Ryder Cup rookie Paul McGinley is worried he'll wear himself out before the big showdown with the US in September.

The pocket battler is forcing himself to take time off and conserve energy for later in the season.

McGinley will finally make his Ryder Cup debut in September, but he's taking no chances with his schedule in the build up to the biggest week of his career.

He said: "I don't feel drained now, but I know from past experience how I am likely to feel in six or seven weeks time when I have kept playing for such a stretch.

"In the past, I have worn myself out and it is a matter of looking at the schedule and just deciding what week to take off.

"If you look at the schedule over the coming weeks, they are all big tournaments. It is like trying to catch fish all day and then all the good ones come in a row."

McGinley reluctantly decided to miss this week's French Open on one of his favourite courses, Le National.

Instead the Sunningdale resident will spend the weekend on the range, honing his short game before heading to the Belfry for the first European Ryder Cup team meeting and the £1.1 million Benson and Hedges International Open.

"I know I need quite a bit of practice, because I feel that my game is still not 100 per cent yet," he said. "But there's no point in wearing yourself out when it is such a long season."

McGinley has played around 26 events a year since 1998, but he looks likely to cut back this term to get the best possible preparation for the Ryder Cup.

It's all part of his plan to move into the top 25 in the world before the end of the season.

Fellow Dubliner Padraig Harrington has seen McGinley transform himself over the past two years. And he feels there is more improvement to come from his matchplay partner.

Remarked Harrington: "He has been trying to move up a level for a while. He identified what it was that needed improving and came out a much stronger player. Basically, he has improved his pitching and chipping, he has always been good tee to green, and now improving two other areas of his games explains why he is up where he is."

Ranked 39th in the world this week, McGinley knows that he has the game to match the best the Americans have to throw at him in September's Ryder Cup.

His early season stint on the US Tour ­ including his successful US Masters debut ­ gave him valuable experience and the belief that he deserves his place alongside the big guns.

Tied for 18th at Augusta, he won four points out of five in the Seve Trophy before taking the Irish PGA title with ease.

In total he played in six tournaments and missed just two cuts on the US Tour, picking up over ¤200,000 for his trouble.

"I jumped in at the deep end by playing so much in the United States and I've soaked up a lot of experience. I don't feel 100 per cent confident with my game, but there's an art in being able to chisel out scores.

"The secret of being a good professional is to hang in and chisel out a result. I'm learning how to do that, and all of the top guys will tell you that they can only peak for two or three weeks in a year."

McGinley will follow his appearance at the Benson and Hedges with a trip to Germany for the Deutsche Bank - SAP Open TPC of Europe, followed by the Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth, a three-minute drive from his Sunningdale home.

But his season is geared towards the clash with the US at the Belfry in September and he is not overawed at he prospect.

He said: "I'm ready for it. I've been a professional for over 10 years now and I'm looking forward to the atmosphere, it should be fantastic. When I've been in situations where we won the World Cup or in the Dunhill Cup or leading the British Open, if you stop in the fairway and think, oh my God, there's two billion people watching me, you're not going to hit a shot.

"When you're in that zone, you're playing golf and it's about getting the ball from A to B, and keeping it as simple as possible and trying not to make the occasion bigger than it is.

"I think it's fantastic, three Irish and in the team. I think it says a lot for the Golfing Union of Ireland.

"Padraig and Darren and I have come through their structure and we shouldn't forget that. Very often these amateur bodies get criticised and I think it's right they should be praised when something like this happens.

"The whole of Ireland is very proud to have three representatives on the Ryder Cup team. It's great. With the match coming to Ireland in 2006, it goes to show that Ireland deserves to have the match."

McGinley's improvement over the past two years has marked him out as one of the men to beat on the European Tour. And the man himself admits that maturity has a lot to do with it.

"I understand my game a lot better, I understand myself a lot better," he explained. "I've got ground rules now that when my game goes wrong, I know why it went wrong."

Come September, the Americans had better look elsewhere for a weak link in Sam Torrance's side.

Jack's back
Jack Nicklaus could be back in the Senior British Open at Royal County Down ­ thanks to Augusta National bosses.

Under new rules, the Golden Bear must play at least 10 tournaments a year if he is to be eligible for the US Masters.

Nicklaus, 62, has said that he will compete in Newcastle again this year if his bad back allows him.

But as a client of organisers IMG, the Bear could kill two birds with one stone by competing in future editions.

Except for 1999, when he was recovering from hip replacement surgery, Nicklaus has played at least 10 tournaments worldwide.

Masters organisers originally wanted past champions to play at least 15 events to be eligible but then reduced the criteria to 10 when they realised that they would be excluding Nicklaus from the field in 2004.

Gorse
Royal County Down are slashing back the famous gorse at their fantastic Newcastle links.

The club fear that it will take over if they don't cut it back.

Said a spokesman: "When it's in flower it lovely, but it's really a weed and a bloody nuisance. We want to get it back from the fairways to allow the heather a chance to grow."

McDowell No 1
Graeme McDowell is officially the number college player in the US.

The Portrush kid is top of the Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index poll.

McDowell, 22, plans to turn professional after the Palmer Cup matches at Doonbeg in July.

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© Brian Keogh 2002

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