Golf Central

Englishman Paul Casey may be taking an unusual route to realising his dream of playing on his third straight European Ryder Cup team - by playing the PGA Tour in the United States full-time.

Casey hasn't been a regular PGA Tour card-holder since the 2005 season, but the big-hitting 30-year-old from Cheltenham has announced he's taking advantage of his fully exempt status in the US this season. Said Casey: "The way I want to get in the Ryder Cup is world ranking points," he said. "It doesn't matter where I play, I just need to play well."

The European team will be composed of five players at the top of the European Order of Merit, which began its tally in September. The next five eligible players will come off a list of Official World Golf Rankings points, also earned since September. With Casey eligible for all four majors and the three World Golf Championships events, he'll only need to add four regular Euro Tour events to keep his card on this side of the pond.

He's in a similar position to the red-hot Swedish-Indian Daniel Chopra, who wasn't dreaming of the Ryder Cup until two wins in the last three months on the PGA Tour; and Jesper Parnevik, the stylish veteran who finished off his 2008 on a hot streak. All three can take solace from knowing that they'll also be under the watchful eye of the man who matters most: European captain Nick Faldo, who will spend most of 2008 broadcasting from the US PGA Tour.