Signs of better things to come for McGinley

SUDDENLY, that light at the end of the tunnel isn’t an oncoming train for Paul McGinley.

A superb and blemishless 66 in the second round of the Nissan Irish Open at Portmarnock could hardly have been more welcome after a season of a lot more downs than ups and then came the news that he had been given an invitation to the USPGA Championship at Oak Hill, Rochester, New York State, next month. McGinley may still be a long way back from the Portmarnock leaderboard, but the signs for better things in the immediate future for the 2002 Ryder Cup hero are now a lot more positive. A 69 in the third round of the Open suggested better things and now 66 around a links as difficult as Portmarnock maintains the progression very nicely.

“I’ve been on the brink of getting into the PGA for the past few weeks and perhaps my performance in the Open gave me the extra boost I needed,” he said. “All the Ryder Cup players from last year are in now and I’m very pleased. I’ve played in three PGAs already and I think it’s a great tournament; of all the majors it’s got the strongest field. They invite the top hundred in the world and build it up with special exemptions and guys off the American order of merit. I’m looking forward to going to Oak Hill and seeing where Philip (Walton) won the Ryder Cup. I’m in the NEC WGC the week after that. It’s exciting to look forward to all of that; it’s always exciting when you are playing well. Having the opportunity of playing in these tournaments in America and it’s very important to my world ranking. It’s kind of self-perpetuating when you’re in them, you’re getting points, and if you play anyway decent, you get a lot of points.”