Paul Casey a Class Act Despite Ryder Snub

After the announcement from European Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie that would ultimately snub him from Ryder Cup participation, Paul Casey took the high road after learning the bad news.

Monty decided to use his captain picks on Luke Donald, Padraig Harrington, and Edoardo Molinari at a time when everyone thought Justin Rose (2 wins this season) and Casey would be the obvious choices. Upon hearing the news during his round at The Barclays last weekend, Casey had the following to say:

"I saw Caroline (Harrington's wife) gave Ronan [Flood] the thumbs-up on the seventh hole and then it went fairly quiet," said Casey, who later looked close to tears as the disappointment sunk in. "I figured that was it. Caroline's a great friend - she would have said something to me if I had been picked, so at that point I kind of knew that I hadn't."

When asked how he will react to this disappointing news, Casey responded:

"I probably need time to take it in. Simple fact is I'm not on the team. But I think Europe have got an unbelievable team and I wish them the best."

It is important to point out that Casey could have gone in one of two directions following this announcement: 1) he could have protested his omission on the team as loudly as he wished, and many fans would back him; or 2) go on with his business quietly and offer support to the Europeans.

Having chosen the second option, Casey further cemented his class-act status among golf fans in both American and Europe. However, should the United States retain the Cup, one could not blame Casey for potentially sending Montgomerie an "I told you so" note in the mail.