Just the tonic for McGinley

WANTED by Paul McGinley - €350,000 over the next four weeks from two tournaments in the US and two more in Europe.

If he achieves it, then the hero of Ryder Cup 2002 will make his presence felt once again, at Oakland Hills on September 17-19.

The 37 years-old Dubliner received the boost he needed yesterday when the all-important invitation to next week's US PGA Championship in Wisconsin was forthcoming. Even though he is again troubled by a knee injury, there was a new bounce in McGinley's step as he looked forward to contesting this week's KLM Dutch Open, the PGA, the NEC World Golf Championship and the decisive BMW International in Munich at the very end of August.

Those events offer more than €13m in prize money so McGinley's goal of €350,000 doesn't sound quite so elusive.

"This obviously opens a lot of doors for me," he said. "Although I've been playing a lot of golf, I am fine mentally and don't feel in any way fatigued. However, earlier this year, I had an operation on my knee but now the other one is acting up. The doctors tell me there's a cyst in there that needs to be removed but the surgery can be put off until later in the year. It doesn't affect me when I swing but it's difficult when I walk and I limped around in Scandinavia at the week-end."

This setback comes at a most unwelcome time and McGinley could hardly be blamed for believing the golfing gods are not on his side at present. On Sunday, he had to play the final round in Sweden without caddy Darren Reynolds who got food poisoning and is doubtful for Holland this week.

"By the end of the month, I will have played 13 tournaments in 14 weeks," McGinley said. "I would never take on anything like that were it not for my desire to get into the Ryder Cup team. I have a long way to go but it can happen with so much money at stake. I've lacked momentum for much of the year. Okay, I shot 66 at Baltray but there haven't been enough low scores like that. 69,70,71 is alright but won't earn you the big money and the tournament wins. I haven't been converting my chances and that's what I hope will happen over the next four weeks.

"I'm not looking at a pick for the Ryder Cup team. The bottom line is I need €350,000 to make it. If I were to finish up in 11th or 12th in the points list, then I would hope for a pick but that's not my focus now, nor can it be. I have no doubt Colin Montgomerie will get one of Bernhard Langer's two wild cards. Indeed, I would have already put out a press release to that effect because with so many rookies in the line-up, you can't do without a man of his experience and rate of achievement."

Graeme McDowell, who also received an invitation yesterday to the PGA, is marginally ahead of McGinley in the Ryder Cup pecking order but as yet hasn't qualified for the NEC World Championship.

As of now, the 10 automatic members of Langer's side are Pádraig Harrington, Sergio Garcia, Darren Clarke, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Lee Westwood, Thomas Levet, Paul Casey, David Howell, Ian Poulter and Joakim Haeggman.

Casey, Howell, Poulter and Haeggman still have some work to copperfasten their places with Fredrik Jacobson, especially, breathing down their necks and Scandinavian Masters winner Luke Donald also within touching distance.

As for Montgomerie's wild card, McGinley needn't worry. One of the worst kept secrets in golf is that his place is already pledged by Langer. While the temperamental Scot is no longer the player he was, he has been showing a lot of form in recent weeks. You suspect he'll be OK on the day.

Langer is surely keeping his fingers crossed that Donald does enough in the PGA, the NEC and the BMW to play himself into the side on merit. That would free his hand to consider other seasoned campaigners such as Jose-Maria Olazabal, Jesper Parnevik, Niclas Fasth, McGinley and Thomas Bjorn. Either way, you have to feel Donald has done enough to merit a place. His victory in Malmo on Sunday was highly impressive and comes on the back of some fine performances on the US Tour, most notably in the Buick Invitational earlier in the campaign when he lost in a play-off to John Daly.

Any player capable of winning seven of a possible eight points in Walker Cup combat is more than capable of looking after himself in match-play.

To use a cricketing expression, a 'tail' composed of Levet, Casey, Howell, Poulter and Haeggman is hardly like to strike terror into the hearts of US skipper Hal Sutton and his players. However, it is equally the case that the American backup to the usual big names - Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III and Jim Furyk - is far from intimidating. The remaining six currently in Sutton's top ten are Kenny Perry, David Toms, Chad Campbell, Fred Funk, Steve Flesch and Jerry Kelly closely pursued by Jeff Maggert, Scott Verplank, Stuart Cink and Jay Haas.

All have reached this exalted position by producing a series of consistent performances and Toms is a major winner. He will be a keyman at Oakland Hills but it's only when you examine the sides, man for man, that you realise the European cause is nowhere as forlorn as many appear to believe.

The American top 10 will be decided after the PGA Championship with Sutton due to announce his two wild cards early on the following Monday morning. Should they fail to make the side automatically, those hoping for the much coveted phone call include Open champion Todd Hamilton, the deeply experienced Maggert and Verplank and just possibly John Daly, who ran up to Vijay Singh for the Buick Classic at the week-end and is currently 20th in the points race and 14th on the US Tour order of merit. He would certainly make a highly exciting fourball partner!