Paul McGinley Interview

The European Captain Paul McGinley talks to us about the secrets to his success at Gleneagles last September

Mission accomplished

How did you decide where to be on Sunday?

My priority was to be with the rookies and the guys playing down the order. I knew the guys at the top of the order were strong players, and I knew they would have a lot of support and big crowds early on in the day’s play. I know what it’s like to play down the order - I’ve played a lot down the order over the years - and it can be a lonely place. You’ve been playing with a partner the first few days and when there are only four matches on the course, it’s very, very intense and the crowds let you know it. You lose that intensity on the Sunday when the crowd is spread over 12 matches. So, my focus was first of all seeing all 12 players off the first, then I followed Victor Dubuisson for a few holes, and then moved from him over to Ian Poulter. Then I was aware of what Stephen Gallacher was doing, and then obviously Jamie Donaldson as well, through to him winning the victorious point.

You caught him a bit by surprise when you jumped on his back …

He was in the zone I guess, and I was in the zone too because halfway up in the air, I realized Tom Watson was there beside him offering his hand in celebration, and I didn’t want to be seen to be over-celebrating in front of Tom. He was very dignified as we walked down the fairway.

How hard is it to tell people they’re sitting out sessions?

I gave all the players a good idea of what was happening for the full day. I didn’t just go session by session - I gave them a plan. Each player had a plan for the following day and what I was planning on them doing. At the start of the week I gave them an overall plan of what role I had in mind for them in the team.

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