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Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain, right, captain of the European Ryder Cup in 2012 and McGinley. Bob Edme/AP/Press Association Images
Ryder Cup

McGinley keen to captain Ryder Cup team

The Irishman famously sunk the winning putt for the Europeans during the 2002 Ryder Cup competition.

PAUL MCGINLEY HAS expressed his desire to captain the European team at the 2014 Ryder Cup in Scotland.

The Irishman famously sunk the winning putt for the Europeans during the 2002 Ryder Cup competition.

And having twice been selected as captain of the Seve Trophy team, a biennial tournament including players from Great Britain and Ireland and Continental Europe, McGinley says it is nice to be linked to such a role.

“Obviously a lot of people have mentioned my name and that is nice,” said McGinley, who is preparing for this week’s Thailand Open on the OneAsia tour.

“I have been captain of the Seve Trophy twice and we have been underdogs twice and managed to win twice and that was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it. Chris Wood (who is also playing Thailand Open) was in the team on one of those occasions.”

However, with the Scotland edition of the Ryder Cup two years away, the 45-year-old is not looking too far ahead.

“It is a position I have always enjoyed, but we will just have to wait and see,” he said. ”It is a long way down the road and it is important to stay focused on this Ryder Cup (at Medinah in late September).”

McGinley, meanwhile, is set to tee off at the Thailand Open on Tuesday and despite featuring in just 10 events this season, he is happy with his performances in 2012.

“I am looking forward to it, I have always enjoyed coming to Asia,” the four-time European Tour winner said. ”I have not played many tournaments this season but what I have played I have played well, so my season has gone pretty well considering I have not played that much.”

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