McGinley enjoying Ryder Cup revelry

HE tries to put Oakland Hills and the Ryder Cup out of his mind but it's not possible. He can't even walk the dog without noticing all the knowing looks.

And hard and all as he tries to move on, there's always somebody who raise the R word yet again.

However, Paul McGinley's not complaining. It's not a chore to bring the Ryder Cup to Croke Park on All-Ireland final day, even if his beloved Dublin are not involved. And anyway, who wouldn't want to talk about the day McGinley and Padraig Harrington clobbered Phil Mickelson and Davis Love III after handing them the first two holes - or of beating the world's 10th ranked golfer, Stewart Cink, in the singles.

McGinley stood beside Ryder teammates David Howell, Darren Clarke and Sergio Garcia at a company day on Monday and felt the pride oozing out of every pore.

"We did a question and answer thing and you could feel the electricity between the four of us," he glowed.

"That's the kind of bond you develop with people over the Ryder Cup and that's what makes it particularly special for me. The celebrations have been fantastic. The first day was a case of sobering up. Everybody had a rough night, well it wasn't a rough night. It was a wonderful night. We were all a little the worse for wear when we got on the flight but it was great. We all joined together. Everybody had a ball. We had dinner together - it wasn't a case of everybody going off and getting drunk. It was that camaraderie, that spirit, we didn't need anybody else. We were so happy in our own environment and when we went to the Irish bar, all the fans were there and they went crazy."

Looking back on two years previously when he famously holed the winning putt, McGinley talked about the only regret he's had in two successful Ryder Cup outings.

"It wasn't filmed," he lamented. "Lee Westwood was just hilarious. But we have some pictures this time and I'm looking forward to seeing them. You want to keep the memories. You play hard, you party hard. Darren is the best example of that. He had such a big role in the team this year, a lot of responsibility on his shoulders. He played fantastically well and then he blew out. There was so much inside of him and he needed to get it out of his system and he certainly did.

"That's what the Ryder Cup should be about. Darren had such a big role and when it was all over, it was just a release and everybody felt the same way. It was easy enough to come down because I didn't have a lot to do. I stayed home with the kids and we had a nice, normal week. I walked the dog. No, the people weren't stopping me but there were a lot of second glances as I was going by.

"Everybody was so happy for winning the Ryder Cup and I'm happy to share it. We had the bonding that went into the team but there's also the fans and supporters and the people at home. That's what makes it so special."

From there we moved on to the captains, how unfairly the US leader Hal Sutton has been treated in the media and by the public in McGinley's view and whether or not Bernhard Langer should continue for Europe.

"The role of the captain is twofold and one is as important as the other," he pointed out.

"One is to win the Ryder Cup and the second is the ambassadorial role. We watched the way Hal was grilled at the press conferences, the way he took it on the chin, but the ambassadorial role, which is equally important, he played magnificently well. Here's an example. We were the worse for wear coming down at 4.30am to head for the airport. Hal and his wife had gotten out of bed, come down to the foyer and shook everybody's hand before we got on the bus. That to me is what the Ryder Cup is all about."

Not that Paul was for downplaying the role of his own skipper who, he said, had "played it absolutely magnificently. Win, lose or draw, he was always going to do that because he's not just representing the players but also the European Tour, all you guys in the press, every one of the Tour sponsors, the Tour hierarchy, Ken Schofield and George O'Grady. So much to represent and heaped on the captain's shoulders for that week.

"It's important that it's carried off in the right way."

Reflecting further on Oakland Hills, McGinley recalls he was in the team room when Paul Casey holed the putt to won a crucial fourball for himself and David Howell on Saturday morning.

"The Ryder Cup is about momentum and the roar from the players when that putt went in meant we just took off," he recalled.

"Darren and Lee went out in the first match in the afternoon and just went 1 up, 2 up, 3 up, 4 up. Game over. The whole team was off and running again. Those two things were huge in terms of winning the Ryder Cup."

On the subject of the captaincy in 2006, McGinley steers a middle road.

He would love there to be an Irishman but accepts the match in Ireland comes at the wrong time for Des Smyth, Christy O'Connor Jnr and Eamon Darcy, although he stressed, "I would be very disappointed if they didn't have some role in the team because they would all be brilliant. As of now, I say no way to Monty. He's still such an important player on the team. If he doesn't make the team next time, he's going to have a very strong case for a pick. He's too young. He's only a pup."

And the pros and cons for retaining Langer?

"On the pro side, he played perfectly in Detroit, he's a former Irish Open champion, he won a European Open at The K-Club and he's got affinity with the Irish people. The cons are that you've got guys waiting in the wings chomping at the bit."

And Paul McGinley, would he like the job some day?

"I'd love it, such a huge honour," he glows. "It's a long way down the road, but you never know. Maybe some day."