Irishman explains how he looked after Padraig Harrington's mum...
Thursday 18 September 2014 13:44, UK
The festivities of the Ryder Cup are edging closer – but European skipper Paul McGinley is not in the mood to party.
In his latest Sky Sports Q&A, the Irishman revealed how deadly serious he is taking his role as he tries to lead his continent to a sixth win over America in seven competitions
McGinley gave an insight into what his key tasks are prior to meeting up with his players early next week at Gleneagles and insisted that while his plans are running smoothly, he has yet to nail down his pairings.
So read on to hear from Paul on those topics – as well as how he protected Padraig Harrington’s mother during the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor – before logging back onto skysports.com on Tuesday for his final Q&A before battle commences in Perthshire…
Are you like a kid awaiting Christmas counting down to the Ryder Cup?
PAUL SAYS: I am excited, yes, but it’s nothing like Christmas. There is a tough week and a big job ahead for all of us and it’s not going to be a party, I can assure you of that. I feel like I am resting up more than anything else at the moment and am focussing on making sure I am mentally sharp for what’s to come.
So rather than being a whirlwind, is it the calm before the storm?
PAUL SAYS: Very much so. All the decisions have been made and all the plans are in place, with the only thing left for me now that little bit of communication with the players.
I had dinner on Wednesday night with the members of my team that are playing in the Wales Open – Lee Westwood, Jamie Donaldson, Stephen Gallacher and Thomas Bjorn – and, without going into great detail, I told them things about timings, schedule and other little details.
I spoke to all the players last week and I will speak to the guys not at Celtic Manor at the backend of this week. So I have been keeping everyone in the loop and my message at this point is very much one of ‘rest up’ as they have all done great to make the team.
I’m sure heading to Celtic Manor will bring back great memories of Europe’s 2010 Ryder Cup win. Can you remember your emotions and what you were doing when Graeme McDowell sank the winning putt?
PAUL SAYS: It was a great event that obviously went down to the wire and onto a thrilling Monday due to the adverse weather. As one of Colin Montgomerie’s vice-captains, I was on the periphery of the green watching things unfold with Padraig Harrington’s mum. When everyone bundled onto the putting surface after Europe won and all hell broke loose, my first concern was to make sure she was okay. I got her into my car and back into the safety of the clubhouse.
How does the schedule work from here on out for you and the players?
PAUL SAYS: The players in Wales will go up to Gleneagles late on Sunday night, while the rest of my team will arrive at various time on Monday and our first official practice round is on Tuesday.
There are always chops and changes throughout a Ryder Cup, with players feeling particularly good or not particularly good and relationships growing stronger throughout the week.
And are your foursomes and four-balls pairings set in stone or flexible?
PAUL SAYS: They are not settled, far from it. I have got a skeleton plan and an overall idea of what I want to do but there is room for manoeuvre throughout the week.
From observing practice rounds and speaking to the players, I will be able see if things need to move or remain the same but there are always chops and changes throughout a Ryder Cup, with players feeling particularly good or not particularly good and relationships growing stronger throughout the week.
I need to have flexibility so I can deal with whatever situations occur.
One big decision, of course, was to omit Luke Donald from your team. Was that the hardest call you have had to make?
PAUL SAYS: It was tough, of course it was, as I have a strong personal relationship with Luke, but I knew from when I was offered the job that I was going to have to make some hard calls. You have to be cold and analyse the way you want to go with your vice-captains’ help and I am delighted with my line-up.
However, there are so many strong European players playing so well throughout the world that people are always going to be disappointed and that will be the case for future European captains because our continent is now so well stocked with a body of top players.
There were times when we struggled to find 12 strong players but that’s certainly not happening now and the team is as strong as it has ever been from one to 12.
Sky Sports’ Twitter hashtag for the Ryder Cup is #bringthenoise. We hope it’s going to be loud and surely you’re the same?
PAUL SAYS: Of course. What makes the Ryder Cup stand out is the noise, the passion and the fervour of the crowd and I know that the stronger those things are the more pumped up the players will be. It will have a knock-one effect and the players will feed off that because they love big atmospheres. I want our fans to provide a platform for them to play great golf.
Watch exclusive coverage of all three days of the 2014 Ryder Cup - Sep 26-28 - on Sky Sports' dedicated Ryder Cup channel and via the Sky Sports for iPad app's dedicated Ryder Cup Match Centre.
