McGinley falters down the stretch

TWO destructive shots cost Paul McGinley a golfing dream at Wentworth - as well as £600,000 in prize money and a lump of Ryder Cup points.

The Dubliner, who would lose 2&1 to New Zealand's US Open champion Michael Campbell, was all square with four holes to play in the final of the HSBC World Match Play Championship when the pressure of a situation that meant so much to him took hold.

McGinley, 38, pushed a five iron into trees at the 15th to go one down and then hooked a three wood into even greater trouble at 16 to finish him off as Campbell, 36, ruthlessly and sensibly capitalised to the full on these grievous errors.

The Kiwi duly finished it off at Wentworth's par-five 17th (35th) with a birdie that clinched the first prize of stg£1 million leaving McGinley to settle for stg£400,000 (€591, 972).

While his disappointment was palpable, there are several consolations for the Irishman to ponder in the fullness of time, not least the 401, 233 Ryder Cup points that put him on top of the list ahead of Jose-Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia. He has improved a place to sixth in the European Tour order of merit and can look forward to further progress in the World Rankings when they are announced today.

Last night, though, all of that cut very little ice and he even went so far as to state: "The money doesn't mean anything to me."

McGinley had set his heart on this title which would have looked very impressive alongside his three previous tournament successes in the Austrian Open, the Oki pro-am and the Welsh Open. But it was not to be, his sense of disappointment not assuaged by the undeniable fact this was a very scrappy match, one in which he failed to perform to anything like his full potential.

Straightforward and honest as ever, McGinley said: "All I'll be remembered for is that I bogeyed 15 and 16.

"It won't be remembered that I showed so much mental toughness over the first three days to beat really tough opponents.

"C'est la vie, that's the way life is. It's bitterly disappointing to finish so poorly at 15 and 16 and while I know there are positives to be taken from the week, right now I can't think of any.

"Not winning is becoming a psychological block. I had a great chance in three big tournaments this year and didn't take any of them. I feel I reached a new level this week so losing does leave a sour taste. It's really starting to bug me."

Holes really shouldn't be won in par at this level, especially as the Burma Road's greens were soft, receptive and rolling beautifully even if they were running at a very fast 12.5 on the Stimpmeter. But it happened five times through an uneventful opening session which looked set to end all square until the Irishman suffered a piece of ill fortune at the 18th, his second shot with a five wood looked set for a greenside bunker until it struck a BBC sound technician and ricocheted into what was more or less an unplayable lie beside a clump of bushes.

He was left with no chance of matching Campbell's birdie four and so retired to lunch one in arrears with both men around in an approximate even par 72.

The story was about to become even grimmer for McGinley. Both played the 19th perfectly from tee to green but Campbell struck a crucial blow when he holed a curling left to right 18-footer for birdie.

If he could hardly be faulted for that setback, he went on to hand over the par four 21st, let down again by that errant four iron. Now three down, it could all have slipped away rapidly from the Irishman but instead he suddenly put on the pressure.

He birdied the 24th from five feet and had his third birdie in four holes conceded when Campbell overshot the 25th and failed to get up and down from a very difficult lie. It was back to level pegging when the Kiwi took three to get on the 27th green having pulled his second behind a line of trees.

Watching anxiously was a large coterie of family and friends including former Celtic boss Martin O'Neill, not to mention a host of tricolour-waving fans. What happened at the par-five 30th, however, stunned player and fans alike.

"The ball didn't run for me all day and what happened there summed it all up," McGinley said. "I've had a run at him, I've come from three down to all square and to use a boxing analogy, I have him on the ropes.

"I'm in the bunker in two, he's hit a poor second shot and if it goes an extra six inches, he's out of bounds.

"If I win the hole, I've come from three down to one up in four holes and that would be massive psychologically. I would really have fancied my chances from there but he managed to get a shot, chip it up and make the putt."

McGinley did restore parity at the next and it now depended on which man held his nerve the better. Alas it was McGinley who blinked first. He had the better drive off 15 but to his horror discovered he had a four-iron distance to the flag.

"Every time I hit a four this week, I hit a crap shot. So this time I went with a five iron and went for a big, high draw.

"I hit it solid but it went straight. At 16, I didn't think I made a hugely bad swing but it caught the trees and kicked in instead of out.

"I had forgotten my course management for a while. I was being brave."

It was at the same hole that McGinley bunkered his approach in the BMW PGA Championship final round, the resultant bogey costing him that title.

There was to be no way back. Campbell slammed the door by pitching dead for birdie at the 35th.