Paul Casey’s hopes of a successful return to competition after 12 weeks sidelined by a torn rib muscle came to nought yesterday when he was beaten twice on the opening day of the Volvo World Match Play Championship — first by Scott Strange, the unheralded Australian, and then by a resurgent Anthony Kim.

While Casey will have been encouraged that his damaged rib muscles held up for 36 holes of golf played over the hilly terrain of the Finca Cortesin course, west of Málaga, he will also have known that, with three events left, his chances of climbing from No 4 to No 1 in the European Tour rankings have been dented.

Not that those above him in the Race to Dubai (the renamed Order of Merit) fared any better. Lee Westwood, who lost by six holes to Jeev Milkha Singh, of India, will need to win his two remaining matches today to have any chance of advancing to the knockout stages, as will Rory McIlroy, who was beaten by five holes by Ángel Cabrera, the Masters champion from Argentina. Martin Kaymer also lost twice and the German will play his final round-robin match today with little more to play for than pride.

Among the other casualties on a day of surprises was Sergio García, the home favourite, who lost to Oliver Wilson, of England, and then halved his match with Robert Allenby. García was a notable scalp for Wilson, as was Kaymer, and if the English Ryder Cup player halves or wins his final match today against Allenby, he will go through to the semi-finals tomorrow.

But if there is one potential semi-final that is certain to capture the imagination it would be one between Kim and Allenby. At the Presidents Cup in San Francisco three weeks ago, Allenby accused Kim (who denied it) of coming in “sideways” after a night out. Kim thrashed Allenby 5 and 3 then, but it did not stop the Australian from suggesting his opponent was “the loosest cannon in that [United States] team . . . golf’s current John Daly”. Peace might have broken out, but it would not stop Kim from wanting to prove a point once more.

Watching him going about his business yesterday was highly impressive. He has not had a good year, but he has put injuries behind him, has rediscovered his old swagger and is playing beautifully — as nine birdies and two eagles in his two matches would suggest.

After beating Retief Goosen by four holes — in this format all matches are played over the full 18 holes — the 24-year-old American then proceeded to keep Casey at arm’s length, matching anything the Englishman did with outstanding shots of his own. Three up at the turn, he won by the same margin and, barring calamity, will go through to the knockout stage.

Kim is not without his supporters, among them Corey Pavin, next year’s US Ryder Cup captain. “Anthony is a good kid with great talent,” he said. “He’s a young guy and we’ve all done things that maybe we shouldn’t have done and that we regret. He’s still growing up.”

Kim concurred. “There is a time and place for everything,” he said. “My mother has been telling me that since I was four years old and she still scares me. Sometimes it is easy to forget and say, ‘I’m 24, I’ll do whatever I want.’ But I understand there are lots of kids that look up to me.”

There were good victories for two other Englishmen. Ross Fisher beat Camilo Villegas, the Colombian, by two holes and Simon Dyson beat Henrik Stenson, of Sweden, by three.

Scores

Group A: P Casey (GB) lost to S Strange (Aus) 1 hole; R Goosen (SA) lost to A Kim (US) 4 holes; Casey lost to Kim 3 holes; Goosen bt Strange 1 hole.
Group B: S García (Sp) lost to O Wilson (GB) 1 hole; M Kaymer (Ger) lost to R Allenby 1 hole; García halved with Allenby; Kaymer lost to Wilson 1 hole.
Group C: H Stenson (Swe) lost to S Dyson (Eng) 3 holes; R McIlroy (GB) lost to Á Cabrera (Arg) 5 holes.
Group D: L Westwood (GB) lost to J M Singh (India) 6 holes; C Villegas (Col) lost to R Fisher (GB) 2 holes.