McGinley tries a different line

From Brian Keogh in Dubai

Paul McGinley is so fed up with his slide into the golfing doldrums that he has radically overhauled his putting action in a desperate effort to rediscover his winning touch.

The 41-year-old Dubliner hasn’t won a tournament since he lifted the 2005 Volvo Masters in magnificent style 824 days ago.

Ranked 18th in the world following that triumph, McGinley has since slipped to 189th and while he’s hitting more greens in regulation than most, his putting is letting him down.

A lowly 172nd out of 190 in the putts per green in regulation category on the European Tour, McGinley has decided to take a different tack on the greens with the help of putting ‘doctor’ Paul Hurrion.

The golf biomechanics consultant, who works closely with Padraig Harrington and current Order of Merit leader Lee Westwood, has convinced McGinley to opt for better fundamentals instead of feel.

"I'm hitting lots of fairways and greens and if I can putt a bit better, I am going to win," said McGinley, who has swapped his Rossy putter for a Hurrion-designed Gel model.

"I am not hitting the putts the way I want. But I am working on that with Paul Hurrion. I am changing my putting style and the way I read greens.

"I am working less on instinct and feel and working more on getting better fundamentals. Better basics. It is all about consistency."

McGinley gabbed his first top 10 on the European Tour for over 18 months with a ninth place finish in his first start in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago.

But he was bitterly disappointed to miss the cut in Qatar last week and hopes to get back on the track in the final desert swing event.

He said: "One hole killed me last week. Again I hit a high percentage of greens in regulation but this game is about putting a score on the board and I didn't do it last week. That's the bottom line.”