GOLF EUROPEAN AND US TOURS:IT PROMISES to be an interesting weekend for Paul McGinley at Gleneagles, the place where he might well lead Europe in the 2014 Ryder Cup.
Six under par at halfway in the Johnnie Walker Championship, the Dubliner could be the man to stop Simon Dyson and Alvaro Quiros qualifying for Europe’s Ryder Cup team. They both have to win just to have a chance. But that is not all. Between the final two rounds McGinley will sit down with Colin Montgomerie and fellow assistant captains Thomas Bjorn and Darren Clarke to decide who gets the three wild cards.
“I’ve got private views, but I think they should remain private,” McGinley said before admitting that it was “a shame” that his close friend Pádraig Harrington, Paul Casey and Luke Donald have not crossed the Atlantic this past fortnight to try to make the side on points.
Edoardo Molinari and Justin Rose, 21st and 22nd in the world, are also needing one of Montgomerie’s three picks.
The wild cards are being announced an hour after the tournament, where Dyson and Quiros are trying to force their way past Miguel Angel Jimenez or Peter Hanson for the last two automatic spots.
Harrington, Casey, Donald and Rose all stand accused of not supporting the European Tour as much as they could and on whether at least one place should therefore go to someone who has, McGinley stated: “It’s a very strong argument both ways, no doubt. It’s a dilemma. It’s a real dilemma.
“I can’t say which way I lean. It wouldn’t be fair for me to say. I don’t want to say anything that’s going to drag the attention away from Monty.
“None of us has given a strong opinion yet. We’ve just thrown all the balls up in the air, plusses and minuses of each player. Nothing definitive. The ideal situation is if the boys had qualified. That’s what we wanted.
“Pádraig was a thousand euros out of the team before last week. Make up your own mind. It’s disappointing — Pádraig is a world-class player, but he’s in for a pick and by his own admission from what I’ve read he doesn’t feel he has his schedule quite right.”
Montgomerie, who missed the cut when a 76 dropped him to three over at Gleaneagles, will keep an eye on events in Scotland as well as at The Barclays, but has been impressed with Harrington’s attitude.
“Pádraig, when his back’s to the wall, has done awfully well in the past,” Montgomerie said. “So all credit to him for showing some form when he has to.
“I was very interested in the way he reacted to taking six at the last (at the US PGA two weeks ago) to miss the cut by one. Within five minutes of signing his card he was on the range.
“That says a lot about what he wants to do and wants to achieve. That says a lot.”
Dyson shot a two-under 70 yesterday to move to six under, the same mark as Jimenez (68) and Hanson (69), while Quiros has his work cut out after a 71 left him on one under. Wilcard hopeful Edoardo Molinari is also on six under after a 68.
France’s Julien Guerrier, who carded a 67 and the English duo of Gary Boyd and David Lynn, who both shot 68, are tied for the lead on nine under .
Damien McGrane shot a 67 yesterday to move to five under, while Simon Thornton also made the cut after a second successive 71 left him on two under.
Shane Lowry, Peter Lawrie and Gary Murphy all missed out on the weekend action.
