McGinley to part company with caddie Fitzgerald

THE partnership that clinched the Ryder Cup for Europe last September has broken up.

Paul McGinley, the hero of The Belfry, and his caddie JP Fitzgerald will be going their separate ways this year after enjoying five seasons together.

The parting will be amicable and a friendship that began back in the 1980s when Paul and JP were Leinster junior team-mates remains very much intact. Fitzgerald was a very accomplished player and reached the finals of the Irish Close Championship in 1987 when he lost to local Eddie Power at Tramore and to Gary Murphy at Portstewart in 1991.

He slipped from the limelight on agreeing to becoming McGinley's caddie and they had many good moments together, not least when winning the Wales Open in 2001, the victory that was crucial to Paul gaining a place in the Ryder Cup side.

However, it is the manner in which they combined to defy the suffocating pressure of the final hole in the match against Jim Furyk that will forever be etched in the minds of the millions watching the drama in person and on television.

McGinley was facing up to a nine foot to win the Ryder Cup when Fitzgerald reminded him: "You know the line, you had this putt before."

The occasion had been the previous year's Benson & Hedges International in which the Irishman finished 2nd. The advice from his caddie gave Paul added confidence and he duly holed a putt that has been recorded for posterity by countless photographs depicting player and caddie jumping joyfully into the air.

McGinley is currently on holiday in Barbados; Fitzgerald is continuing his caddying career in South Africa and last week carried the bag for Ulsterman Graeme McDowell in the South African Open in Cape Town. However, that is not seen as a long-term arrangement and McGinley and Fitzgerald have yet to complete their arrangements for the new campaign.

Meantime, Ernie Els has shattered the PGA Tour scoring record and in the process has won his first Mercedes Championship with an amazing 31-under-par 261 total. Eight shots back and tied for second place on Sunday were Rocco Mediate, who fired a final-round 10-under 63, and South Korean KJ Choi, who could only manage an even-par 73 when most players were scoring low.

"I've had some good weeks in my career," Els said. "But obviously to shoot 31-under par, I obviously haven't done that nobody's done it."

Indeed, his winning total was five shots better David Duval's previous record of 26-under in the 1999 Mercedes. Els also broke a two-year-old record held by Joe Durant for the lowest score over the first 72 holes in a PGA tournament. Els has now dismantled his second field in a row with eight-stroke victories.

"I felt in control of my golf swing; I was putting well," Els said.