Paul McGinley admits that putt in the Ryder Cup made him the luckiest golfer in the world.

But he was thanking his Lady Luck again last night after surviving the halfway cut in the Open.

Gutsy McGinley was struggling at seven over par after nine holes, but he played the tough back nine in one over to card a battling 73.

The Dubliner, was almost blown out of the Championship on Thursday when winds gusting up to 35mph turned a good round into an ugly 77.

He said: “It’s been tough. I’ve had the worst of the draw as you can see. But that’s the British Open. The luck of the draw is so important.

“I can’t complain about my luck over the years and I’ve been very lucky with the Ryder Cup lat year.

“Even at Lytham in 1996 I had the right side of the draw, I made a hole-in-one and I was leading after two rounds.”

Yesterday he had to show all his shot making skills on the homeward journey to avoid missing the cut for the seventh time in 11 Open appearances.

His solid play also prevented him missing the weekend action for the fifth time this season.

He said: “I’ve battled well today. I seem to be battling to make cuts every week because I keep having bad first rounds and putting myself under pressure.

“But I keep making it on the right side. Last week I birdied three of the last five to make it on the mark. And I had a great finish today. One over for the last five holes is a great finish.”

Bogeys at the first and third put him eight over for the Championship, but he played the remaining 15 in level par.

First he made a two-putt birdie at the long fourth and then he hit bombed a massive 382-yard drive down the seventh and rifled a nine iron to 12 feet to set up an eagle chance.

His putt missed but at level par for his round he had a solid base to go ahead and chisel out a solid score.

Bogeys at the eighth (bad drive) and 11th (three putts) didn’t appear to shake him and when he drained a 10 footer for his third birdie of the day at the 13th he looked safe.

Putting has been his cross this year and after lipping out from six feet for birdie at the 16th he three putted the 17th to drop a shot.

Thinking he might need a birdie at the last to make sure of qualifying, he hit a spectacular four-iron from 189 yards that settled just eight feet from the pin but missed again with the putter.

The course is more difficult that algebra, but McGinley has no complaints about the way it is set up.

He explained: “This is a Major. It’s tough and difficult and the best player will win.

“You’ve got to move the ball and shape it. When the wind blows like that you have really got to show your skill.

“You’ve got to shape the ball, you’ve got to be smart, you’ve got to hole putts and play great. There are no fluke winners.

“I think it was playable yesterday. It’s the Open, it’s tradition. I was prepared for a tough day with perfect conditions. We didn’t have a gale force wind. We had a strong wind and a strong golf course.”

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© Brian Keogh 2003

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