'The Golf Crowd In The UK Are Starved For Golf, Plain And Simple' - Paul Casey Ahead Of LIV Golf Return To England

LIV Golf is back in the UK for the third consecutive year after its first ever event at the Centurion Club in June 2022.

The 54-hole circuit takes in JCB Golf and Country Club for the first time in what is set to be one of the circuit's standout events. The field includes the likes of US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau as well as LIV's other stars like Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka.

Paul Casey is one of those, with the veteran Englishman a winner of 15 European Tour titles through his career, where he made five Ryder Cup appearances.

Casey is happy to be back on home soil for the first time this year after not qualifying for The Open in Scotland last week, and he admits that the country is "starved" of golf compared to when he turned professional in the early 2000s.

"There's a huge appetite. As you know, golf in the UK is massive, one of the biggest golf markets in the world," Casey said ahead of the event, where grounds passes are sold out.

"Home game for me, which I'm very excited about, lots of friends and family coming up, even friends from up north coming down. I think we're going to have a lot of energy this week.

"I mean, the golf crowd in the UK are starved for golf, plain and simple. When I started playing it was six, seven professional events on various tours in the UK, and now there's a lot fewer than that. I'm expecting high energy, and they're going to have a wonderful time here at LIV UK."

'Olympics ranks right up there as one of the greatest things I've ever done'

Casey also spoke about next week's Olympics, which he is missing out on after making his Team GB debut last time out in Tokyo. Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick will represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the 60-strong men's Olympic golf field.

The 47-year-old missed out on the bronze medal at Kasumigaseki Golf Club in a seven-man playoff and spoke of what the Olympics means to him as a golfer.

"I mean, let's focus on the hard bit of the playoff. To finish at the time tied third and then walk away with the Olympics with nothing is pretty sobering," he said.

"But it gave me an understanding of what it's like for Olympic athletes to sort of have something that you've worked so hard for, in our case, four years, and then sometimes your Olympic experience is quite humbling. 

"In our sport obviously very different, we play almost week in and week out. On the bright side, I've never been a part of anything like that, to represent your country at any level, and I've done it at an amateur level right through to professional. 

"The Olympics ranks right up there as one of the greatest things I've ever done, taking the results out of that. And that was a muted experience because it was Japan and it was COVID and we couldn't stay longer than our event lasted so you couldn't mingle the way you wanted to. Still, it was unbelievable. 

"Tommy [Fleetwood] was everything you could ever want for in terms of another teammate. I know we don't play as a team, but as my fellow Brit there on-site, and he and Matt [Fitzpatrick] this year, I think they're going to be absolutely fantastic for Team GB. 

"Part of me is actually very jealous because it really was something amazing, and I think Tommy and Matt have got a great chance of winning a medal, so I wish them all the best, and I'll be watching."

Casey currently ranks 13th in the LIV Golf League standings, with his Crushers GC side sitting second.