McGinley ponders wildcard decision

European Ryder Cup skipper Paul McGinley will wait until May’s BMW PGA at Wentworth before announcing possible changes to the qualifying system for the 2014 clash with Tom Watson’s USA at Gleneagles.

Veteran Watson announced yesterday he is reducing the number of American wildcards from four to three and while it is highly probable McGinley will go the other way and increase Europe’s from two to three, he wants to examine all his options before making any changes.

“I don’t know what Tom’s reasons were for going from four picks to three but I’m sure they were good ones,” McGinley said. “All I know is that it is going to be a very formidable US team, no matter what way it is set out.

“There is no harm in having competition for places. He has his own views and I certainly wouldn’t disagree with them. There will be a good reason why he is doing that and I know we are going to have to perform very well to beat that US team.”

Colin Montgomerie had three wildcards for the 2010 matches in Wales while his successor Jose Maria Olazabal had just two for last September’s comeback victory at Medinah, where Ian Poulter and Nicolas Colsaerts joined the top five from both the European Points and World Points lists.

While McGinley refused to be drawn on his plans, he said: “I see myself tweaking the system, that’s all. It won’t be radical. It boils down to whether I’ll have two or three picks.”