By Kent Gray
If Paul Casey never wins again, he insists he’ll ride into the sunset a contented man. Don’t be fooled.

September’s Ryder Cup might be this season’s long term target but the 40-year-old Englishman has re-joined the European Tour with a more immediate focus and is making a decent fist of netting a record-tying third Falcon trophy.

“I think the biggest motivation [here]… is the fact that Kaymer has got three and I’ve only got two [Abu Dhabi titles],” Casey said after a Friday 65 peppered with five birdies and an eagle left him just three shots off the pace heading into the weekend at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA.

“The German, I see him obviously in Arizona because he spends a lot of time out there, and he doesn’t let me forget it. So I would love to equal that record this week.”

Casey is chuffed with his opening Ryder Cup gambit on The National as he eyes a 14th European Tour title.

“Obviously there’s been attention on me so far this week because of rejoining the European Tour, but I don’t want this to be a turn up and yeah, ‘I’m rejoining the Tour, isn’t it great?’

“I’m here and I want to try and win this. I’m not going to have that many opportunities in Europe to win and I’m still going to be very focused in the U.S. and I want to win there, too.

“It’s almost kind of — I’m putting pressure on myself, nice amount of pressure, to try on the opportunities I have in Europe, let’s capitalise, let’s do something, let’s show these guys. I’ve won a lot of times in Europe. A lot of guys have never seen me play. Tyrrell Hatton, never played with him in Europe. Yeah, like to show him what I’m capable of.”

Given his sole PGA Tour victory came at the 2009 Shell Houston Open and the last of his baker’s dozen of titles in Europe at the 2014 KLM Open, you’d presume his next victory would be the biggest of his career. Think again.

“I hope it’s a really big win. I hope it’s a major victory. All victories are great. All victories are big. I’ve got to the stage of my career where I’ve got great love for the game of golf,” he said.

“I’m very content off the golf course and whether there’s dozens of victories from this point, be amazing; if there’s not a single one, I’m very content. It doesn’t make me any less fierce or any less competitive. Whatever victory, I will be sure to celebrate it to the max.”

To celebrate in Abu Dhabi Casey knows he’ll need to go deep over the weekend.

“We’ve seen a trend it seems in the last few years, guys just keep going. Monty [Colin Montgomerie] always gave me the equation is you took the first round score, you double it, and you add a couple more. With that being said, 14 being the winning score, I mean, it’s not going to be. Was that right, six was leading [Thursday]? I see 20 maybe this week. You’ve just got to keep going.

“You see Thomas Pieters and Ross Fisher, a lot of firepower, Ryder Cup players on the top of the leaderboard. I know they are not going to back down. So to me it was foot down [today]. I was trying to get to double digits. Didn’t quite [he’s at -9] but I’m very, very happy with the day. It was great.”