Paul McGinley received a ringing endorsement yesterday of his decision to play in this week's BMW International Open, the last qualifying event for the Ryder Cup. "I would hate to see him make the same mistake I did," said Eamonn Darcy, who missed out on a place in the 1991 team at Kiawah Island by the minuscule margin of 58 points.
McGinley will be a reluctant traveller to Munich, simply because he believes he needs a rest after the strain of the last few weeks. Following a play-off victory in the Wales open on August 12th, there was a spirited performance in the USPGA championship in Atlanta, where a closing round of 67 delivered a share of 22nd place for 49,356 points, effectively copperfastening a Ryder Cup debut.
"The only reason I didn't go to the final qualifying event in 1991 was because I understood from the captain, Bernard Gallacher, that I would be in the team, whatever happened," Darcy explained. "As things turned out, I didn't make it but it wasn't the end of the world."
He explained: "I had already played four times, in 1975, 1977, 1981 and, of course, in 1987 in Muirfield Village, where we won for the first time on American soil. But Paul is aiming at his first appearance. That's different. You don't want to be taking any risks in a situation like that.
"I'm delighted for him; I think he'll be a tremendous member of the side. His improvement over the last few years has made him as tough as most of the guys. And himself and Padraig Harrington should make a great partnership in the foursomes and fourballs."
For his part, Harrington seemed happy to be no more than an interested observer of the last-ditch scramble for Ryder Cup places. He challenged in 1997 before finishing eventually in 12th position in the table, 15,072 points behind the 10th man, Miguel Angel Martin. Then, two years ago, he got the last automatic place ahead of 11th man Robert Karlsson.
"I remember the pressure of 1997 when I had been in contention for some time," said Harrington yesterday. "But everything happened so quickly two years ago that I didn't have time to think about it.
"It always seems to come down to the last event and Phillip Price (currently in 10th position) won't thank me for pointing out that the tenth man always seems to get knocked out. And then, when it's all over and the team is finalised, all the contenders, especially those who haven't made it, can get back to playing normal golf again."
Effectively, there were two major battles taking place concurrently at Firestone. Understandably, next month's line-up for the Belfry was foremost in European minds, but the fight for the title held much broader appeal because of the irrepressible Tiger Woods.
Through his third successive victory here, Woods landed another telling hit on the Golden Bear's citadel - and in the great man's home state. With this, the 29th US tour win, he equalled the record established by Jack Nicklaus for a player in his twenties.
Still four months short of his 26th birthday, the world number one is certain to blitz that target. His talent remains unquestioned, but more importantly, his desire seems to be undiminished despite tournament earnings which have now reached $25,989,198 in the US alone.
"I sometimes sit around and wonder how in the world a young man who's signed $100m worth of contracts and has won as much as he has can still come out a be a pretty likeable guy," said Hal Sutton, who finished 11th behind him on this occasion.
"Tiger handles himself well. I don't see how any of the other players can be jealous". Sutton added: "With the way he has made so many people sit up and watch golf, he has put a lot of money in other players' pockets. I, for one, feel grateful for that. And as we've seen here, he still has the drive to succeed."
Woods has now earned more than $5 m in each of the last three seasons and has captured five of the eight World Golf Championship events he has played in.
But perhaps the most impressive statistic of all has to do with his performance at Firestone, which has always been acknowledged as a formidable venue since professional golf first came here with the Rubber City Open in 1954. On a tree-lined course measuring 7,139 yards, his last 12 rounds have produced a stroke average of 66.42.
It is also clear that Woods responds to the challenge of finding something extra against a quality field, as is the case in major championships and events such as this. "Any time you have a collection of the best players in the world assembled together, I think you're going to feel a bit more amped up" was how he put it.
He also clearly retains considerable respect for Darren Clarke, his conqueror in the World Matchplay at La Costa 19 months ago. While reflecting on the final round situation on Sunday, he said: "By the time Jim (Furyk) and me turned, Clarkey was probably the only one with a chance, if he had a great back nine."
Finally, his inquisitors wondered what was the magical thing about Ohio other than being the birth-place of the man he has vowed to emulate? "Every time I head to Ohio, it rains," he said. "I played here in college in two NCAAs and we got rained out. Yet for some reason I played well. I can't explain why." Then, in classic Tiger-speak, he added: "It might be just one of those coinky-dink things." Indeed it might.
