McGinley: Europe needs street fighters at Bethpage
Paul McGinley
Europe will face the toughest task in the history of the Ryder Cup later this year – and are going to need streetfighters in the team to retain the trophy.
Europe cruised to victory two years ago at Marco Simone in Rome but Paul McGinley, the revered 2014 captain in the thrashing at Gleneagles, believes the challenge at a raucous Bethpage Black in New York is going to be a mammoth one.
And the Irishman, who is a strategic advisor to the 2025 team, says the re-appointment of Luke Donald as captain is the first step on a new European masterplan for away matches.
“I was obviously involved with that decision to bring him back,” McGinley, told SportsBoom.com.
“My view was that the challenge that we're going to face over in Bethpage is probably the biggest challenge an away team has ever faced on either side. That atmosphere is going to be really difficult to play in."
“The perception is that we nail the Ryder Cup and America don't. What we do is win at home. And what American nail is winning at home. Both teams have been poor on the road."
“The Ryder Cups in the last 10 years have been pretty much one-sided with the home team winning - and we haven't won away from home now since Medinah. And that was a miracle."
“And before that it was eight years before that at Oakland Hills in Detroit, and I was on that team. So away matches are very difficult, much more difficult than winning at home.
“And the template that works at home doesn't necessarily transfer, so we have to cultivate a new template to tackle these away matches and not just take for granted that whatever we did in the home match is going to work again, whether that be pairings, whether that be personnel, whether that be approach."
“For me the view is to create a new template away from home and the first roll of the dice with that was to put a captain in who had captained before, and who captained successfully."
“So that we're not training in a new captain and dealing with all the differences of being away from home. So, bringing an ex-captain in who's been there was the first roll of the dice of doing something different.”
CHARACTER COUNTS
McGinley, who was one of 11 former Ryder Cup players in the Legends Tour’s event at Apes Hill in Barbados, revealed Europe are looking at the character of the players even more deeply than previously.
“Going away from home with 80% of the crowd against you, Americans with their tails up on an American-tailored golf course - they've got home advantage, and it is a very difficult situation,” McGinley added.
“Our players have to perform in a very hostile environment, which is a difficult thing to do. I played away from home in Detroit 2010. I have one experience of it. Luke was my partner actually in his first Ryder Cup."
“And playing when 80% of the crowd are pulling against you is a difficult scenario, it requires deep concentration, and it requires a bit of an edge in your personality. So we are looking for personnel who might have that edge."
“We are looking at their psyche for sure. You can have all the stats you want, because our stats guys do amazing stuff now, but personality is going to be a big deal."
“Who's performed in a hostile environment? Who stands up to be counted when the odds are not quite going for you? Personality traits are going to be important. Experience is going to be important."
“Luke is the captain. My job is not to tell him what to do, my job is to expand his thinking and make sure that everything is considered before decisions are made."
“But ultimately, it'll be his decision. From what he said already publicly and what he has said privately, they're the kind of things that he's looking at.”
McGinley was one of 11 Ryder Cup players in the field for the Legends Tour event at Apes Hill, as well as 2003 US PGA Champion Shaun Micheel and New Zealander Michael Campbell, who won the 2005 US Open over Tiger Woods.
