No rest for Ryder hopefuls

Paul McGinley is looking forward to a rest next week. He has not had one since the middle of June and for a professional golfer that is an eternity.

Many do not like to play more than three tournaments in a row. McGinley has played nine and the BMW International Open in Munich starting on Thursday makes 10.

In fact, it makes 11. The same week that he finished 10th in the European Open at the K Club near Dublin he also came through a 36-hole qualifier at Sunningdale for the Open championship.

But it will all have been worth it if McGinley achieves his objective this Sunday – another Ryder Cup cap.

Two years ago the 37-year-old was Europe’s hero at The Belfry. He actually did not win a game, but his half with Jim Furyk, achieved with a 10-foot putt and followed with a trip to the lake as the celebrations started, was the high point of his career.

Now McGinley wants to experience what a Ryder Cup in America is like and he will if he can do one of three things – hang onto the final automatic qualifying place, improve on it or impress captain Bernhard Langer enough for him to pick him.

The objective when he tees off for the 45th and final counting event is to make the third of those unnecessary. As for the first or second, it really does not matter which.

“My destiny is in my hands,” he says. “If I win the tournament I’m in the team.

“It’s just a case of going at it again. I’m not going to be looking at the scoreboard or hoping others are going to make bogeys because I don’t want to take my eye off the ball.

“Somebody could have a hot week and jump me, but I could have a hot week.”

Joint second in the KLM Open in Holland three weeks ago and sixth in the US PGA championship that followed – his first top-10 finish in a major – McGinley was hoping for something better than 46th in the NEC world championship in Akron this weekend.

A top-26 finish would have taken him above ninth-placed Ian Poulter and top 16 would have meant he edged ahead of eighth-placed David Howell as well.

They did not have a place in the event and so have been able to re-charge their batteries for the final four rounds of the year-long race. McGinley has not.

“I’m trying to get rest as often as I can, but it was hard to do that this past week. The course was demanding and the weather meant it was stop-start and I had to get up early a couple of days,” he said.

“I can’t complain about my finishing position because I did well to achieve it. I just battled as hard as I could all week – I fought as hard as Hell.

“I feel I’ve played better than when I qualified for the last week, but the new qualifying process hurts me.”

Five places were awarded for the first time off world ranking points and McGinley, who slipped outside the game’s top 100, did not get into some of the bigger events.

Those in his position are therefore left scrapping for five automatic spots based on European Tour results rather than the previous 10.

He is on the verge of succeeding that way as well and it would be a superb achievement considering he had to have knee surgery following his runners-up finish in the Dubai Desert Classic in March.

While he is focusing on his own performance in this the last leg of his personal marathon, he could make it even by missing the halfway cut.

It would be an anxious weekend, though. six players could pass him - Jean-Francois Remesy by finishing seventh, Joakim Haeggman or Fredrik Jacobson by coming fifth, Brian Davis fourth, Raphael Jacquelin second or Graeme McDowell by winning.

“It’s going to be exciting,” he agrees, even though he wishes it had all been settled now, he was safely in and he could put his feet up.

That comes next week and it will either be a very happy McGinley or a very disappointed one who finally gets that time off.