For those who know golf, Paul McGinley was an important figure in two Ryder Cups; once as a player in 2002, and as a captain in Gleneagles in 2014. Playing in such a tournament represents great prestige, and the Irish golfer was among the best players of his era.
The experienced face of the golf scene reflected on his captaincy 11 years ago, emphasizing how focused he was on statistics, wanting his team to achieve a top result.
Although some were not quite delighted about this approach at the time, believing that it was more important to work on other aspects of the game, he laid the foundation for this approach, and captains years later did the same things.
"I remember talking behind the scenes to the executive of the Ryder Cup in Europe and asking them for a budget to hire these guys that were going to do statistics.
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They thought I was off my tree and off my rocker, what was I doing getting these guys in.- he said, as quoted by The Golfing Gazette.
Innovations
Paul McGinley wanted to combine innovation with the experience he had previously gained. His goal was to modernize the game and do everything to help his team win the trophy.
In today's modern golf, there is an increasing emphasis on statistics and analysis, and we can see that this trend is becoming stronger and stronger.
Ill let you in to a little secret here, you might have heard me say it before, my Ryder Cup captaincy was based on one thing more than anything else. It was a template. What had worked before in captains and Ryder Cup teams that Id been involved in, and what Id observed before. That was what was worked on.- he said.
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It can be said that Paul McGinley made the right decision, because his team won against the USA with a score of 16.5 to 11.5.
It was also the third consecutive victory for Europe, and McGinley caused great enthusiasm among the public.
