McGinley raring to get back into action

Paul McGinley is chomping at the bit for some competitive fare. The past three weeks have been nothing but a void in his schedule; and, when the Dubliner steps on board a flight today, destination Paris, it will signal the start of the most important six weeks of his season.

"I'm fresh and ready to go," said the 31-year-old Dubliner who, through circumstances almost entirely beyond his control, has missed a combined nine weeks of the season already. "It's not exactly the way I'd structured it," he added, "but I've got my game back in good shape and all I'm looking for now is the bit of consistency that has been missing."

McGinley is part of a seven-strong Irish contingent competing in the Peugeot French Open at the National Club in Paris this week, the start of a planned six-week stretch on the circuit for him which will also take in next week's Murphy's Irish Open, the Loch Lomond, the British Open - "I hope to make it without having to qualify," - the Dutch Open and the Scandinavian Masters.

Having already missed six weeks earlier in the season due to a rib cartilage injury, McGinley didn't swing a club in competition for the past three weeks either. He opted to miss the English Open at Hanbury Manor, decided not to pre-qualify for the US Open and went to the European Grand Prix in Slaley Hall which was washed out - "a disaster," he recalled - and was never going to Madeira.

"The good thing about the three weeks of inaction is that I am really fresh, mentally and physically," said McGinley. "This is the part of the season last season when I played poorly. I made the cuts okay, but I didn't succeed in putting four good rounds together. It was the meat in the season but I effectively missed out, although I rallied towards the end."

Indeed, McGinley intends to use the French, Irish and Loch Lomond to garner enough prize money to avoid the need to play pre-qualifying for the British Open. And the Irish Open, of course, is very dear to his heart. "I don't go along with those who say that there is too much pressure on an Irish player to win the Irish Open, that's just an excuse. All you have to do is look at Bernhard Langer's record in Germany to see that." A good Irish Open could prove crucial, in fact, to McGinley's bid to also secure that British Open berth in Birkdale without having to endure the qualifying lottery. It will also be the first time that he and Padraig Harrington will have played in Ireland since their World Cup triumph last November, and McGinley would love if they were paired together. "I don't know if it will happen, but it would be terrific."

McGinley will be joined in Paris by Philip Walton, Raymond Burns, Des Smyth, Francis Howley, David Higgins and Cameron Clark in a field which also includes Colin Montgomerie, Bernhard Langer and defending champion Retief Goosen.

The K Club-attached player was in Dublin last evening to officially open the new Cobra Golfing Academy, based at St Margaret's in north county Dublin. The stateof-the-art facility will offer a wide range of coaching aids to golfers and has two attached teaching professionals, Darren McLoughlin and David Louys-Moroney, and Brian Jennings, a former international athlete, as fitness consultant.

"This is a natural progression for us," said St Margaret's chief executive, Tony Judge. "We have products available to suit the beginner or advanced player, and it is the perfect location for an individual to take up the game or improve on existing techniques."

Costantino Rocca is the latest big name to join the line-up for next month's Standard Life Loch Lomond International.

The popular Italian will tee up alongside previous winners Tom Lehman and Thomas Bjorn for one of the European Tour's flagship events from July 8th-11th.

Rocca became the first Italian to make the Ryder Cup team in 1993 and went on to become an important member of the side in the two subsequent meetings in 1995 and 1997.

He is also remembered for a monster, 60-foot putt on the final green in the 1995 British Open at St Andrews to go into a play-off with eventual winner John Daly.

Loch Lomond tournament executive Euan Scott said: "His engaging style has made him one of the more popular and recognisable players in the game."

Jack Nicklaus will travel to Britain for the Open next month - but is not certain yet that he will play.

The 58-year-old followed his brilliant sixth place finish in the Masters in April by coming joint 43rd in the US Open on Sunday.

That was his 153rd major championship, but whether Royal Birkdale is his 154th remains to be seen.

"I'm going over, but I'll see how my body feels when I wake up Tuesday morning that week," said Nicklaus, whose son Gary will be trying to qualify for the Open.

"If I don't feel up to it I'll pass my spot on to someone else."

Nicklaus has not missed an Open since his debut in 1962. In four appearances at Birkdale he has finished fifth, second (jointly with 19-year-old Seve Ballesteros behind Johnny Miller in 1976), 29th and 63rd.