Casey: Ryder Cup win more important than money

Paul Casey is just one win away from a £1m (€1.48m) jackpot – but he wants to win the Ryder Cup even more next week.

Casey was asked the almost inevitable question of which he would rather have after knocking team-mate Colin Montgomerie out of the HSBC World Match Play Championship at the semi-final stage at Wentworth today.

Four years ago, Tiger Woods sparked a real debate about how much the Ryder Cup meant to him when he opted for a world championship win, but Casey replied: “I’m not greedy. I hope to play this game for a long time, so I would take a team win next week.”

He will play Shaun Micheel – conqueror of Woods in the first round – in the 36-hole final after the American’s last-green victory over Swede Robert Karlsson, but although there is £400,000 (€593,802) to soften the blow for the loser there is more than just the money to motivate Casey.

Lifting the trophy would take him ahead of David Howell at the top of the European Order of Merit – a list Howell has led since beating Tiger Woods in the opening event in Shanghai last November.