Paul McGinley: Ryder Cup Pressures

Ryder Cup Watch: Paul McGinley on working under pressure

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Ryder Cup Watch: Paul McGinley on working under pressure

At a recent EY event in London, Paul McGinley explored the leadership and team-building challenges that he faces as Europe’s 2014 Ryder Cup captain. In this extract from the event, Paul explains his method for dealing with pressure.

 

When you’re performing at an elite level, like The Ryder Cup, the pressure is enormous. When you play, you are always under a lot of pressure. Of course that is nerve-racking but it is also very exciting. When you’re under pressure, the adrenaline can kick in, too. The most important thing in a situation like that is to remain calm. When we get under pressure, whether it’s at home, at work, on a football pitch or a golf course, there is a tendency to quicken up. And the more we quicken up and the more we get too hyper, the more things rush through our head. If your body and actions quicken up, your brain quickens up too, so too much information comes into your brain. This is when we overthink and overanalyze. So when pressure is applied, the best thing you can do is keep it simple. Calm down. Think back to the plans you have in place. They were the plans you made in the cold light of day, when the pressure was off, so trust that they are right.

 

[Get to know Paul McGinley]

 

When I faced a putt from 10 feet to win The Ryder Cup in 2002, I was very clear about what I was doing with my putting stroke. I was very clear about the line on which I had to hit the ball. I kept things simple. I didn’t allow worries to enter my mind: don’t leave the putt short, don’t miss it right, don’t miss it left, if you miss you are going to let the team down. What about the hundreds of millions of people watching on television? Instead, I thought: there is a ball, there is the putter in my hand, this is the line I have to hit the ball along in order to get it into that hole. By keeping things simple, I got the right result and the ball went in.

 

Individualism in a team environment

 

In the last Ryder Cup, Europe’s 12 players were drawn from eight different countries – with six different languages. So bringing these cultures together to form a cohesive unit is a real challenge. For example, one of the players, Sweden’s Peter Hanson, likes to eat dinner at 6:30 p.m. Then we had Miguel Ángel Jiménez, one of the vice-captains, who’s quite the opposite. He likes to eat at 11:00 p.m., because that’s the Spanish culture. So, to bridge this gap, the European team always has a running buffet from 6:00 p.m. till midnight. That’s one way we have of incorporating everybody, whatever their culture or personal preference. That element of individuality must remain, even though we are in a team environment for the week. You bring the players together with the common pursuit of winning The Ryder Cup, but the players must be left to feel comfortable as individuals too.

 

McGinley writes a blog on the E&Y official website which can be accessed here

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