An inconsistent Paul McGinley chases a £108,330 first prize in the European Grand Prix in the north of England this week after deciding against trying to pre-qualify for the US Open.

McGinley virtually made his decision not to go to New Jersey after a poor finish in Hamburg. Today he lines up along side Seve Ballesteros to continue his bid to make it to Birkdale without having to attempt to pre-qualify for the British Open.

The Dubliner has ample opportunity to make his decision pay, because only two of Europe's current top 10 are at the Slaley Hall course - and Ballesteros is nowadays of little threat to anyone's aspirations of winning.

Patrik Sjoland, who can go top of the European money list on Sunday night even if he only finishes second, is McGinley's obvious chief threat. Andrew Coltart, winner in Doha, is another, although as European Tour chief executive Ken Schofield pointed out yesterday, the tour's strength in depth is such that there are no weak fields any more.

Certainly McGinley will need a good week to get back into a qualifying position of the Open championship non-exempt men in the order of merit, which began at Wentworth and ends at Loch Lomond, because he has slipped well down by not playing last week.

If he can find some consistency, McGinley will have no problem avoiding pre-qualifying for Birkdale, as he was well aware when he made his US Open decision.

"First of all, I'm in the throes of moving into a new house and that's unsettling enough, but it wasn't the main reason for not going to try to pre-qualify at New Jersey.

"The main reason was that I didn't think my form was good enough. I just wasn't putting four rounds together. I felt I'd never be able to contend the way I hoped at a tournament as tough as the US Open. That was the bottom line. "I'll get more benefit preparing here for the French Open, the Irish, which of course every Irishman wants to win, Loch Lomond and trying for the British Open.

"I'm sure I would have qualified okay for the Olympic, but getting anything out of it then was open to question, and it's a long way to go. I'd have had to have been certain of putting up a good show in the actual event to justify making such an effort." Eight Irishmen line up at Slaley Hall: McGinley, Eamonn Darcy, Christy O'Connor Jnr, Philip Walton, Des Smyth, Raymond Burns, Francis Howley and Ronan Rafferty, who has an attachment to the club. The hard-working David Higgins, who practised all day yesterday, hopes it will be nine. First reserve Higgins will station himself at the first (and 10th if he can be in two places at once) in case anybody drops out today.

McGinley plays with Ballesteros for the third time this year and can expect a large gallery, as Mark James is also in the three-ball.