McGinley: Professional as Walker Cup captain some way away

DONEGAL, IRELAND - AUGUST 20: Paul McGinley of Ireland in action during Day Three and final round of the Irish Legends presented by McGinley Foundation at Rosapenna Hotel & Golf Resort on August 20, 2022 in Donegal, Ireland. (Photo by Phil Inglis/Getty Images)

PAUL MCGINLEY insists it would be "an honour" to captain the Walker Cup team but points out it may be some time before the R&A considers a professional golfer for the role.

Two-time Solheim Cup-winning skipper Catriona Matthew was last week named as captain of the Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup side for the 2024 match at Sunningdale.

The Scot, a three-time Curtis Cup player, is the first professional golfer to captain the team.

But while the R&A has admitted to struggling to find past players still in the amateur ranks with the time to captain the men's team, McGinley believes it will be quite some time before they turn to the professionals.

"A lot of water has to flow under the bridge before then," Europe's winning 2014 Ryder Cup captain said of the hypothetical offer of the Walker Cup job. "I think every past Walker Cup player would love to give back to the game, and it would be an honour to be asked. But I think we are some way away from that happening."

A Walker Cup player alongside Pádraig Harrington and Garth McGimpsey at Portmarnock in 1991, McGinley and Matt Fitzpatrick helped the GB&I team at Seminole ahead of the 2021 Walker Cup.

Harrington (51) is still an active player, and he joins qualifier David Carey in the $8.9 million Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio as one of 133 players bidding to win the event and clinch that priceless final invitation to next week's Masters.

Just eight of the world's top 50 are in action, with world number 17 Tyrrell Hatton the top-ranked of the 11 Masters participants in the field.

The Augusta National Women's Amateur got underway at Champions Retreat yesterday with no Irish players in the field for the first time.

But Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow are in action at the LPGA's DIO Implant LA Open in California.

Meanwhile, Portmarnock's Conor Purcell carded a second successive four-under 68 to go into the third round six shots behind England's Alex Fitzpatrick at The Challenge presented by KGA in Bangalore.

He's tied 15th with amateur Robert Moran (69) and Ruaidhri McGee (70) tied 59th on two-under, but Niall Kearney and John Murphy shot 73s to miss the cut by two shots on level par.