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 "Everything in the room was planned, from the carpet to the
wallpapers to the images on the wall, to a big fish tank with
(European) blue and gold fish," the smiling Irishman told a news
conference on Monday.
"It was the colors I was interested in rather than the breed. It was
just a little, small touch," McGinley said.
"We had two rooms, a dining area and a lounge area. There was a big
picture in the corner of John Jacobs, the first European captain, a
big picture of the first Britain and Ireland team in 1927 and big
pictures of Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal.
"We had a lot of different images around the team room. It was my
idea for the fish tank and it worked great."
McGinley, still on a high after Europe won the biennial team event
for the eighth time in 10 editions with a 16 1/2 points to 11 1/2
victory over the U.S. on Sunday, said the fish might be a bit worse
for wear the morning after the night before.
"The fish are still there, swimming away, very happy, but they might
have a few hangovers," he laughed. "A bit of wine may have been
spilt into them.
"There have been a number of requests for images from the room and
maybe we'll do a little portfolio and exhibit it... and maybe the
fish can come and be a part of that."
McGinley then turned his attentions to the much-maligned American
effort and he may have been swimming against the tide of popular
opinion when he said there was no danger of the Ryder Cup getting
too one-sided.
ONE DIRECTION
"We all know how proud the Americans are of their country and they
will galvanize themselves. Commercially this Ryder Cup is going in
one direction," he said, pointing upwards with his finger.
"The increasing size of the media room, the viewing figures of the
amount of people watching it throughout the world, is going up and
up. There is no valid reason to think it is on the decline because
we are winning.
"If you saw some of the American players backstage at the closing
ceremony last night, there were tears in their eyes. This was tough
for them, it really hurt," said McGinley.
"They will come back very strong in two years' time and we have to
be ready for that. That's what makes the Ryder Cup great -- don't
under-estimate the Americans."
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Alex Ferguson was an integral part of the European team room
throughout the week and McGinley seemed to inherit the
record-breaking former Manchester United manager's famous attention
to detail with all of his plans.
Another example of the European captain's strategy was to
gerrymander the groupings of regular tour events in order to make
sure Graeme McDowell and Victor Dubuisson were able to form the bond
that stood them in such good stead at Gleneagles.
The experienced Northern Irishman guided the young French rookie
through the week, the pair combining for two successive wins in the
foursomes, and it was a combination that McGinley always had in
mind.
"I controlled the draws on the European Tour during the summer and
every time Graeme played, he played with Victor," revealed McGinley.
"They didn't know what I was planning but I had planned for them to
be partners. I had identified Graeme in a senior role.
"Not many guys are able to pull that role off -- Seve was able to
and Olazabal too. Lee Westwood was on the shoulder of Nicolas
Colsaerts when he made 10 birdies in one match in 2012.
"It was no coincidence Lee was on his shoulder. I had three rookies
in this team and I needed senior guys in there to sit on their
shoulders and that's what Graeme and Lee did this week."
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
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