Paul McGinley

OK, so here’s a scenario. Your house is ablaze, your family’s safe and sound and you’ve got five albums you can rescue...

“It’s not quite the same, but I once made the mistake of putting all my vinyl on the back seat in the car on a sunny day and they got warped. I still play them, though.”

... OK, so you’ve got five records...

“U2 – Joshua Tree, Stiff Little Fingers – Hanx... I go in and out of music at the moment – I went through a stage of listening to the Scissor Sisters a lot early on, it’s funny but I have a bit of an ear for picking stuff up early. And my tastes have developed a lot over the years.”

Met any of your musical heroes?

“No, none of them are really golfy. I met The Edge through golf, though.”

Bono once said the only rule they had was nobody in the band was allowed to play golf...

“Don’t know anything about that, but I’ve played with him a few times.”

Anything you won’t listen to?

“Black Sabbath, Motorhead and AC/DC. They were the enemy when I was a kid.”

Back to those five records then...

“I should have brought my iPod up... It’s got to be The Clash – London Calling, Christy Moore – Live At The Point and Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms...”

Hang on a minute...

“I’ve got very broad tastes, like I told you. Pulp made some great tunes; Oasis – I’ve liked a lot of the stuff they’ve done. Dido – her music is good. And Ronan Keating.”

He’s a long way from The Dead Kennedys...

“The guy’s a class act.”

Who are your favourite live band?

“Stiff Little Fingers, no doubt. Did I not tell you about going to see them at Manchester University before The Masters last year?

It’s a small hall, so I’m dressed in jeans and a T-shirt prepared for a proper sweaty gig, right at the front of the stage. I’m about four or five rows from the front and I’m playing in Augusta the following week so the last thing I want to do is get hurt, right? Because we’re all hemmed in I put my two arms up either side just to give myself a bit of added protection and keep my balance. And that was fine. Then about halfway through the concert I look to see what time it is – no watch. Obviously the guy in front of me has seen this big Dunhill watch and thinks to himself ‘I’ll have that’. There was a panic after that to get me a Dunhill watch in time for The Masters.”

Who would figure in your Fantasy 4Ball?

“I play enough with professional golfers, I wouldn’t pick any professional golfers. How about playing with Osama Bin Laden and George Bush?! That would be something else – just to see both extremes, to see where both are coming from. Then stick Bono in the middle and you’d have quite an interesting afternoon on your hands. I think I’d win the golf, but who would win the ideological argument is more the question.”

What was the first car you owned?

“A Subaru when I went to college in America in 1990. It cost $1,000. I drove that for two years and sold it for $1,000, so it was good business. Wish I’d done the same with all my cars.”

What do you drive now?

“A BMW X5. I’m sponsored by BMW so I can more or less choose what I want. I like the X5 as I’ve got a dog – can’t really stick a dog in a 7 Series.”

Never gone down the Ferrari route?

“No, no I haven’t. They’re the greatest way of blowing money; and I don’t have a huge desire for speed either. I know Poulter does, Darren [Clarke] does. But me? No, I’ve never felt it.”

What do you make of Roy Keane at Celtic?

“It’s great. Long term its great for the club that a world-class player has gone there.”

What about Steve Staunton?

“Yeah, good luck to him, met him a few times, played golf with him, he’s a great guy. I’m glad its an Irishman who got the job, really pleased.”

On a scale of one to ten, how important are the following to you...

Politics?

“Six.”

Food?

“Six. No, seven.”

Travelling?

“A two, maybe. It’s not important to me, but if I could afford it I’d buy a private jet.”

Sex?

“Hahaha! Got to put it high. Nine.”

The weather?

“I like good weather. Eight. No, seven.”

» Paul McGinley Part 3