GOLF/Irish Open: If Paul McGinley ever thought his season couldn't get any worse, he was wrong. In a year of cruel twists and turns, another ill wind contrived to bring further bad fortune to the 39-year-old Dubliner yesterday, when he retired from the Nissan Irish Open after 13 holes - unlucky? - to undergo immediate knee surgery that looks certain to rule him out of tournament play for at least a month, and possibly longer.
The injury, which first occurred 20 years ago when he broke his left kneecap playing Gaelic football and which necessitated surgery in November 2004, could even put a doubt over his fitness for the Ryder Cup in September.
"I've been having problems in my knee for some time now and the discomfort has increased to the extent that it was affecting my ability to play shots," said McGinley, who was in obvious pain at Carton House yesterday and last evening booked into Cappagh Hospital in Finglas for surgery to remove a piece of broken bone floating in the knee, due to be carried out by Ray Moran, the brother of former Irish international and Manchester United footballer Kevin.
Although a statement issued on McGinley's behalf indicated the surgery on his knee was "minor," the operation was scheduled to be under general anaesthetic. When the player - currently in seventh position in the automatic Ryder Cup table - considered similar surgery last November and subsequently postponed because it was not deemed to be necessary, he envisaged a 10-week break from the sport.
In this instance, the impact of McGinley's operation has been to force him out of the Irish Open (where he was six-over after those 13 holes, before making the decision to withdraw during a six-hour break in play due to high winds and the threat of thunderstorms). He is virtually certain to miss next week's BMW Championship, the European Tour's flagship event, and a tournament he was runner-up in last year, and the following week's Wales Open, while he is also extremely doubtful for next month's US Open at Winged Foot, in New York.
McGinley had come into the Irish Open on the back of four successive missed cuts, stretching back to the Players Championship at Sawgrass in March. His plight is a stark contrast to the situation that ensued last November when he won the Volvo Masters, and moved up to third in the Ryder Cup qualifying and to a career-high 18th in the official world rankings. He has since dropped to 32nd.
In the aftermath of that win at Valderrama, Colin Montgomerie remarked: "I think Paul's all but sealed his Ryder Cup place with this win, and we need as many Irish on that team as possible." Yet, McGinley has always refused to look too far ahead and, back in January, prior to his recent poor run of tournaments, commented: "My main focus is to cement my cup spot. I'm 90 per cent there, but the job's not done, and it's important to get that polished off and put away. Both times I've made the team, I've had to do it at the end. The last time, I played 10 events in a row to make it, so it would be nice to avoid that."
The recurrence of the injury is untimely. McGinley, who is fifth on the European Points list with €1,228,273, putting him seventh in the overall qualifying table, believes he needs to reach €1.5 million to be safe.
On Wednesday, the eve of the Irish Open, McGinley stated: "Destiny is in my own hands, I can't rely on anyone else . . . it's up to me, the ball is in my court."
Destiny, now, has been placed in the hands of his surgeon and how quickly he can recover from the operation. The decision to go ahead with it was taken after consultation with his English-based surgeon Andy Unwin and McGinley left Carton House to be admitted into Cappagh Hospital.
The knee had been drained on Wednesday in an effort to alleviate the pain, but the player's discomfort yesterday was such that the medical opinion was that immediate surgery was required.
Apart from the seriousness of the knee injury and the consequences which have rendered his immediate tour schedule very uncertain, McGinley was unwittingly involved in an incident which led to one of his playing partners, Ken Ferrie, receiving a two strokes penalty in yesterday's first round.
Ferrie's ball moved on the 14th green, his fifth, prior to him addressing it and, rather than playing it as it lay, the Englishman replaced it to its original place. Ferrie asked his two playing partners, McGinley and Ian Poulter, what he should do. "Paul did advise me that I could replace my ball, which I later realised was inaccurate. At no time did I suggest Paul had acted improperly as his integrity is beyond question," said Ferrie, who subsequently called a referee and was told that he had taken the wrong action.
McGinley expressed sympathy for Ferrie's actions, which resulted in a two-stroke penalty and a quadruple bogey eight on the hole.
"We gave our opinions in good faith and I am not going to dignify any accusations of gamesmanship on my behalf as they are totally groundless," said McGinley.
