Paul McGinley is heading back to London today in the hope of completing a move to a new home in the Surrey area within the next month. It reflects the Dubliner's determination to extend an arrangement that has transformed his tournament fortunes over the last two years.

After missing out on a place in the Volvo Masters in 1995, McGinley decided that a move to Britain was in his best interests. So he bought a house in Sunningdale and now he is seeking larger, more permanent accommodation for himself and his wife, Allison.

"Living where I do means that I pay British income tax, but that's only a marginal thing these days," he said yesterday. "The main reason has to do with travel. The simple fact is that 90 per cent of the flight connections for European Tour events are through Heathrow."

He went on: "Living in Sunningdale, I can be home at 8.30 on the Sunday night of a tournament. It also means that I don't have to get up at ungodly hours of the morning to catch flights out of Dublin. Those factors are extremely important in terms of my physical well-being."

So, he is seeking a new home either in the Sunningdale or Richmond areas. Meanwhile, he will continue to use the Sunningdale Golf Club for practice. The course clearly appeals to him judging from a round of 62 in a pro-am there three years ago.

"I want to get everything organised and out of the way so that I can concentrate on my plans for next season," he said. "I may go to the States for some practice early in the New Year but, either way, my first tournament appearance will be in the Malaysian Open in February. I will go from there to the Dubai Classic which starts on February 26th."

McGinley, who is retaining an apartment in Dublin, is mainly concerned with greater ease of air travel. Indeed the Surrey area has become something of a haven for tournament golfers of all nationalities, quite apart from such prominent residents as Colin Montgomerie.

Turning to the aftermath of the World Cup triumph by himself and Padraig Harrington, the Dubliner expressed disappointment at the lack of international recognition. "Knowing the quality of the field, the players would rate our success very highly," he said. "But it has no significant international dimension as far as officials are concerned."

He explained: "For instance, it will be of no help to me in getting into any of the American majors. And despite the fact that I was fourth in the individual table, there are no world ranking points. If anything, I probably dropped in the rankings that week."

McGinley, who rated his October win in the Oki Pro-Am as a significant breakthrough, added: "It will do wonders, however, for my international profile in the game - and that is bound to be a help with tournament invitations."

Meanwhile, after disappointing recent tournament performances in his native land, including a play-off defeat in the Australian Open, Greg Norman's mood received a further jolt last weekend. It had to do with the discovery that Seve Ballesteros will not, after all, be competing in the Holden Classic, organised by Norman, in February.

The Shark's manager, Frank Williams, claimed: "Greg came to an agreement that he would play in the Spanish Open at a considerably reduced fee and in return, Seve would play in our tournament in February on similar terms. Greg went to Madrid (last April) and did everything asked of him. But Roddy Carr, Seve's manager, rang to say that Seve would not be playing (in Australia).

"Greg is very disappointed. We agreed to Seve's demands to provide air tickets for his wife, his three children and a nanny. Now, we just get the feeling that he didn't want to come," Williams concluded: "I won't be making any further arrangements with Seve's management company."

In response, Carr has promised to look into the matter. "All I can think is that it's because of Seve's back problems," he said. "Seve has been playing in Argentina and Japan but had to pull out of an event in Japan after 10 holes because of a sore back."