Paul Casey will turn 40 sitting just one shot off the lead in The Open championship.
But the “big party” he has in mind for Sunday night will be one kicked off by lifting the Claret Jug.
The Englishman carded a first round of 66 and has a quiet Friday night dinner planned for his milestone birthday.
Quiet wouldn’t be the best word to describe the celebrations if Casey is able to fulfil his childhood dream, however.
“Apparently life begins at 40 so maybe that’s a good omen for me,” Casey said after a round containing five birdies and just one bogey.
“It felt like I had to do something with a very strong leaderboard and everyone saying that bad weather is coming. It was a case of making hay while the sun shines so it was important to capitalise on the conditions.”
Casey’s Open preparations involved a 300-mile cycling holiday in Italy with his caddie John McLaren, who hit the headlines in October 2015 when he sacked Casey’s former Walker Cup partner, Luke Donald.
And it clearly hasn’t done him any harm.
“After taking the break with the cycling it’s nice to show people that the break has done me good,” he said. “I do 150-200 miles a week when I’m at home in Arizona.
“When Johnny came on the bag (in 2015) we had a five-year plan to win a major. The Open has never been the one I have fared the best in apart from St Andrews in 2010 (where he finished third), but I feel really good about this week. I don’t know why.
“Maybe I am more in love with links golf than before and this course helps.
“Birkdale might be my favourite course on the rota, even though I shanked one out of bounds on the first hole in 2008. It’s so fair and the bunkering is perfect.”
Fellow countryman and local favourite, Tommy Fleetwood, feared he had let his supporters down after making a disappointing six over par start.
He admitted: “They (the supporters) did their part, I just didn’t do mine.”
“It’s not very good but I’ve come back from bad rounds before.”
