Casey's Cup place under threat

Paul Casey’s position in the ninth and last automatic spot on Europe’s Ryder Cup looked even more precarious today.

Sweden’s Peter Hanson led by one midway through the third round of the Czech Open in Celadna and England’s Simon Dyson, also seeking the win which would oust Casey, was tied for second.

Casey has controversially chosen to miss the last two qualifying events and as a result could be left fighting for one of Colin Montgomerie’s three wild cards with Padraig Harrington, Justin Rose, Luke Donald and World Cup winner Edoardo Molinari.

Hanson, 15th on the points table, resumed joint leader with compatriot Fredrik Widmark and broke clear with a birdie on the 360-yard fourth.

Six pars in a row followed to keep him at eight under par, while Dyson hit back from a bogey on the short third with birdies at the fifth, sixth and 11th.

The York golfer, joint 12th with Casey in the USPGA Championship last week, shared second spot with Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez, who had his own Ryder Cup agenda.

The co-designer of the Prosper Resort is currently eighth in the cup race, but has the chance this weekend to go ahead of both Italian Francesco Molinari and England’s Ross Fisher.

That is important because Jimenez – like Casey, Harrington, Rose and Donald - is not planning to play next week’s race-ending Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. He is due to attend a nephew’s wedding instead.

The 46-year-old from Malaga, only three under at halfway, turned in 33 with birdies at the fourth, seventh and ninth and matched Dyson’s three on the 11th.

There was potential danger ahead, though. Ireland’s Gary Murphy put four balls in the water on the short 15th and with an 11 there signed for an 85.

Australian Tim Stewart, meanwhile, also ran up an 11 on the 453-yard last in his 87. Not surprisingly, they were in joint last place on 15 over.

The three Ryder Cup hopefuls were, amazingly, all tied for the lead when Dyson added another birdie on the 335-yard 13th and Jimenez closed with his fifth for a best-of-the-day 67.

Hanson had not had a bogey for 22 holes, but he had managed only three birdies in that spell.