It was the morning after at Gleneagles, the celebrations had not long drawn to their conclusion, with triumphant European captain Paul McGinley confirming that this would be his final Ryder Cup in an official capacity. He bows out a winner with a 100% record. Twice a winning player, twice a successful vice-captain, and, finally, a victorious captain, the 47-year-old Irishman will rightly be inscribed into the history books of golf’s biggest event as one its great figures.
From holing the winning putt at The Belfry, to lifting the Cup in front of thousands on a sunny evening at Gleneagles, it has been quite a 12 years for Paul McGinley in the Ryder Cup. He may not have win a major championship as a player, but this week in Perthshire was his grand slam triumph.
Meticulous, organised, thorough, McGinley has dedicated the last two years of his life to setting the stage for his players in Scotland. It is they who hole the putts and win the matches, but it is the captain who lays the foundations to give them the best chance of success.
It was something he had been building up to for years. From his background as a youngster in Gaelic football, McGinley thrives and understands the ethos of a team. He would later learn from Sam Torrance and Bernhard Langer as a member of their successful Ryder Cup teams, before working under Colin Montgomerie and Jose Maria Olazabal as a vice-captain. Playing an important part in those weeks, McGinley was accumulating knowledge, and an understanding of the principles that have contributed to Europe having now won eight of the last ten Ryder Cups.
He would put these lessons into practice as a captain of the Great Britain and Ireland team in the Seve Trophy on two occasions, before being named captain in the January on 2013. Simply put, no one has ever been more prepared to captain in a Ryder Cup than Paul McGinley was.
McGinley had an understanding of his players, as golfers and individuals, which his counterpart Tom Watson so evidently never had. His players liked him, respected him and felt secure in the knowledge that their captain had left no stone unturned. Yes, McGinley’s four European Tour titles as a player is a paltry return in comparison to the achievements of his childhood hero, Watson. But great players do not necessarily make for great Ryder Cup captains. Great men do.
Watson’s captaincy was cold and disjointed. By Saturday, the direction (if there ever was one) of the 65-year-old’s leadership had become incoherent. McGinley always stayed on message. He always gave the impression of someone who knew exactly what he was doing, and had considered every decision carefully.
McGinley had a plan and he stuck with it. He was warm, welcoming, and had the trust of his players. He was the antithesis of Tom Watson.
His handling of the enigmatic Frenchman, Victor Dubuisson was the execution of sporting psychologically at its best. Once it became clear earlier this year that the 24-year-old was to likely qualify for the team, McGinley sought to make the shy Dubuisson feel involved. He spent hours with him around the world, gaining an understanding of an individual who few on the European Tour had got to know beyond a peripheral level.
Through many hours of time spent in his company, McGinley was able to successfully incorporate an introvert into a team environment. Enlisting Graeme McDowell as Dubuisson’s handler on the course for the week was an act of genius. The affable Ulsterman was the perfect partner for Dubuisson, calm and supportive, and it brought two valuable points in the foursomes.
And even in the singles, when Dubuisson was out in the anchor match, McGinley was there for him. Knowing that without McDowell, the rookie may have felt out of his comfort zone, the captain was there alongside him for the first few holes to him settle, despite more critical matches further ahead. McGinley had the back of his players.
But it was also the small touches that made McGinley’s captaincy so great. The inspirational videos he showed his players of past Ryder Cups, the introduction of soccer legend Sir Alex Ferguson as a guest speaker, and the poignant quotes of Seve Ballesteros and Bob Torrance on the walls, it all served as an illustration of the time and effort that McGinley had spent in creating an environment for his players to thrive in.
As he moves on from active involvement in the biennial contest, McGinley will still have an important role to play. He will help select the man to lead Europe at Hazeltine in 2016, and the European Tour could not hope to have a more suitable man involved in that decision. As Lee Westwood, a veteran of nine Ryder Cups said: "I think you could base your captaincy and your future captain around the way Paul did it this week.”
It was a role that Paul McGinley had made his own. He set the stage for his players and they delivered the Ryder Cup for him. Whoever has the honour of replacing him will have a very hard act to follow.
Paul McGinley, a Ryder Cup legend.