'Do your job' - McGinley goes full Roy Keane during Walker Cup chat

Paul McGinley

Paul McGinley went full Roy Keane when he addressed the Great Britain and Ireland team ahead of this weekend's Walker Cup clash at Lahinch.

"Do your job," was the former Ryder Cup captain's message to Dean Robertson's team as they bid to stop a star-studded USA squad claiming a sixth successive victory.

"Yeah, represent, do your job," skipper Robertson said of a ten-minute speech that could only be described as McGinley in full Roy Keane mode.

"That's exactly what he said. That was exactly how he phrased it as well.

"We're a team at the end of the day. There's cohesion, there's unity, but ultimately, as individuals, have pride in what you do. Get out there and do your job. He was brilliant."

"He only spoke for 10 minutes on Tuesday evening, but that was the theme. And then we came out today and did nine holes with him.

"As a former South Ireland champion, Paul understands the course better than, or as well as, anybody. It's a golf course that you've got to get the ball in play, keep it in front of you, get it in play. That's what he said.

"They're all great players, and they might pick some battles and such here and there. But his message was keep it simple, fairways and greens."

Misty rain and southwest wind gusting to 35 kmph swept across the west Clare links yesterday as both teams continue their preparations for the 51st staging of the event, which will attract a sell-out crowd of 8,000 each day. 

"The course is immaculate," Robertson said. "It's magnificent, absolutely magnificent. So we're really looking forward to it."

While the USA features just three of the team that beat GB&I 1-9 at Cypress Point last year, claiming 8.5 points from the ten singles in the final round, they are favourites on paper.

While Jackson Koivun has gone on to win on the PGA TOUR and Michael La Sasso took the final LIV Golf event in Indianpoilis, they have seven of the top-10 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings in Preston Stout (No. 1), Tyler Watts (2nd), William Jennings (4th), 17-year-old Miles Russell (5th), Ryder Cowan (6th), Josiah Gilbert (7th) and Ethan Fang (9th) alongside Kihei Akina (11th), Jay Leng Jr (12th) and 35-year-old veteran Stewart Hagestad (25th) who is making his sixth appearance.

With the Walker Cup switching to even-numbered years to avoid clashing with the Eisenhower Trophy, the home side boasts six of the players who put it up to the Americans at Cypress Point last year before capitulating in the final singles session.

World number three Tyler Weaver, Luke Poulter (8th), Eliot Baker (13th), Niall Sheils Donegan (18th), Connor Graham (26th) and reigning Amateur champion Stuart Grehan from Co Louth Golf Club (28th) all played last year and with US Amateur champion Jack Whaley (45th), Sam Easterbrook (76th), Ben Bolton (86th) and Josh Hill (93rd) completing the team, they have the talent to claim Great Britain and Ireland's first win since 2015.

US non-playing captain Nathan Smith, a four-time US Mid-Amateur champion and three-time Walker Cup player, is expecting a tough battle and he's set his sights on getting off to a fast start in Saturday morning's foursomes.

"You need to come out ready to play because otherwise you're really fighting back," he told the Musing on Golf podcast before arriving in Lahinch. "I know that happened to us even last year (in foursomes). We got out of the gate, and we're down 3-1, and then you have to claw back."

As for the GB&I team, he said: "I think it's really one of their best teams in years. Anytime you can start to see guys on their team that control the US Amateur and British Amateur, they've got a very deep team, so it's going to be a big ask. We know we have our hands full."

Meanwhile, former Walker Cup player Liam Nolan and Royal Dublin's Max Kennedy have joined Roscommon's Thomas Higgins in receiving invitations for next week's Amgen Irish Open at Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Doonbeg.

Reigning Irish Close champion Higgins, who is first reserve for this weekend's Walker Cup, will be making his professional debut in the $6m event where European Ryder Cup players Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre, Sepp Straka, brothers Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard, captain Luke Donald and vice-captain Pádraig Harrington are the main attractions.

The field will also feature US star Patrick Reed, the Race to Dubai leader, who is the top-ranked player in action in this week's Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre.

Kennedy is back in HotelPlanner Tour action this week at the Rosa Challenge Tour in Poland alongside Ronan Mullarney, Dermot McElroy and former Walker Cup stars Gary Hurley, Conor Purcell, Mark Power, Paul McBride and John Murphy