Terrier McGinley bites right back

Tag : Hole Punch Tool
THE FEISTY terrier is back, as Paul McGinley - who, as he put ithimself yesterday, seems to be "on the comeback trail all the time"- demonstrated in the second round of the European Open, recoveringfrom an abysmal finish the previous evening to reignite hischallenge at the London Club in Kent with a 68 for a midway totalof 137, seven under.
Pride isn't a sin, it's a vital tool for any professionalsportsman; and McGinley, hurt at his fall in the world rankingsthat has left him as a mere onlooker at the season's first twomajors and still without a ticket into the British Open in afortnight's time at Royal Birkdale, has - yet again - rolled up hissleeves and gone about tackling whatever obstacles are put in hisway.
On Thursday evening, after a bogey-double-bogey finish that feltlike a punch in the stomach, given how well he had played for thepreceding 16 holes, McGinley was left with another night to gatherhis thoughts.
Yesterday, with the baggage of the first round's finish packedaway, the Dubliner responded by producing a round that had fivebirdies and only one unforced error, a three-putt bogey on the 11th(his second hole).
It's just over a month since McGinley reached the halfway stage ofthe PGA at Wentworth with a healthy lead, only to suffer a form ofself-combustion over the weekend. He eventually finished tied-10th,but the scars had not healed by the following week's Wales Open,where he missed the cut.
He then added the St Omer Open in France to his itinerary, only tomiss the cut there.
Still, a seventh-place finish in last week's French Open gaveMcGinley confirmation that he had started to turn the corner, onlyfor his failure to come through the international qualifying forthe British Open at Sunningdale on Monday last to inflict anotherknock.
He's nothing if not resilient, and the only response he knows is tofight back. The past two days have served to prove his durability.
"Yeah, it's good to bounce back after dropping those three shots(on Thursday). I've had some reversals of late and seem to be onthe comeback trail all the time. But I'll keep fighting, keepbouncing back and see where I go.
"I've played decently since Wentworth without getting the bigresults. That's all that's been missing from this year. I've playedsome quality golf but haven't put it together for four days, andWentworth's an example of that. I've got to be patient, toeliminate mistakes. I'm not far away at all."
The type of mistakes McGinley would like to eradicate was typifiedby that three-putt bogey from 20 feet.
Aware that Graeme McDowell, in the match ahead, had got off to afast start, McGinley was too aggressive with his birdie putt,sending it five feet past the hole, and then missed the return.
"I'm being just a little bit aggressive at wrong times, am fallingasleep. Golf is not about how well you played but how littlemistakes you make. Unfortunately the mistakes I make tend to be bigones, like the 18th yesterday when I hit it in the water.
"You're losing ground every time you're making a mistake and I losta lot of ground yesterday."
McGinley is aiming for that much-sought-after big finish that wouldassist his latest quest for a place on the Ryder Cup team (he was amember of the past three winning teams).
But his main focus these days is to return to the world's top 50.He languishes in 134th place in the rankings and, consequently,doesn't get automatic exemption into the majors.
"To be honest, getting back into the top 50 in the world is moreimportant than the Ryder Cup . . . I'm not in the British Open, notin the US PGA, and I wasn't in the Masters and wasn't in the USOpen. The Ryder Cup doesn't get you in to those. That's my maingoal this year.
"If I get into the Ryder Cup, it will be as a consequence ofgetting into the top 50. That's what I'm focused on, the top 50. Mygame's started to turn around in the last nine months from the crapthat I played before that and I'm not far away. The only thingmissing is a big result or a big cheque or a big number of points.If you give me a cheque like Monty last week (in France), and allof a sudden I am in the team.
"I've been chipping away, winning 30,000, 40,000, 50,000, 60,000 .. . . but in order to make the team you need some really bigcheques.
"It is not really about winning, it is about doing what Monty hasdone in coming from nowhere into strong contention for the team,and that is what I haven't done over the qualifying campaign."
Now McGinley is in a position to make that big cheque. And he hasalso given himself a chance to sneak into the British Open: theleading player in the top five here who isn't already exempt forBirkdale will get a ticket to the big show.
The incentive is there to perform over the weekend.