Paul McGinley Interview

What did you make of the post-match American press conference?

We weren’t there and I’ve still not seen it, but I’ve obviously watched the fallout and heard about it all. One of the things I think has been overlooked is that Tom received a number of blows - he was missing Dustin Johnson and Tiger Woods, who was injured, and then Billy Horschel went on to win the FedEx after Tom had made his picks. They were three big body blows. And we had a very strong hand with three of the Majors being won by European players this year. I had 12 great players and 12 great guys who were going to buy into me, and buy into whatever decisions I was going to make.

How big was the party on Sunday night?

It was great to see everybody celebrating in a different way. I was very sedate - I didn’t drink too much. I had a couple of glasses of wine and that was about it. I wanted to enjoy every moment of it and converse with people who were invited into the team room, and with the players and backroom team as well. I know a number of players went off to the American team room and had a bit of fun there, and that’s great - because at the end of the day, that’s what the Ryder Cup is all about and it’s great that the players can do that.

Did you mentally write off your own game for the year?

Initially I tried not to, but it soon became apparent that my mind wasn’t where it should be - and that it should be on the captaincy rather than trying to compete. Even though, physically, my game wasn’t too bad, I wasn’t getting the job done. I wasn’t focused on what I was doing and I was constantly looking around me. So mentally, I parked it. I got injured again in the middle of the summer, which was a blessing in disguise, so I didn’t play from the Scottish Open through to the Italian Open. All the previous captains who told me my playing would take a back seat were correct!