Defending champion Paul Casey has withdrawn from the Houston Open
because of a left shoulder injury.
Casey said Thursday that his shoulder feels "pinched" and is
restricting his backswing. He says one of his rib muscles is also
tight, but it's unrelated to the rib injury that limited him to two
European Tour events over the last five months of 2009.
The 32-year-old Englishman is hoping the latest injury is
"just a one-week thing" and won't keep him out of next week's
Masters.
"I'm visibly disappointed not to be going out there and
playing today," Casey said. "But I've got to worry about the rest
of the season and after last year's experience, trying to play
through an injury, I tried to do that for two weeks and it ended up
costing me six months. The last thing I can afford to do is try and
push it and cost myself any more time."
Casey has four top-10 finishes in four PGA Tour starts this
year. He tied for fourth at the Honda Classic at Palm Beach,
Florida, and tied for sixth at the CA Championship at Doral,
Florida.
He defeated J.B. Holmes in a playoff in Houston last year,
his first and only PGA Tour victory. Casey said he probably won't
hit balls for 2-3 days and will stay in Houston to get treatment on
his shoulder.
"We'll keep looking at it and keep taking care of it," Casey
said. "Unfortunately, that's what I have to do."
