Ryder Cup debutant Paul McGinley is hoping to jump-start his season - after clocking up almost 100,000 air miles since December.

The 35-year-old Dubliner has made FIVE Transatlantic trips and travelled to Hong Kong and South Africa inside the past six months.

Since his Masters debut in April he has missed three of the past five cuts and broken 70 just once in his last 18 competitive rounds.

But now he's set to play his way out of his slump when tees it up with Greg Norman in the Smurfit European Open at the K Club tomorrow (Thurs).

He said: "It was a huge decision to pull out of the Irish Open. Probably the biggest decision of my career.

"I got my schedule wrong and I felt I had to rectify it. Now I'm back on track and I feel have the breaks I need as regards the run up to the Ryder Cup."

Since missing the cut in the US Open, McGinley has spent the past fortnight nursing his battered confidence.

He said: "It's not a physical thing, it's a mental thing. Mental tiredness. I've had a lot of changes over the past year and they have taken a lot more out of me than I thought.

"The travelling to America made a difference and I made two trips to the West coast and three trips to the East coast.

"There was a lot of to-ing and froing with a different golf culture in the United States."

McGinley spent the first week of his break with coach Pete Cowen and then went on a family holiday to Portugal to recharge his batteries.

But he admits that his confidence is still delicate after crashing to a second round 81 in the Benson and Hedges International Open at he Belfry in May.

"The 81 was a big shock to the system," he confessed. "I haven't got on a roll since then and it's a question of working my way back into form again. It's just peaks and troughs but I've been through it before and it's not a big deal."

After playing seven events in the US in the early spring, including a wonderful 18th place finish in his debut Masters at Augusta, it all started to go wrong for McGinley as he was lashed by terrible weather in the two Irish events - the Seve Trophy at Druids Glen and the Irish PGA in Westport

"I came back from the Masters straight away and then played the Seve Trophy in atrocious weather and the Smurfit Irish PGA in even worse weather," he said

"Then I had two or three company days the following week and the Benson and Hedges and I really played too much.

"The weather compounded it and after that I was like a boxer throwing punches the last month and not hitting the target.

"I just wasn't with it and I wasn't playing very well and I just felt I needed to get away from golf. Unfortunately it was the Irish Open that I pulled out of.

"But I felt like as I was at the end of the season instead of the start of the year with all the travelling I did."

McGinley also felt that his swing went out of shape as he battled the wind and rain in the Irish PGA

"I got into a shut position at the top and got away from a my natural high shot by trying to hit low draws along the ground to avoid the wind. Hopefully that's all behind me."

Now McGinley is taking care of himself as he looks forward to his Ryder Cup debut in September.

"I've got one eye definitely in September and the important thing is to show a bit of form at that time. I'm definitely refreshed now and just need some competitive golf.

"I'm just hoping to play well this week, to get into the rhythm and play a four-round tournament after so many short events with missed cuts and bad weather."

In danger of dropping out of the top 50 in the world, McGinley knows that the slide has to stop this week.

"Yes, I've gone from 38th to 48th and it's all about playing well over the next few weeks," he admitted.

"To go to the States was a learning experience and sometimes you have to take a couple of steps backwards before you can go forwards.

"I felt that I need that experience to compete against those guys and the courses they play on. I think it was important for my career."

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© Brian Keogh 2002

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