Tour News/ Round-up: If patience is a virtue, Paul McGinley must be one of the most virtuous souls on tour.

This week, almost three years since his last tournament victory, the 37-year-old Dubliner continues his odyssey in the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, and while the main objective is to pursue an overdue win - he last claimed a title at the Wales Open in 2001 - McGinley is also chasing valuable world ranking points that could get him into next month's US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, in Wisconsin.

He needs to crash his way back into the world's top 100 to achieve that aim.

Having qualified for next week's British Open, McGinley is aware that only by competing - and playing well - in majors can he expect to reach the world ranking he believes is his just desert.

"My current ranking is not a fair reflection," insisted McGinley, now ranked 107th in the world, an improvement of 50 places on his position at the start of the season.

"Just look at the logistics of it. I was 33rd on the European Tour Order of Merit last year; I'm top-30 this year, and I'm 107th in the world . . . I haven't had a slump, I've had consistent finishes," said McGinley.

"But that's the system and I am not going to change it.

"I need a big finish somewhere to jump up the moneylist and up the world rankings. The distribution of points is top heavy, because when you're finishing 15th, 16th, 17th, which is still a pretty reasonable week, the points are minimal, and that's what has been happening to me.

"Darren Clarke's done the ideal thing. He's missed about seven or eight cuts, but when he has played well, in America, he's picked up lots of points. That's what the system rewards, big finishes."

Coming off a top-10 finish at the European Open, where he was the leading Irishman, McGinley believes he is currently playing better golf than in 2001, when he finished a career-high eighth on the money list.

"I'm hitting the ball so much farther, straighter and better than I did back then," he insisted.

"My short game is really good, but the standard is higher (on tour) and you have to shoot the lights out now for a top-10 finish.

"Everyone's benefited from the equipment changes over the past few years and you have to be on your game every week. I've just got to be patient and wait for my time to come."

McGinley has played well at Loch Lomond in the past, as have Darren Clarke - runner-up to Ernie Els last year - and Gary Murphy, who was fourth there a year ago, which got him a place in the British Open. Murphy will be looking for a similar result this week.

Graeme McDowell, who like McGinley is looking to break into the world's top 100 to get into the US PGA, and Peter Lawrie, looking a place in the British Open, are also competing.

McGinley is also looking to consolidate his challenge for a place on the European team for the Ryder Cup, and with that in mind he competes in the Scottish Open, British Open and Irish Open over the next three weeks.

But Jasper Parnevik has been forced out of this week's event in Loch Lomond because of a shoulder injury.

That was his last possible route into the British Open, and the Swede, who had entered for the Irish Open, in Baltray, will have to wait and see how the injury responds to treatment before deciding if he will return to this side of the Atlantic for the tournament in Baltray and the following week's Scandinavian Masters.

If he doesn't make it, then it is unlikely Parnevik will fulfil his commitment to play 11 events to retain membership of the European Tour.

Another US-based player who has recently taken up his European Tour membership again is Luke Donald, and the Englishman's runner-up finish to Stephen Ames in the Western Open has moved him up to 59th in the world rankings and to 13th position on Europe's Ryder Cup world rankings listing.

"I'm learning as I go along," admitted Donald, who turned professional after the 2001 Walker Cup.

"I think in my career I've always had a steady progression, and I'm progressing every year. I feel very comfortable out on tour. I'm looking forward to going home to play in the Open."

Donald qualified for Troon via the International Qualifying at Congressional last week, but in three previous appearances in the major he has never made the cut.

Meanwhile, Padraig Harrington intends to be one of the earliest to arrive at Troon in advance of the British Open.

The Dubliner plans to work with his coach, Bob Torrance, for a day in Largs this week before heading on up to Troon, where he will play 54 holes to become reacquainted with the course on which he finished fifth behind Justin Leonard in the 1997 British Open Championship.