Making his first visit to Gleneagles since he was appointed as the European Ryder Cup captain, Paul McGinley this week has been welcomed by Scotland’s First Minister, received a hickory putter from the 1880s, and spent time with European Tour officials to familiarize himself with the 2014 venue.
From this photo-op emerged a bit of news, however.
On Wednesday, McGinley said that he would meet with prospective European players at The Players Championship in May to discuss a few potential tweaks to the Ryder Cup qualifying system.
Currently, 10 of the 12 European players qualify automatically off the points list, with two wildcard selections. The U.S. team, by way of contrast, has four captain’s picks.
Europe has won five of the last six Ryder Cups, and will be aiming for its third consecutive victory at Gleneagles.
“Safe to say, we’ve been quite successful in Ryder Cups over the past few decades and that system has worked well for us,” McGinley said on Golf Channel. “There might be a minor tweak or change to that, but there will be nothing radical.”
The Irishman also hasn’t finalized any of his potential vice-captain selections, saying he has about 20-25 people in mind.
