Casey content with 'roller-coaster' second round
"It's not every day you enjoy a round of golf with an eight on the card," said Paul Casey following his eventful 71 at the U.S. Open.
Paul Casey declared himself satisfied with a "roller-coaster" second round at the U.S. Open, which saw him break par despite dropping five shots in four holes on his first nine.
One behind first-round leader Rickie Fowler overnight, Casey birdied the 11th, his second hole, on Friday but looked to have tumbled out of contention when bogeys at 12 and 15 came either side of a dismal eight on the par-five 14th.
However, the Englishman then produced a stunning comeback, picking up shots at five successive holes from the 17th to return to seven under.
"[It's] not every day you enjoy a round of golf with an eight on the card, but I'm a pretty happy man," said Casey.
"It was a bit of a roller-coaster. I guess it's rare you get through a U.S. Open or any major without some kind of hiccup."
Discussing his woes at the long 14th, Casey added: "It was all my own fault, but a good display of what can happen if you get out of position on this golf course, which is what I did. Even just trying to take my medicine is very, very difficult. It was a good eight in the end."
Wet conditions helped produce low scores in round one, but Casey noticed a difference in difficulty at Erin Hills on Friday.
"The course was just drier," he said. "[There was] a tiny fraction more wind, some of the tees were farther back. It was wonderful to see that there was, I felt, no knee-jerk reaction to yesterday's scores. [It was] incredibly fair.
"But for me, it felt like it played tougher today. It doesn't need to be too much of a change for this golf course to play pretty difficult. If the sun stays like it is and the wind keeps baking this golf course out, it's pretty treacherous on the weekend, which is just what I would like, and I think what the rest of the players want to see."
Casey, who is still seeking his first major championship win, was tied with Fowler atop the leaderboard when he reached the clubhouse, before the American - one of the afternoon starters - pulled clear again early in his second round.