It was not surprising victorious Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley should walk off the final green in his final tournament of the season confessing he never experienced a proper golf season.
McGinley’s 23rd straight season concluded just prior to 3pm local Shanghai time after he landed a 4-iron to just five feet but missed his birdie putt in a round of 71 for a two under par tally in the BMW Masters.
It earned the Dubliner a prize cheque for Euro 52,100 but given he was competing in the Chinese financial capital on an invitation the money does not count on the Race to Dubai money list and McGinley ending his year 168th on the money list.
And those predictions from former European Team captains such as Colin Montgomerie and Jose Maria Olazabal that McGinley’s golf game would suffer once he accepted the Gleneagles captaincy certainly rang true.
In fact, McGinley’s 168th Race to Dubai standing is the poorest since he joined the Tour full time in 1992 and a season when he made the cut in only six of 13 events, and with a best finish of T15th in the Spanish Open.
Paul McGinley ends his 23rd European Tour season signing autographs at the Lake Malaren GC. (Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com)
“I don’t feel like I’ve had a golf season and it won’t be a season I will remember for my golf,” he said smiling.
“I never got going and it’s definitely a challenge playing golf when you’re a Ryder Cup Captain and that’s what everybody said to me would happen and they were dead right.
“What’s disappointing is that I didn’t have one top-10 but then I’m in the twilight of my career and we all know that, so I will probably play a minimum number of 14 or 15 events next year but then there’s also lots of stuff going on with corporate sponsors.
“But I won’t play any tournament golf now till sometime in the New Year, and besides my clubs have been away for most the year anyway (laughing).
“It’s not like I need a break from golf but then I’ll play a few social games back home over the Christmas period and only because I do like to play golf.”
The Irishman is returning home for a fortnight off before joining the SKY Sports commentary team in Dubai for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
But while McGinley’s uncertain where and when he will commence a 24th season he’s very aware of there will be no rest once he gets back home from Dubai.
“I’ve had lots and lots of speaking engagement requests and also invitations to attend all sorts of award ceremonies but I don’t want to be spending the next two months doing that as nice as they are,” he said.
“It’s a great honour to be nominated, and I guess it is a new and exciting chapter in my life, but I am not going to have time to go to them all.
“I also need to get my head around my direction my career is going to take, so there’s a lot still going on in my golfing life.”
While McGinley was making his way home Shane Lowry was left lamenting dropping two shots over the last two holes in Shanghai also in a round of 71 for a 10-under par tally and a share 16th place with Graeme McDowell (73).
What hurt Lowry more was the World Ranking points he let slip, and points that would lift him closer to ending 2014 top-50 in the world and the assurance of a start in all four 2015 Majors.
“If I had of pared the last two holes I would have finished top-10 and missing out on those World Ranking points is the biggest killer for me, so I am a little bit annoyed to say the least,” he said.
Lowry capped his final round by holing a 160-yard 9-iron second shot for eagle at the par four second hole.
And McDowell revealed his 9-week old daughter, Vale will make her tournament debut at the Tiger Woods hosted Hero World Challenge commencing on December 4th at Isleworth in Orlando.
