McGinley the man in the middle
It promises to be an interesting weekend for Paul McGinley at Gleneagles, the place where he might well lead Europe in the 2014 Ryder Cup.
Six under par at halfway in the Johnnie Walker Championship, McGinley could be the man to stop Simon Dyson and Alvaro Quiros qualifying for Europe's Ryder Cup team. They both have to win just to have a chance. But that is not all. Between the final two rounds McGinley will sit down with Colin Montgomerie and fellow assistant captains Thomas Bjorn and Darren Clarke to decide who gets the three wild cards.
"I've got private views, but I think they should remain private," said the Dubliner before admitting that it was "a shame" that his close friend Padraig Harrington, Paul Casey and Luke Donald have not crossed the Atlantic this past fortnight to try to make the side on points.
Edoardo Molinari and Justin Rose, 21st and 22nd in the world, are also needing one of Montgomerie's three picks and McGinley added: "Obviously they are going to be extremely difficult.
"I've talked to Monty quite a bit. He said he wants to have a big communication with his backroom team and he's been true to his word so far.
"Having said that, I don't know how much say we're going to have in the picks. "Certainly he's going to ask our opinions and we'd be a sounding board for him, but at the end of the day he's the one who will make the tough decisions.
"We're going to his house for dinner and then I'm sure we'll meet again come the final putt on Sunday."
The wild cards are being announced an hour after the tournament, where Dyson and Quiros are trying to force their way past Miguel Angel Jimenez or Peter Hanson for the last two automatic spots.
