Paul Casey wishes he and his fellow professionals were still playing golf, but the time off suits him.
The 42-year-old has plenty of hobbies to keep him busy, like playing soccer with his son and riding his bike.
“Daytime TV sucks though,” he joked on a conference call with media on Friday.
Since golf’s tournament schedule was brought to a screeching halt in wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the sport has taken a backseat for Casey. A week and change removed from the Players Championship and other events being canceled, the Englishman is disappointed he won’t be going for a three-peat this week at the Valspar Championship.
That said, he doesn’t have a plan for his return to the game. He’s trying to formulate one on the fly.
“I’m a big fan of time off, there are times where I’ve taken three to four weeks without hitting balls,” said Casey. “It’s quite common for me in the offseason, but there’s always been a prospect of going back to work.”
With the prospect of golf in the unforeseeable future, the mental approach to daily life has been toughest part of Casey’s transition the last week.
“When I’ve taken time off at least I know I’m going back on the road, or on winter break I’m going to play in seven weeks time or six weeks time, so that’s easy to plan,” explained Casey, who admitted “for whatever reason I feel like I’ve kind of checked out.”
“You’re working out, doing the little things, you’re booking flights, I’m not doing anything right now,” he said. “I’m working out, but I’m working out just because I like to work out. I’m riding my bike because I like to ride my bike. I’m not really working on getting ready for a set date.”
The unknown of what’s to come in wake of the pandemic has been the strangest thing Casey has been forced to deal with.
“I guess that’s the same for everybody, though. Our industry isn’t any different than anybody else’s. It’s the unknown. … how bad is this going to get, what are the ramifications, am I going to be eating soup for the next 12 weeks or something? I don’t know.”
That one phrase, “I don’t know,” was common throughout the teleconference. It’s not like Casey was avoiding questions, he was being honest and open. Like the rest of us, he just doesn’t know the best course of action if and when tournaments resume. Should majors and the Ryder Cup come before tournaments? Does it make more sense to scrap the 2019-20 season and start fresh in 2021 or will a jam-packed fall schedule save the season?
There’s no right or wrong answer to any of those questions as the cloud of uncertainty lingers around the world. But when the veil is lifted and what we used to refer to as normalcy is reinstated, Casey will be ready to go.
“Everybody wants to get back going again,” said Casey. “People are going to be craving golf, I know I’ll be craving golf and I’ll be looking forward to getting back out there.”
FORWARD PRESS PODCAST: In this week’s episode of the Forward Press, host David Dusek chats with golf analyst Mark Immelman about the coronavirus pandemic and the effect that it has had on the world of golf, from the NCAA to the PGA Tour.
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