English golfer Paul Casey wowed spectators at his final British Open practice round at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland on Wednesday, landing a perfectly executed chip shot from inside a storm shelter to the green.
The Open is taking place at the Northern Irish links course for the first time in 70 years and due to a designing peculiarity, a storm shelter on a 374-yard par 4 hole has become a part of the course.
This means that any balls hit into the particularly inhospitable trap will have to be played out, rather than ‘dropped’ at the cost of one-shot penalty, so England’s Casey opted to get some practice in should he find himself in a similar situation during regular play.
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It couldn’t have gone much better. Casey delicately clipped the ball out of the shelter on to a gradient on the green which dutifully carried the ball close to the hole as legions of fans watched on.
Casey is seeking his first Major at the event and will no doubt hope that instances like this will continue to go his way throughout the competition, though he remains an outsider in the opinion of oddsmakers despite being, in theory at least, in form which should make him an attractive candidate to place highly.
He is ranked second in Total Driving this season on the PGA Tour and placed a reputable 21st at the US Open and 5th at the Travellers Championship, though his tie for 11th place in 2017 remains, by far, his best British Open performance to date.
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