World rankings unfair, says McGinley

PAUL McGINLEY last night blasted the world rankings system that keeps him outside of the top 100.

McGinley expressed wonderment at his 107th placing despite his outstanding level of consistency.

The hero of Ryder Cup 2001 didn't compete in either of the last two US Masters, missed out on the recent US Open, had to qualify for next week's British Open and is ineligible for any of the remaining World Golf Championship events.

"The rankings are not a fair reflection," he insists. "I was 33rd in the European order of merit last year and currently 24th but I'm 107 in the world.

"That doesn't add up. I haven't had a slump. I've had consistent finishes. A lot of top 20s, a lot of top 10s including four this year alone. I had two second place finishes in the past 12 months.

"That's the system and I'm not going to change it. I need a big finish to help me get right up the order of merit and the world rankings.

"It's all top heavy. When you're finishing 15th, 16th, 17th which I've been doing and which is pretty reasonable, the points are minimal."

McGinley would have a hard job convincing Darren Clarke of this but he insisted: "Darren has done the ideal thing this year. He has missed seven or eight cuts. But when he's played well, he's finished third in big tournaments in America and picked up massive points. That's what the system rewards."

McGinley, now 37, perhaps sees this year's Ryder Cup as his last chance of taking on the Americans. Not surprisingly, given his matchwinning contribution two years ago, he would love another chance.

However he accepts that he must either win or claim a couple of second or third places in significant tournaments and that he must also be patient. He was happy enough with 10th place at The K Club but no more than that.

"I battled a cold putter and the course was tough so all things considered, I did reasonably well to hang on and produce a reasonable score," he said.

"But I need to start creating momentum. Things are not happening for me, I'm not hitting my iron shots close enough so I'm not holing enough putts. But I know I have to be patient. I must wait for my time to come. The Ryder Cup is approaching and the pressure is on and if I push it, I'm not going to make it."

"I desperately want to make it. I mustn't fall into the trap that I did before of pushing, pushing, trying to make it happen. The standards are higher than they've ever been in world golf at the moment. I'm a world-class player, too, and I've got to hang in and wait for my time. When I made the team the last time, I got on a roll and had three or four six figure cheques in the space of a couple of months which propelled me into the Ryder Cup.

"I'm actually playing better now than I was in 2001," he insists. "I'm hitting the ball so much longer, straighter, better, my short game apart from my putting over the weekend has been really good. But you really have to play the lights out now to even have a top ten finish. You have to be on your game every week."

McGinley is now looking forward to three appetising weeks over "three great courses", Loch Lomond, Royal Troon and Baltray, and is anxious to build momentum early in those tournaments.

"I've played well at Loch Lomond, was 3rd a few years ago, 15th last year," he mused. "It's a long golf course. When your game is in good shape, as mine is at present, you feel you can click in any given week.

"Looking forward to the Open, I have to think I haven't played particularly well at Troon and it doesn't have very many happy memories for me. In the 1997 Open, I made the cut but finished at the back of the field. As an amateur, I played the Scottish Youths the year (1991) I made the Walker Cup and finished 3rd. But it's the British Open, I'm delighted to have qualified and there's no tournament like it to get you going."