PAUL McGINLEY: There is great history in this tournament, great winners and it's great to be part of it this year. I didn't come to watch - it's hard to look at the sweetie shop from the outside. I would rather be in the sweetie shop! There's a great history and delighted to be part of it.
There is something about this tournament that has appeal over the years. You can't beat history and chasing history is a big thing.
The clock's ticking now (in terms of Ryder Cup qualifying) and it would be great to get my work done early because the last two times I left it late, particularly the last one. The pressure was unbelievable. It was movie stuff. I knew I had to play well and the guy I was worried was Freddie Jacobson. He shot a moderate first round in the BMW in Munich and when I arrived at the course the one name I saw right up there was Freddie's. I shot low in the second round and I knew it was game on. I had a good third round and went head to head with him and beat him to get into the team. Nobody was backing out last time, everybody was playing great and form was so important to the Ryder Cup itself. Form is huge in professional sport and we had it in the Ryder Cup.
It was a big thing after The Belfry, a big thing, that 2002 was not my epitaph, my swansong. Sam Torrance holed the winning putt in 1985 but went on to have a great Ryder Cup career, and although people remember 1985, it wasn't the only thing he is remembered for.
This is a big week. In Ireland I played mostly match play and a couple of stroke play events as an amateur. The rest was match play.
I haven't played Thomas before but it will be a tough game. He's had a good run of form in recent weeks, but I've played well, too.
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