Casey looking forward to DJ showdown

2:58

Paul Casey is looking forward going up against Dustin Johnson in the final round of the Valspar Championship

Paul Casey is relishing the chance to lock horns with Dustin Johnson in the final round at the Valspar Championship in Florida.

Casey, the defending champion, holds a one-shot lead over the world No 1 after 54 holes and the pair will go out together in the final group on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort on Sunday.

Flashback: Casey thwarts Tiger

A look back at last year’s Valspar Championship in which Paul Casey held off Tiger Woods and Patrick Reed

The 41-year-old, who has never previously defended a title in his professional career, held a three-shot lead over the American as they entered the closing stages of the third round, but Johnson birdied the 18th after a superb second shot from a fairway bunker and Casey then bogeyed the same hole.

Paul Casey is bidding to become the first man to retain the Valspar Championship title

“I feel really good,” Casey told Sky Sports. “I played well, really nicely, it’s a very crispy golf course and a very difficult one. I would have loved to have kept a two-shot advantage over the world No 1 but I am looking forward to playing against him.

“He’s got so much ability. Everybody talks about his length but his touch around the greens is just remarkable. He’s got so many tools in his tool-box that are going to be difficult to go up against.”

Johnson and Casey previously went head-to-head in the 2016 BMW Championship with the American prevailing by three shots after they both closed with five-under 67s, and it has given the Englishman a taste for more.

Dustin Johnson finished tied for fifth in The Players Championship last week

“We had a tussle and separated from the field and it’s what you want to do,” added Casey. “You want to be playing against the best on a great golf course like this.”

Casey overturned a five-shot deficit in the final round last year when he edged out Patrick Reed and Tiger Woods and is optimistic he can retain the trophy.

He said: “I feel very different from this position last year, obviously I wasn’t in the lead going into the final round last year, but I’m very relaxed, I’m very chilled and I’d desperately like to win another one of those [trophies].

“Last year I was sort of hoping and wanting to win and now I know I can, and that puts me in a very different mind-set, a good mind-set.”

2:04

World No 1 Dustin Johnson is feeling ‘really confident’ after closing to within one shot of the lead at the Valspar Championship

Johnson is chasing his 21st PGA Tour success and carded his 14th consecutive round in the 60s as his birdie at the 18th gave him a four-under 67.

“I’m really confident with the game right now,” he said.

2:47

Louis Oosthuizen reflects on his 66 in the third round of the Valspar Championship and talks about his shoes and The Masters

“I feel like everything is going really well. I’ve been playing really solid for the last few weeks and I’m pleased with it. Today was another really solid day. I gave myself quite a lot of opportunities [and] missed quite a few short opportunities, but this golf course is tough, the greens are tough.”