McGinley taking no chances in run-in

Golf: Nearly there, but not quite. Just as one swallow doesn't make a summer, Paul McGinley - who, along with his close friend Padraig Harrington was conferred with an honorary doctorate in NUI Maynooth yesterday - has no intention of allowing one good result, in the European Open, to lull him into a false sense of security as he bids to copper-fasten his place in Ian Woosnam's European team for the Ryder Cup match at The K Club in September.

"The job's not done. I am going to put out the signal very strongly that I've got to keep going forward and that I want to make the team. I don't want to stumble over the line, I want to make the team running. I want to sprint over the line," said McGinley.

The Dubliner has strengthened his claims for an automatic place on Europe's team by moving up to seventh in the composite table, taken from the world points and European points lists.

He doesn't intend to slow up over the next few weeks, competing in this week's Barclay's Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, next week's British Open at Hoylake, and then the Deutsche Bank TPC of Europe in Hamburg in a stint that will have seen him play for nine straight weeks.

The reason for the demanding itinerary?

"I still feel I need another 200,000 points (to make the team). When I get that 200,000, I'll probably feel that I need another 100,000. I don't want to give the guys behind any impression that I am slacking off," he said.

His relentless pursuit of points is part of the grand plan to make a third successive Ryder Cup team, and comes after a weekend's performance at The K Club that ignited his season. The 39-year-old Dubliner attributed his turnaround in fortunes to a swing tip given to him on the range prior to the tournament by his coach, Bob Torrance.

"I was thinking about it this morning as I was brushing my teeth. If there was one key, it was working with Bob on something very different, just changing my ball flight to give more penetration; particularly in the wind."

The key came in the gathering dusk of Tuesday evening on the range at Straffan, and those late-night vigils on the range have been familiar to McGinley in recent weeks as he sought something to transform his season. At Gleneagles a few weeks ago, after missing the cut in the US Open, he could be found on the range until late; the same was true at the French Open a couple of weeks ago.

He recalled the night of the France-Brazil match in the World Cup. "I was on the putting green in the darkness looking for that little spark, and I could hear the roars going up all around Paris," he said.

So McGinley moves on to the next phase of the season with increased confidence. "My goals haven't moved, but at least I feel like I can achieve them now. I felt like I was swimming against the tide the last six months. I felt I was doing all the right things, playing a lot of reasonable golf, but just not scoring.

"I've stayed very focused on what I'm doing. All I know is that every sportsman goes through peaks and troughs. I was speaking to DJ Carey on Saturday night about it. I've always said it, and I am not out of this one yet. I still have to drag my way out.

"I'm still languishing down the Order of Merit (in 67th position), which I am not happy about. I started the year at 18th in the world rankings and now I'm 44th and I have to catch up again.

"But Saturday was a turning point. It was like prising the door open again, and now I have got to walk through that door the next three months. There is a large weight off my mind that I've produced quality golf again. From here on in it is about reproducing it. The point is, I haven't lost it. The point is, that I can play quality golf and that I can compete."

McGinley, though, has produced a performance that has put him virtually over the finishing line. But he wants to be playing well from now right up to the Ryder Cup.

"I don't want to be in the team playing poorly. I don't want to be in the team and the captain having to worry about me and me having to worry about myself. I want to be in the team like I was at Oakland Hills, where I earned my spot and was able to stand toe-to-toe with anyone in the team knowing that I had earned my spot.

"There's a lot more pressure on picks than people give credit for. Picks haven't earned it as much as the first 10 guys and there is always pressure on the picks, and I want to be able to stand toe-to-toe knowing I have earned my spot. If I don't make it from here, I don't deserve to be in the team."

McGinley is joined in the field at Loch Lomond by Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell, Peter Lawrie, Damien McGrane, Gary Murphy, Michael Hoey and David Higgins. Phil Mickelson, who had entered, has decided not to play and instead will spend time preparing at Hoylake for next week's British Open.