Czech-mate for Casey | Thebigtip

Does representative sport mean nothing to Englishmen anymore?

After the debacle of England's World Cup campaign where only a clutch of players looked proud to wear the shirt, this quickly spreading disease of 'unpatrioticitis' has reared its ugly head in the game of golf.

Last Thursday morning Paul Casey was still in Colin Montgomerie's top nine as an automatic pick for the Ryder Cup European team. In a precarious position however, he should have been nervously looking over his shoulder at the likes of Simon Dyson and Peter Hanson, who, with good displays in the final two events of the year, could quite easily leapfrog the world number nine.

In a bizarre decision however, he ignored the urge to defend his position and chose not to play at the Czech Open, the penultimate event of the season for those wishing to accumulate Ryder Cup points.

With his Ryder Cup place in such jeopardy he had to play. But he didn't. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who was cheering on Hanson and Dyson come the weekend.

The fact is, Casey took a massive risk. If representing Europe meant that much to him, he would have played at the Czech Open. And played out of his skin.

He left his position in the hands of others, which says that he doesn't care. For that reason alone, I was delighted to see Peter Hanson lift the trophy on Sunday evening and catapult himself into Ryder Cup reckoning at the perfect time.

Yes, Casey has Ryder Cup experience and there is no doubting his ability as a golfer. But when the Ryder Cup gets underway at Celtic Manor in October, Colin Montgomerie will want a team of hungry and committed young men on his side if he is to bring the trophy back to European soil. Given Casey's decision to bypass the Czech Open, his hunger and commitment have to be questioned.

On the other hand, you have Miguel Angel Jiminez. He, like Casey, still had work to do to secure his spot in Monty’s automatic nine players. He went to the Czech Republic, and played some wonderful golf, particularly in Saturday’s stunning round of 67, which took him into a tie for second spot going into the final day. Failure to replicate this form on the Sunday meant he finished only in a tie for seventh, a result that dropped him to ninth in the Ryder Cup standings.

With only the Johnnie Walker Classic remaining to put points on the board, Jiminez could apparently only sit and hope, having already declared himself out of the event due to a clash with his nephew’s wedding.

But today, the Spaniard has made the kind of U-turn that Casey should have made last Monday. He will now play at Gleneagles this week. And I for one hope he gets the result his desire, commitment and focus deserves.

It will be nothing short of a travesty if Jiminez doesn’t make the team now, even if he doesn’t do it via an automatic spot. It is a quite conceivable scenario that in seven days time Captain Montgomerie could be left with a straight choice between Casey and Jiminez to make up the numbers and I know without a shadow of a doubt who I would choose, and I only hope that Monty sees it the same way.

Do you think Jiminez can win the Johnnie Walker Classic this weekend?

Get the best odds with Betfair. Jiminez victory $24

Odds correct as at 10.33am Tuesday 24 August 2010