KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. -- Hal Sutton cant begin to imagine why Paul Casey would feel so hostile towards Americans ' particularly the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
I cant really figure out why he hates us, said Sutton, who captained the U.S. side in a losing effort two months ago. I thought we were pretty good sports at Detroit.’
A headline quoting Casey in Wednesdays The Mirror newspaper read: Americans are stupid. I hate them.
Casey also used hate in expressing his feelings towards the U.S. Ryder Cup team. He later backed off those statements, apologizing for using such an explosive word.
The word hate was my error. I shouldnt have used it, he said.
You know, hate is a pretty strong word, said Sutton, who is representing the U.S. as a player in this weeks UBS Cup. I wish for his sake that he had put more thought into it before he used things like that.
I dont know where hes coming from with that. Maybe hes got problems within himself that causes him to say that, I dont know.
Casey went to school at Arizona State. The 27-year-old Englishman resides in Scottsdale, Ariz., has an American girlfriend and an American coach. He expects to play more on the PGA Tour next season, but he might not get the warmest reception out here, said Sutton.
Casey went 1-1-0 in his Ryder Cup debut at Oakland Hills outside of Detroit, Mich. The European team won 18 -9 , their largest-ever margin of victory in 35 Ryder Cup Matches.
I thought the Ryder Cup was played with a lot of good sportsmanship, you know, and they beat us fairly handily, Sutton said. You dont have anything like that to say about the other team when something like that happens.’
Casey also criticized the choice of Tom Lehman as captain of the U.S. team in 2006 in Ireland, citing Lehman’s part in the celebration on the 17th green in the ’99 Ryder Cup at Brookline.
‘I think Tom will be a great captain,’ Sutton said. ‘He’s a good human being and fierce competitor, loves to win. He’ll be great.’
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