The Irish Golf Club Gazette: 10/03/12

10/03/2012

McGinley Welcomes Player Support

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Paul McGinley has welcomed support from Europe's leading players tipping him as the main contender to replace Jose Maria Olazabal as captain for the 2014 Ryder Cup.

Ryder Cup-winning duo Peter Hanson and Rory McIlroy have both backed McGinley, one of Olazabal's vice-captains at the magical Medinah triumph last weekend, for the top role after the Spaniard confirmed that he will not be not standing for the post again.

McGinley has a distinguished history in team golf, playing in successful Ryder Cup campaigns from 2002 to 2006 and holing the winning putt as a rookie at the Belfry 10 years ago.

The 45-year-old has also captained Great Britain and Ireland to victories in the past two Seve Trophy tournaments with world No.1 McIlroy saying: "He was fantastic there and has also been a fantastic vice-captain."

Asked about the possibility of replacing Olazabal, McGinley told Sky Sports: "Listen, it's a great honour for anyone who becomes Ryder Cup captain, there's no doubt about that and I'm not going to say otherwise. But ultimately it's not up to me, it's for other players to decide.

"Rory came out the other day saying it (backing me) but we'll just have to wait and see how things evolve over the next few months and down the line. All I can say is, I've captained Great Britain and Ireland twice before and I thoroughly enjoyed it."

Speaking on Europe's remarkable turnaround against America in Chicago, McGinley praised Olazabal's tactics throughout the event.

He added: "Normally we're so strong on the first two days then the Americans are strong in the singles but it was actually turned on its head last week. I think Ollie's decision to play all 12 players the first day didn't benefit us the first two days but we certainly got that kick back on the Sunday."

Sweden's Hanson, who failed to pick up a point for Europe in their 14½-13½ triumph, added his support to McGinley's case for the position.

He said: "One guy that did a big, big job in the backroom was Paul McGinley. Paul did a fantastic job, He knows everything about all the previous Ryder Cups with all the records. He is really the guy that in the backroom really helped out, so I would love to see Paul be a captain."

Hoey Has Hopes at Home of Golf

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Michael Hoey aims to inspire himself with a return to the Home of Golf as he prepares to defend his Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

The Northern Irishman claimed the biggest win of his career last year at St Andrews in the event where the first three rounds are played on the Old Course, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie, before the field return to the Home of Golf for the final round.Hoey backed up that display by winning the Trophée Hassan II in Morocco in March, although he has not had a top-20 finish since.

A closing 65 at the BMW Italian Open gave the 33 year old a tied 22nd place finish in Turin a fortnight ago, and Hoey hopes to build on that form.

“My last round of golf was a 65 in Italy, so that was kind of nice to try to that take with me,” he said. “I started putting well, and my swing is always a work in progress - but I feel like I'm closer to swinging the club well - and hopefully I will get inspired by the Home of Golf again, which I did last year.

“I just have to take the positives and Italy was good, so it's all about the putting. That's what I did last year, just putted really well and I feel my putting stroke is a lot better now.

“I just want to be more consistent. Tournaments like this if you're getting in the top ten, you're going to get a lot of World Ranking points and Race to Dubai points. That's the difference between smaller tournaments and bigger tournaments - you want to be able to play well in the big ones, really.”

Hoey also believes the pro-am format can help keep him relaxed, with a host of celebrities taking to the course.

“It's quite cold, so you've got to keep yourself warm and just be patient,” he added. “It's like a marathon, an all day long affair at each course.

“You can take your mind off your own game if you ask a guy about what he does for a living and it's always generally pretty interesting, because the guys are pretty connected. So I find it all interesting.”

Ryder Cup Time Needs to Count

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Now that the Ryder Cup is over, Luke Donald sets out to complete his European Tour schedule.

He has played 10 tournaments that count toward the required 13 events he must play, although he raised one point that Europe might want to consider.

Why shouldn't the Ryder Cup count?

The PGA Tour for years has counted the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup toward its minimum 15 events for membership. It's not an official event, and there is money or world ranking points offered.

But in terms of fulfilling commitments to the tour, it might be the longest week of the year.

"It's one of the busiest weeks we play all year, hence we'd like to get the European Tour to count it as a counting event," Donald said. "We actually do quite a lot of work that week."

Donald said he would bring it up to tour officials, and he raised an argument why it should count on Europe even more than it does on the PGA Tour. The European Tour has a financial stake in the Ryder Cup, while net proceeds on the other side of the Atlantic benefit only the PGA of America, not the PGA Tour.

He's not asking for money, only time.

"We all know what a big revenue maker it is for the European Tour," he said. "It's a privilege to play Ryder Cup, but it's still a week's worth of sacrifice. I think at the very least it should count as an event. I don't see why it should on one tour and not the other. I'll raise the question. Hopefully they'll change it. We'll see. I definitely have the backing of some of the other guys that play out here."

One of those is Rory McIlroy. They discussed it a week before the Ryder Cup, though the 23-year-old McIlroy is in good shape headed to the final few months of the season. McIlroy already has played in 11 events, and still has the Volvo Masters in Shanghai, plus one more in Asia before the Dubai World Championship.

"He made a pretty convincing case," McIlroy said of his conversation with Donald. "For guys playing a global schedule, the Ryder Cup should count toward one of those tournaments. Golf is the easy part in the Ryder Cup week. There's so much going on with gala dinners, photographs."

Early Glee for McGee at Frilford

Ruaidhri McGee is just one shot off the pace in the first stage of the European Tour Qualifying School after a five-star display at Frilford Heath.

The 21-year-old Derry-born former inter-provincial boys champion, who is now based in the Murcia region of Spain, carded a two-under-par 70 to give himself a chance of making progress.

Former Ulster U-15 champion McGee, who set up his own website and sold advertising to finance his golf, started with three birdies and had two more over the last three holes.

His blemishes came courtesy of a double-bogey six on the eighth and a bogey on the 17th.

Florida-based Chris Devlin, who hails from Ballymena, was the only other Irish player to keep in touch with the leaders at Frilford Heath. He had a 73.

Dubliner David Rawluk took 76 and there were 78's for Brian Casey and John-Daniel Guiney, with Mike Kelly slumping to an 82.

Welshman Liam Bond set the pace here with a splendid 67.

Meanwhile, at Ribagolfe in Portugal, Glen Robinson of St Helen's Bay carded three twos as he led the Irish charge with a 70 - one off the pace.

Andrew Hogan (73), Dara Lernihan (75) and Michael McGeady (76) all have work to do if they are to progress.