Medinah miracle worker Jose Maria Olazabal has assured European golf supporters the Ryder Cup is in good hands with the Gleneagles appointment of Paul McGinley.
McGinley had been one of the Spaniards first choices in selecting his Chicago backroom team and it was Olazabal who chose McGinley to lead the GB & I team in their 2011 winning defence of the Vivendi Seve Trophy.
Indeed McGinley will have that role later this year in selecting both the European and the GB & I captain’s for the event being staged in the first week of October.
The Ryder Cup is in good hands with McGinley’s appointment says Olazabal. (Photo – www.golffile.ie)
But after playing alongside Colin Montgomerie, and the victorious 2010 European Team leader, Olazabal was delighted McGinley was chosen to lead Europe in some 20 month’s time.
“Paul has been wonderful as a vice-captain in the last two Ryder Cup’s and he certainly deserves now to be a captain,” said Olazabal.
“He knows very well the job in hand and I’m sure he will do a superb job.
“I have been impressed not only by the way he captained the GB & I Seve Trophy teams but impressed by how he handled his role at Medinah.
“I’ve known Paul for many years and it did not surprise how well he handles the positions he been appointed. He good with details and he’s also great in dealing with people and knows how to approach them and deal with them and that’s important.
“So the European Ryder Cup captaincy is still in good hands with Paul.
And when asked what advice Olazabal would extend to McGinley, the Spaniard responded: “I don’t need to give him any advice as he’s been there and he’s done it all before.
“He knows what it will take to retain the Ryder Cup so I am not going to give him any advice, but then if he does come to me I will give him my ideas.
“But it is not going to be easy for him when it comes to playing golf as your mind is always somewhere else and all the things that does with the Ryder Cup.
“So it’s important for him to maintain his energy levels and try and focus as best he can on just competing.”
And McGinley revealed he’s already made one back-room appointment ahead of the Ryder Cup.
McGinley’s long-time caddy, Jimmy Rae and affectionately known as ‘Edinburgh Jimmy’ will join a team of caddies to work in the locker room at Gleneagles.
However McGinley was smiling when he remarked: “No, it wasn’t me that chose him as ‘Edinburgh Jimmy’ appointed himself. But he’ll be among a few caddies I’ll have on board helping out.”
While construction abounds all about the Qatari capital in readiness for the 2022 World Cup the city of some 1.4m still boasts just one golf course.
McGinley heads five Irish taking to the Peter Harradine-designed course, and along with defending champion, Paul Lawrie he joins the Scot as among just a dozen players who first competed in Doha in 1998.
The duo shared 15th place that year and with McGinley’s best result being third in 2003 behind South African Darren Fichardt.
“Doha has changed incredibly since I first came here,” said McGinley.
“We stayed for the first few years in the Sheraton Hotel at the opposite end of the corniche and it was later the headquarters for the US in the Gulf War.
“It was the hotel in the region but the skyline is now so different whereas the golf course, apart from a few new tee boxes, hasn’t changed that little.”
