The man has many roles: a player, a captain, a commentator, a father. On the range, Paul McGinley revels in the fact that he is back in the big time, two of his children – Niamh and Killian – watching attentively as he effortlessly strikes ball after ball off manicured turf, barely leaving a divot, into the distance.
For McGinley, his place in the field here at the 95th US PGA comes as part of the territory. Traditionally, current Ryder Cup captains are invited to play. He got the confirmation around the time of the BMW PGA at Wentworth back in May and, as he prepares to solider with his US counterpart Tom Watson for the next two days, his only concern is that he hasn’t played enough competitively. This is not a place to take a rusty game.
Still, for McGinley, the balancing act of bringing his game to the first tee and of getting to know potential players on his team – the newer breed especially, given that he has served his time on five winning Ryder Cup teams as a player with many of those who will carry the baton on to Gleneagles next year – is an important one. Yesterday for instance, he joined Shane Lowry and Joost Luiten in playing the back nine.
It is six years since McGinley last played in a US PGA (at Southern Hills in Tulsa) and four since his last appearance in any Major (in the 2009 British Open).
“I don’t know if I have any expectations, just really excited to be back playing in America. I’m really looking forward to playing. I know the test is tough. I haven’t played as much golf as I’d have liked and it’s going to be tough on me. But I’m going to rise to the challenge.”
The third man alongside McGinley and Watson for the opening two rounds is Darren Clarke, a long-time friend of McGinley's. That friendship, though, cooled after Clarke threw his hat into the ring for the European captaincy only to take it out again at the 12th hour after players, among them Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald, publically sided with McGinley.
Shook hands
McGinley and Clarke shook hands when they bumped into each other at the players' registration here.
“I knew I’d be playing with (Tom) Watson and Darren was drawn with us. That’s no problem. It doesn’t matter. Darren could be part of the team next year (in Gleneagles) and I’m certainly not going to burn any bridges or fall out with him. It’s a question of being professional about it, and I will be. And so will he. And we’ll move on.”
These days, his world revolves a lot around the Ryder Cup. “There is always things going on. It is not a question of changing things, its not that I want to reinvent things. I just want to take that template and enhance it and make it better and put it out there again. I have seen what works. I have been privileged to be inside five successful team rooms and I see things that have worked and things that might not necessarily work. What I want to do is enhance it, make it better and roll it out again.”
For now, though, the Ryder Cup has given him a route back to playing. Back in the Majors. Back in the USA. For now, it is about him. Time to play!
