AS SENATOR CLAY Davis explained to Stringer Bell in the HBO’s The Wire, “Crawl, walk, and then run.”

Paul Casey had similar sentiments after winning the Volvo Golf Champions event in Bahrain on Sunday. “How are you going to win Major Championships if you can’t win regular events?” he asked.

Casey kept his cool to sink a six-footer on the 72nd hole to win by a shot from Sweden’s much-improved Peter Hanson and the Tour’s most famous Rioja drinker and cigar smoker Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Jimenez, incidentally, was at the centre of a bizarre situation on day two, which saw him make three birdies using his lob wedge as a putter after snapping the flat blade in two.

In winning, Casey ended a 20-month drought stretching back to the 2009 BMW PGA Championship. Having 666 as your hotel room number, which Casey had this week, may have unsettled some, but in fact, the Englishman did his own treble by winning the two pro-ams that coincided with the event, and of course the event itself.

The final day was notable for the amount of players in contention in the final round. While last week’s event in Abu Dhabi was a procession for Martin Kaymer, there were no fewer than 23 changes at the summit of the leaderboard on Sunday and it took the last putt on the last hole to seal the deal.

Whether Casey goes on to win a Major only time will tell, but his comments offer advice that Rory McIlroy and his fans could do with taking on board. There’s no doubting that Ulsterman has the talent to win Majors, but let’s not forget that he has only won two events in two full seasons on tour.

He’s done the crawling, but a little more walking ie a few more regular tour wins, are probably required before he can run and win a Major.

Speaking of Ulstermen, Darren Clarke had a fine tournament, finishing in a tie for eighth place. There was a notable improvement in his putting for which he is sure to be thanking new Ryder Cup Captain Jose Maria Olzabal, but certainly not former Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie.
Olazabal generously gave Clarke some putting tips at the beginning of the week.

Monty, on the other hand, the designer of the weekend’s course in Bahrain, was heavily criticised from many corners about the standard of the greens on the course. Ian Poulter was particularly open with his criticism, telling all of his 1million or so followers on Twitter in no uncertain terms what he thought of the course and its architect.

Those who thought Pádraig Harrington’s multiple swing changes were working after he lead in Abu Dhabi last week, only to be disqualified, might need to think again as he finished in 58th. Close behind were Peter Lawrie in 59th and Michael Hoey in 63rd.

Over in America, a dramatic finish to the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines saw Bubba Watson take home title. Watson’s chipping made the difference, particularly on the back-nine where he made three birdies and no bogeys. It was a 15-foot putt on the final green, however, which ultimately won it for him.

Watson was put under pressure over the final holes by last week’s winner Jhonnathan Vegas and Phil Mickelson who moved up to number four in the World Rankings. Vegas gambled on the par-five 18th hole as he needed an eagle to force a playoff, but he ran out of luck, dumping his ball into the water on the second shot.

Mickelson also needed an eagle to force a playoff. Faced with a 70-80 yard pitch shot, he ordered his caddy Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay to remove the flagstick so Mickelson could spin the ball into the hole. We know he’s good, but he’s not that good. That said, even most professionals wouldn’t be able to get it within three feet under that pressure as Mickelson did.

Tiger Woods made his first start of the season and the early signs looked positive as he opened up with two rounds of three under par (69). He followed that up on the weekend, however, rounds of two over and three over. To paraphrase Fianna Fail, he’s certainly not there yet, but he’s getting there.

Talking points