Comeback king Paul McGinley wants to make a fast start to the new season - by staying off the mince pies at Christmas.

The Dubliner is set to return to action in early February after undergoing a vital operation on his left knee last month.

Starved of success after three winless years on the European Tour, the time has come for team player McGinley to prove himself as an individual.

He said: “My main worry is too keep my mouth shut over Christmas so I don’t put on any weight. I can’t do any bicycle work or treadmill or weights.

“I have just been getting into the pool to do a little light exercise. I am a little bit like a fish out of water at the moment but with kids at Christmas I will have plenty to keep me occupied and filling my days won’t be a problem.”

With just three European Tour wins since he turned professional in 1991, 38-year-old McGinley knows he should have more trophies on his mantelpiece.

And he hopes to put that right in a non-Ryder Cup qualifying year and get motoring early next season with winter raids to the US, New Zealand and Malaysia.

He added: “I need to get my ass in gear a bit earlier next year. I have two great Ryder Cup memories now and I had a good World Cup too.

“But I have to become ore goal oriented and transform my form in team events into my individual performances.

“There is definitely a gap between the way I perform in both. It is not a technical thing, it is more mental than anything.

“That is the gap I have to bridge, performing week in week out as opposed to getting up for a Ryder Cup campaign.

“It is not so much being short of wins. I am short of being in contention more often. Wins come from being in contention so that is what I have got to improve and give myself more chances.”

His season will start at the $5.3 million AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach from February 2-8.

After that he will play in the Holden New Zealand Open and the Carlsberg Malaysian Open on the European Tour schedule.

His recovery from his latest operation appears to be going well and the Dubliner expects to begin hitting balls in mid-January before heading to Pebble Beach.

Ranked 69th in the world, his goal is to earn enough world ranking points to leap into the world’s top 64 and secure a place in the WGC - Accenture Match Play Championship at La Costa in late February.

This year he bounced back from an operation on his right knee in April to grab his Ryder Cup place with a superb late dash for the line.

He was sixth in the US PGA championship and had seven top-10 finishes in all, including runners-up finishes in the Dubai Desert Classic and KLM Dutch Open.

Having holed the winning putt for Europe to claim the Ryder Cup at the Belfry, he showed his class with an unbeaten record at Oakland Hills which included a singles win over Stewart Cink and a memorable foursomes victory with Harrington over Tiger Woods and Davis Love.

He underwent another operation on his left knee shortly after the World Cup in Seville, where he partnered Padraig Harrington to third place behind winners England and hosts Spain.

He added: “My knee feels good. I was only on the crutches for a couple of days. I am fine, doing my exercises and I hope to start hitting balls in the middle of January.

“My first tournament will be at Pebble Beach in the second week in February but in terms of hitting a golf shot I have pencilled in the week beginning the 10th of January.

“It all depends because the left knee is different to the right one because there is more twisting involved. That’s why I came back so quickly from the last operation.

“With the left leg I am going to have to twist through it at speed. My surgeon, Mr Unwin, says I am ahead of schedule and I will be all right by the middle of January.

“As for the past season, it was very satisfying to come from a long way back to make the Ryder Cup team and then perform well. That would be the outstanding memory of the year and I have two outstanding Ryder Cup memories now.

“I am looking forward to getting back into action but I don’t want to think too much about it. I still have a lot of physio to do between now and then.”

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© Brian Keogh 2003

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