It seems a mite curious when Paul McGinley confesses that the hand of fate could deal an Irish winner in this week's Murphy's Irish Open. Why? For the guts of two decades, since John O'Leary's win at Portmarnock in 1982, it has appeared that all sorts of ghoulish spells, witches curses, hexes and maledictions, have landed on the heads of any Irish player who has got close to landing the title. So close shall ye come, but no further And, yet, McGinley - who opted to walk a number of holes yesterday, rather than actually play, in order to reacquaint himself with a course where he won the Irish PGA championship in 1997 - is a believer in fate, and that maybe the time has come for some sort of deliverance.
"It's nice to return to a venue where you have previously won, even if it wasn't a tour event, and professional golfers do tend to look for some hidden significance. I've good memories of Munster, winning the South of Ireland in 1991 to secure my Walker Cup place, and winning here; but I think Padraig Harrington will take even more inspiration from here.
"Fate plays a big part in the destination of titles and this a great situation where you could create a great Cork story . . . Padraig Harrington, son of a local footballing legend, Paddy Harrington, returns . . . there are hidden forces at work in these things. It has been a long time since an Irishman won this title and surely we are due to break that," insisted McGinley.
For the Dubliner, however, this is the start of an important four-week stretch on tour. With over £10 million in prizemoney on offer in the next month - Irish Open, European Open, Scottish Open and British Open - it could prove to be the making or breaking of ambitions for those seeking to win a place on Europe's Ryder Cup team. He intends to play in all four events, only the second time this season that he will embark on such a stretch.
McGinley's quest has been boosted by receiving an invite to play in the US PGA in Atlanta in August (after which the leading 12 players in the European Ryder Cup table will be included in the WGC-NEC in Akron), but the more immediate tournaments closer to home could decide his destiny in advance.
Indeed, if McGinley, who won his second tour event in the Oki Pro-Am in Spain in 1997, the same year as his Irish PGA win, wanted any indication that he is capable of winning on the European Tour again, then it has come from recent happenings. Thomas Levet won the British Masters, and Retief Goosen won the US Open. What both men have in common with McGinley is that they work with the Belgian sports psychologist Jos Vanstiphout. Last year in Ballybunion, McGinley finished third. If he is in the right frame of mind, and the curses stay away, then maybe the time has arrived for him to deal himself a happier ending for a change.
