Casey turns the heat up as hacks complain of big freeze

Charlie Mulqueen

Whether this was an American ploy to upset their guests hasn’t been ascertained, but the air conditioning was going full belt all day and while it was 81 degrees outside, it felt like the temperature inside was below freezing.

The 27-year-old Englishman served further early notice that he won’t

allow himself to be psyched out by the Yanks and even used the spectacular 75.3 metre-long Virgin Airways

Airbus in which the European team travelled to put one over on his hosts.

“It’s the longest plane in the world, 16 feet longer than the American-built Boeing,” he goaded.

“The Europeans are longer, I guess. We had a lot of fun on the plane with Virgin Atlantic. They made us feel very special. The team spirit was fantastic. It was my first flight in that kind of situation. It was a lot of fun and one I would like to repeat in four years’ time. We probably get along better because of where we play. We are forced to interact with each other. If the Americans were in the situation where they stayed at the same hotels and shared courtesy cars, they would probably get along very well.

“Do I think the American team spirit is bad? No, I just think the European team spirit is exceptional.”

Casey came to a difficult decision on Sunday evening when he decided to sack his caddy Ken Conboy and replace him with Craig Connelly, a Glaswegian and Celtic supporter. His timing is sure to be questioned but he explained: “The spark was gone.”

England’s Queen Elizabeth is not known to be interested in golf but she may be casting an eye towards Detroit at the weekend. Emily Doughty, a former member of the European Tour media staff, is now PA to the assistant private secretary to the queen, and happens to be the girlfriend of European team member David Howell.

Howell has played only four tournaments on the US Tour and so is the least experienced European on US courses. It could mean he will be restricted to just one outing before Sunday’s 12 singles but either way the likeable 29-year-old from Swindon will be a great team man.

He said: “There have always been some unsung heroes in the Ryder Cup, predominantly from the European side, as it was for Paul McGinley when he sank the winning putt. You couldn’t ask for more than that.”