but I'm thinking to myself, has he just given me a mystery? And then I look down and realized I hit the 3-iron, not the 4-iron.
“Because, you know, we're not playing for much this week and it's not important.”
The good news for Casey is he’s still in the hunt heading into the weekend at the Tour Championship, where he trails leader Brooks Koepka by four.
As for the gaffe?
It was all Casey.
“One's got a little 4 on it, and the 3's got nothing on it,” he said. “The sad thing is it's the second time I've done it this year.
“To hit what is not an easy long iron from 248 yards exactly at the gentleman I was aiming at in the red shirt, I was pretty proud of myself.”
And what about McLaren’s reaction?
“He was laughing at me,” Casey said. “He thinks it's gold dust. He thinks it's fantastic.
“Thank God, it's Friday because in the grand scheme of things, there's ebbs and flows. … We'll just take that one on the chin and move on.”
And maybe just remember to check which club he pulled should he be in that situation coming down the stretch on Sunday.