McGINLEY HAS THE CAPTAINCY CREDENTIALS NEEDED FOR 2014 MATCH

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By JAMES CORRIGAN 
So player power won the day and, for once, that does not seem a statement full of foreboding. The vote for Paul McGinley as Ryder Cup captain was not just one for Rory McIlroy, Ian Poulter, Luke Donald and Justin Rose, but one for sense.

In any other prime time sport and in most other any prime time jobs, McGinley would have been a shoo-in for the role at Gleneagles in next year. That it was not – and that he was forced to face such a tense wait as the Tournament Players Committee decided – says much about the confusion which accompanies this position.

Is it a reward for a great career as a European professional golfer or is it a reward for showing great captaincy credentials? The supporters of Colin Montgomerie – whose identities were not immediately obvious – were saying it should be both.
 But for the players who have experienced McGinley’s leadership in the team-room, the latter is quite enough.

McGinley, 46, has been nothing more than a good professional in his 21-year career. The diminutive Dubliner, who could have made it in Gaelic football had it not been for a broken kneecap, has won only four times on the European Tour. The height of his individual game came at the 2005 Volvo Masters when held off the best Europe had to offer. Otherwise, he has been consistent without troubling the historians.

Except in the Ryder Cup, that is. When McGinley secured a half point against Jim Furyk in his singles at the Belfry in 2002 he entered folklore as the man who holed the winning putt in the Ryder Cup. His immortal link with team golf was assured right there with that 10-foot putt and with the dunking in the lake he received thereafter.

Yet McGinley, the team man, does not start or end there. Five years previously he and his great friend Padraig Harrington had lifted the World Cup for Ireland. The old tournament had never before witnessed such an outbreak of national joy before or since and in those moments, as he and Harrington were hailed, McGinley experienced the golfing highs which always eluded him on his own. He learnt that glory shared can be glory multiplied.

After the Belfry, McGinley tasted the sweet taste of collective euphoria once again in Europe’s Ryder Cup 18½-9½ catwalks of 2004 and 2006. Together with his Walker Cup win as a 25 year-old – when he beat a certain Phil Mickelson – it meant that McGinley had a 100 per cent record in the team environment. He continued this run when moving into management.
McGinley wisely skipped Nick Faldo’s error-strewn campaign in 2008 after initially agreeing to become the Englishman’s assistant. After the defeat, Europe’s only one so far this century, McGinley accused Faldo of using his Ryder Cup captaincy as “some kind of testimonial”.
Having been impressed by Sam Torrance’s leadership in 2002, McGinley has always believed the role is so much more than that of ceremony. He has sought to prove so and not just when assisting Montgomerie at Celtic Manor and then José María Olazábal at Medinah last September.
It was in the Seve Trophy where he truly excelled. In 2009 he led Great Britain and Ireland to success against the Continentals and such was his attention to detail that McIlroy believes McGinley “to be the best captain I’ve ever played under”. That is some statement seeing as the Seve Trophy is generally regarded as a beer match between the boys.
Yet when Seve Ballesteros founded the match he intended it to be a stepping-stone. McGinley has used it as a dress rehearsal, again impressing all when leading GB and Ireland to a second successive win two years ago. He learnt on the job when putting everything into the job and has been desperate to put his theories to practice in golf’s most high-pressured arena. There is no justification in any belief that McGinley was seduced primarily by the endorsement money on offer to the captain, or indeed the fame.
Saying all this, McGinley is not universally popular on tour. Some feel he acts above his playing station, while others mutter about a “politician”. 
Well, whatever the moans there can be no doubt that he played the race for Ryder Cup captaincy nigh on perfectly. He purposefully kept his profile low and allowed the likes of McIlroy and Poulter to aim their compliments high.
And now the countdown will begin for then 5ft 7incher with the big master plan as he prepares to face up to Tom Watson, a legend who has more Open titles than McGinley has regular titles. If the match is to be judged on the playing credentials of the captains then Europe do not have a prayer. But it is not. As always, it will be judged on the playing credentials of the players. And in McGinley, Europe may just have the perfect figure to inspire McIlroy and co to produce their best. After backing him so vehemently they will probably have to now.

PAUL McGINLEY THRILLED TO BE NAMED RYDER CUP CAPTAIN 2014

NEWS RELEASE FROM EUROPEAN TOUR
Paul McGinley  was understandably “thrilled” to be selected to lead Europe in their defence of The Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in Scotland next year.
The 46-year-old Dubliner, who becomes Ireland's first Captain in the event, takes over from José María Olazábal against an American side that will have golfing great Tom Watson back in charge at the age of 65.
McGinley holed the ten-foot winning putt on his debut at The Belfry in 2002 and was also part of the victorious sides in 2004 and 2006 before becoming an assistant to Colin Montgomerie three years ago and then Olazába at Medinah - both wins as well, of course.
McGinley said: "It's a week that I'm really looking forward to."
"I'm obviously very pleased to be in this situation. This is a position that I'm really thrilled to be in, and it's also a very humbling experience. I can't wait to get into the role of being the Captain.
"I'm relishing the thought of taking on one of my great heroes, Tom Watson.
"He's not only a wonderful person abut a great ambassador for the game of golf.
"I've never had an opportunity to go up against him in a playing sense.
"To go up against him in a captaincy sense will be a real thrill for me."
He had been in the frame for the job ever since being made Britain and Ireland captain against Continental Europe in the Seve Trophy in 2009. Whether hitting the shots or not, he was never on the losing side there either.
Despite the credentials, he faced competition for the captaincy with Tournament Committee Chairman Thomas Björn revealing five players were considered for the role.
“It was our job to discuss everybody that's been thrown around, and we discussed them all thoroughly.  But this committee is 100 per cent behind this captain and that was really obvious very early in the meeting.  Our players on Tour wanted us to make this decision, and we listened to our players and that's who we represent.
“We are all thrilled that we have Paul as a captain.  I think that as a captain, he will bring the Tour even more together.  He is one of us.  There has never been a distance to Paul.  He's a guy you can talk to.  He's got great opinions and he's been fantastic in The Ryder Cup.”
George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour, said: “I think it's a wonderful achievement for Paul, which reflects his great service to The European Tour, his outstanding leadership in the Seve Trophy, Vivendi Trophy; and was carried by unanimous decision of the players' committee, which I think is a testament to the democracy of the process.  Superb chairmanship of our chairman, Thomas Björn.  Congratulations, Paul.”
McGinley will bring years of studying the art of captaincy to the position.
"Personally, I love the tactical side of it, the motivational side and the team element of it - and I love being in the team room," he said in August.
"The team meetings always give me a great buzz as a player.
"I don't want to give too much away, but I do watch a lot of things you wouldn't even know about, including press conferences.
"I'm intrigued with it, I have to say. I'm intrigued with how Ryder Cups have been won and lost over the years.
"I've asked a lot of questions of a lot of people and got a lot of information, not just from our side. I've always enjoyed having a beer with the American players or captain afterwards.
"I've done that on a few occasions and asked them their strategy for the week and why did they make certain decisions."
McIlroy, who was present at the announcement along with Padraig Harrington, Shane Lowry and Peter Lawrie, predictably welcomed the appointment.
He wrote on Twitter: "Common sense prevailed in the end.... Paul McGinley 2014 European Ryder Cup captain!!! Couldn't be happier for him... Roll on Gleneagles."
Tom Watson was among the first to offer his congratulations: “I congratulate Paul McGinley upon his selection as the next European Ryder Cup Captain and anticipate that his passion and love of the event will transfer to being an outstanding leader of his team in 2014 at Gleneagles. Paul has been connected to five winning European Ryder Cup Teams and is an outstanding representative of European golf. I look forward to sharing the stage with him as we make our journey to Scotland."
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond also sent his support, saying: "I'm sure the whole of Scotland will join me in welcoming Paul McGinley and congratulating him on his appointment as captain of the European team for the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.
"Paul is a model professional and has always been held in extremely high regard by the Scottish golfing public and he can be sure the whole country will be behind him and his team come September 2014.
"Of course, he already has a place in Ryder Cup history thanks to his winning putt at The Belfry in 2002 and we are all hoping he adds another incredible chapter to that history when the Ryder Cup visits the Home of Golf in less than two years' time."
Ted Bishop, President of the PGA of America, said: "The PGA of America congratulates Paul McGinley as Europe's next Ryder Cup Captain. I will never forget the scene at The Belfry in 2002 when Paul holed a putt on the 18th hole to halve Jim Furyk which won the Ryder Cup for Europe and his subsequent celebratory dive into the neighbouring pond.
" Images of an emotional Paul with the Irish flag wrapped around his body is something I will always remember. We join our partners and friends across the Atlantic in preparing for what should be one of the greatest chapters in Ryder Cup history."

PAUL McGINLEY NAMED EUROPEAN TEAM CAPTAIN

NEWS RELEASE

Paul McGinley has accepted an invitation from the Tournament Committee of The European Tour to become Captain of The European Team in The 2014 Ryder Cup at The Gleneagles Hotel, Perthshire, Scotland from September 26 - 28, 2014.

Born in Dublin, Ireland, on December 16, 1966, McGinley becomes the first Irishman to captain a Ryder Cup Team against the United States. He will be the 24^th different golfer to lead the European (formerly Great Britain and Ireland) Team.

McGinley, a four time winner on The European Tour, made three consecutive, and victorious, Ryder Cup appearances from 2002 – 2006 and will always be remembered as the man who holed the winning putt during his first appearance at the Belfry 11 years ago.

McGinley succeeds José María Olazábal with the aim of retaining the Ryder Cup following the Spaniard’s brilliant stewardship of Europe’s ‘Miracle at Medinah’. The 46 year old was a Vice-Captain to Olazábal in Chicago last year, the same role he fulfilled for Colin Montgomerie’s victorious 2010 Team at The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales. 

Having suffered defeat to Stewart Cink and Jim Furyk alongside Padraig Harrington in his first Ryder Cup match during day one at the Belfry, McGinley came back to secure a vital half alongside Darren Clarke against Furyk and Scott Hoch in the Saturday afternoon four-balls.

One down with two to play against Furyk in the Sunday singles, McGinley was looking an unlikely hero standing on the 17^th tee but a brilliant birdie four squared the match just as Welshman Phillip Price put the seal on a magnificent 3 and 2 victory over Phil Mickelson to take the European Team’s points total to 14 with three matches left on the course.

Europe needed a half point to ensure Sam Torrance’s Team could regain the trophy that had been so dramatically lost at Brookline three years earlier.

Both men produced wayward approaches to the par four 18^th, with Furyk finding the greenside bunker and McGinley the left rough. The Irishman chipped on to ten feet before Furyk almost spoiled the party by nearly holing his bunker shot. But when the American’s ball came to rest above ground, McGinley’s moment had arrived.

The rest, as they say, is history and moments after making his putt, McGinley found himself swamped by his Captain and team-mates as the celebrations began.

While no Ryder Cup experience can substitute holing the winning putt, McGinley’s finest performance in the team event actually came two years later, during Europe’s record-breaking 18 ½ - 9 ½ victory at Oakland Hills.

The Irishman was undefeated in three matches in Detroit, partnering Luke Donald to a half point against Chris Riley and Stewart Cink on the first day before he and Harrington beat Davis Love III and Tiger Woods with a 4 and 3 win in the Saturday foursomes. He then put the seal on a tremendous week with an outstanding 3 and 2 singles victory over Cink to finish the week undefeated.

McGinley’s captaincy credentials are there for all to see. Not only has he played a crucial vice-captaincy role in Europe’s last two Ryder Cup wins, he has also been Captain of two winning Great Britain and Ireland Teams in the Vivendi Seve Trophy, defeating Continental Europe in both 2009 and 2011.

At The Gleneagles Hotel, McGinley will look to continue Europe’s phenomenal recent record which shows them to have won seven of the last nine biennial contests with the USA. Since the change from a Great Britain and Ireland Team to that of Continental Europe in 1979, Europe have won nine and tied one of the 17 matches contested.

Europe's victories were achieved under the captaincies of Tony Jacklin (1985, 1987), Bernard Gallacher (1995), Seve Ballesteros (1997), Sam Torrance (2002), Bernhard Langer (2004), Ian Woosnam (2006), Colin Montgomerie (2010) and Olazábal (2012), while Jacklin presided over the halved match in 1989.

Richard Hills, Europe’s Ryder Cup Director, said: “We are delighted that Paul has accepted the invitation of the Tournament Committee to take up the role as Captain for 2014. Having played in three Ryder Cups and holed the winning putt at the Belfry in 2002, Paul has an innate understanding of every attribute required to be a successful Captain.

“Paul’s meticulous nature and his passion for the strategic aspects of the Captain’s role have been evident for many years, through his role as a Ryder Cup Vice-Captain and as Captain of the Great Britain and Ireland Team in the Vivendi Seve Trophy. We already know that he will leave no stone unturned in his quest to retain The Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in September 2014.”

AUSSIE QUALIFYING PRESSURE ON GRAEME ROBERTSON

Lundin's James White and Gordon Stevenson (Whitecraigs) are on course to qualify for the match-play stages of the Australian men's amateur golf championship but Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie) needs a very good second round at the Commonwealth Golf Club, Melbourne if he is to figure among the 64 qualifiers. White shot a one-over-par 73 to be joint 30th and Stevenson a 74 for joint 47th place after the first qualifying round. Robertson was languishing in a share of 140th place in the massive field of 216 competitors after an uninspired round of 78. Australians Todd Sinnott and Brady Watt share the lead of six-under 66. Leading British player was Nathan Kimsey (Woodhall Spa) in a share of ninth place with a 71. In the Australian women's amateur championship at the same venue, Lydia Ko, the 15-year-old world No 1 female amateur from New Zealand, was sharing second place after a 69, one behind Minjee Lee. LEADING FIRST QUALIFYING ROUND SCORES Par 72 Players from Australia unless stated 66 Todd Sinnott, Brady Watt 68 Dale Brandt-Richards (NZ), Taylor MacDonald 69 Viraat Badhwar BRITISH SCORES 71 Nathan Kimsey (Woodhall Spa) (T9) 73 Neil Raymond (Corhampton), James White (Lundin) (T30) 74 Garrick Porteous (Bamburgh Castle), James Gregory (Filey), Gordon Stevenson (Whitecraigs) (T47) 76 Craig Hinton (Oxfordshire) (T97) 78 Graham Robertson (Glenbervie) (T140). TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES, INCLUDING THE  AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP CLICK HERE

NORTH-EAST ALLIANCE AT PETERHEAD SNOWED OFF

Wednesday's North-east Golfers' Alliance competition at Peterhead has been cancelled because of snow on the course and the forecast of freezing temperatures. Tee times arranged for this week will be carried over to next week's fixture at Murcar Links.

DEAN ROBERTSON TO LEAD SCOTS' BID AT NATIONS CUP

SGU MEDIA RELEASE

Former winner on the European Tour, Dean Robertson will lead a Scotland amateur men’s selection for the first time when he acts as team manager at The European Nations Cup in March.

The event, formerly known as The Sherry Cup, takes place in Sotogrande, Malaga from 13 – 16 March with Robertson (pictured) to accompany the Scots after his selection by the Scottish Golf Union and backing from the University of Stirling, where he is Performance Golf Coach.

The Scots will send a four-strong team, comprising of SGU Men’s Performance Squad members
Jack McDonald of Kilmarnock (Barsssie)
Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie)
James White (Lundin) 
Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm)
 with the quartet aiming to emulate the success of countrymen Scott Henry, Callum Macaulay, Wallace Booth and Keir McNicoll who triumphed in the event in 2008.

Dean Robertson has worked closely with McDonald and Graeme Robertson in recent years in his role at the University, while White is also a graduate of Stirling’s successful golf scholarship programme.

The quartet contributed to Scotland’s  Home Internationals victory at Glasgow Golf Club’s Gailes Links last August, with Robertson and Clark going on to represent Scotland in the World Amateur Team Championship in Turkey.

Robertson, who won the 1993 Scottish Amateur Championship and was crowned the 1992 and 1993 Scottish Golfer of the Year before going on to win the 1999 Italian Open as a professional, is looking forward to the challenge of leading the team and believes his selection reflects the ongoing work between the SGU and the University of Stirling.

“It’s a new challenge for me and hopefully my experience can rub off on the guys. If we adopt the right mindset and attitude then we can do very well,” said the 42-year-old.

“I’m excited about it. It shows the strong relationships between the SGU and the University of Stirling so it’s very positive for Scottish Golf, most definitely.

“We have a strong team and Jack will be coming into the event with the experience of playing in America with the University while Graeme and James will have competed in Australia and South Africa as part of the SGU’s winter performance programme.

“Matt is more of a career amateur, working as a senior banking manager, and I intend to meet and work with him in the run-up to the event. It’s a big year for all the guys, especially with a Walker Cup at the end of it, so they will all want to hit the ground running.”

As well as Scotland’s success in the team competition in 2008, Andrew McArthur and Richie Ramsay finished joint-second in the individual standings in 2005. Previous individual winners include Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Francesco Molinari and Shane Lowry to prove the event is a breeding ground for future professional stars.

“I’ve also got history with The Sherry Cup as it was then,” adds Robertson. “I played in it a couple of times with the likes of Stephen Gallacher, Raymond Russell and Gordon Sherry. We were looked after by Billy Sim from the North-East, who was the course superintendent at San Roque and is now general manager at Craibstone Golf Club, Aberdeen."

“It’s a while since I’ve been there but I’ve played the course at Sotogrande a number of times so have good course knowledge. I can’t wait to get out there.”

Stephen Docherty, SGU Non-Executive Performance Director, believes working with Robertson, as well as the likes of ex-Ryder Cup player Andrew Coltart, a member of the SGU Performance Committee, is increasingly important to help the nation’s top amateurs fulfil their potential.

He said: “Modern day golf the way it is, and Scotland being a small nation, we need to ensure guys like Dean and Andrew, both of whom have played at the top level, are more involved in a number of capacities – this event being one of them.

“Historically, a head coach would attend this event with the team, but Ian Rae, National Coach, is with other members of the squad in South Africa at the time.

“Dean has a range of skills and experience which means he is an ideal person to support our players at this event.”

Scotland team for The European Nations Cup with ages

Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm) 31

Jack McDonald (Kilmarnock Barassie) 19

Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie) 24

James White (Lundin) 24

 

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COLTART SHOCKED THAT MONTY IS IN FRAME FOR ANOTHER RYDER CUP CAPTAINCY

FROM THE BBC SPORT.COM WEBSITE

By Phil Goodlad BBC Scotland

Andrew Coltart is surprised that Colin Montgomerie has been linked with a second stint as Ryder Cup captain.

Winning 2010 captain Montgomerie is vying with Paul McGinley to skipper the Europeans at Gleneagles in 2014.
The European Tour's tournament committee will meet in Abu Dhabi today to discuss the role.
"I'm surprised and pretty shocked that Colin's come back into the equation," said Scotland's Coltart, a member of the 1999 Ryder Cup team.
Darren Clarke, the 2011 Open champion, was also in the frame until hinting he would prefer to concentrate on playing.
Coltart, 42, said Monty was "instrumental" in ensuring the captain would get one term only.
"It strikes me as a little bit strange that Colin would accept it, having deemed that just once was worthy in the past when he was obviously gunning for a Ryder Cup captaincy," said Coltart.
The Scot feels the momentum behind Monty was, in part, a reaction to the USA naming Tom Watson as their captain.
"I think there's a huge knee-jerk reaction to Tom Watson being given the captaincy by America," Coltart said.
"I think knee-jerk reactions are wrong. Until the Americans announced Tom Watson it was a straight fight between Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley.
"Since then there's been this idea somebody of greater stature and greater golfing prowess needs to be captain, and I disagree.
"You get the best guy for the job, the guy that's got more respect from the players."
And he also suggested that praise for Montgomerie's part as captain in Europe's victory in 2010 has been overstated.
"If we go back to Celtic Manor, although we were victorious under Monty's captaincy, we lost three of the four sessions.
"The only session Europe won was the one that had been completely altered due to the terrible weather.
"In other words where the captain didn't get to alter pairings or rest people, and we won five-and-a-half points out of six.
"I understand the romance of a Scotsman captaining a Ryder Cup at Gleneagles, but my mind is you should get the best man for the job, and I would pick Paul McGinley."
Making the case for McGinley, Coltart said: "I'm surprised there's been so much conjecture, McGinley's been moulded into a captain.
"Taking over the reins for two Seve trophies, to my mind by getting the nod for captaining those, it would just be a simple transition up into Ryder Cup captaincy."

NEW SCOTTISH LADIES OPEN TOUR

A new Scottish Ladies Open Tour - open to lady professionals and female amateurs with a single-figure handicap - is launched today.
Its main sponsor is the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre and its triumvirate of Paul Lawrie, Martin Gilbert (Aberdeen Asset Management) and Stewart Spence, owner of The Marcliffe at Pitfodels Hotel.

Also supporting the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Scottish Ladies Open Tour is the R and A.
The aim of the tour is to help lady pros improve up to Ladies European Tour standard - and girl/lady amateurs to measure their ability against the professionals by playing alongside them in a competitive environment.
The new tour is based on the Scottish alliance model of 18-hole, one-day events at a variety of venues, starting in early April and ending with a Tour Championship, almost certainly over 36 holes, at Marriott Dalmahoy in late October.
You can read all about it on our sister website, www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk
The PLGC SLOT website can be accessed on  
 http://www.scottishladiestour.co.uk/home