After a 26-month absence, LIV Golf player Paul Casey will return to the DP World Tour with an appearance at the Porsche Singapore Classic.
As first reported by Sporting Life's Ben Coley, Casey is appearing at the tournament, which takes place between 21 and 24 March, on a sponsor’s invite, marking his first start on the Tour since the January 2022 Dubai Desert Classic, where he finished T12.
Singapore Classic field includes sponsors' invite Paul Casey, will be his first DPWT event since he joined LIV. Lowry headlines a pretty strong line-up, but does mean currently just one Q-School graduate gets a game.https://t.co/6G111fJLi4March 11, 2024
Later that year, the Englishman joined LIV Golf, and he has only played two events away from the circuit since, each on the Asian Tour.
The tournament previously didn’t have a title sponsor, but that all changed in January with the announcement that the sports car manufacturer had signed a multi-year deal to put its name to the Laguna National Golf Resort Club event.
Casey has an association with Porsche going back to the 2020 US Open, when he became an ambassador for the brand and began carrying the logo on his bag. The 46-year-old also describes himself as a “Porsche fan” in his Instagram bio.
Casey has amassed 15 wins on the DP World Tour since 2001, with one of them coming at the 2019 Porsche European Open. The most recent of his 21 professional wins also came on the circuit at the 2021 Dubai Desert Classic.
While Casey is yet to claim his maiden LIV Golf win, he began his career on it strongly, with three top-10 finishes in his first season. Last year wasn’t as productive, though, with fourth at LIV Golf Mayakoba his best effort as he finished 35th in the individual standings.
However, the 2024 season has started well for Casey, with two top-10 finishes from the opening four events, including a tie for second at last week’s LIV Golf Hong Kong. Casey will be hopeful that his next visit to the Far East yields similar success, which would also give him a welcome boost in the world rankings, where he currently stands 792nd having been 26th when he joined LIV Golf.
The Crushers GC player only needs to look at some of the performances of fellow LIV Golf players in recent DP World Tour events for inspiration. Five out of the first six DP World Tour events of the season were won by LIV golfers, with South Africans Dean Burmester and Louis Oosthuizen winning two each and Joaquin Niemann claiming the Australian Open title, all before the turn of the year.
Last year, Casey was handed a surprise invite to the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, but he later had to withdraw after aggravating toe and knee injuries. After pulling out, he said: “I feel awful that I get an invitation and then can’t play. I talked to [PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh] about it. He was great.”
Considering his strong start to the season, and with his injury problems apparently behind him, Casey will be hoping for better luck as he prepares for his first DP World Tour start for over two years.
