It’s September, which means the Ryder Cup is on the horizon. Nobody knows more about the historic event than Paul McGinley, who’s made multiple appearances, and won, representing Europe.
While he starred in the early 2000s, he’s noticed a big change in the pros and how they carry themselves. And also, how much booze they consume and the difference in money they make now compared to then. McGinley also said as a result, perhaps they’re not as much fun.
For starters, the players used to drink … a lot.
“We had consumed 72 bottles of wine, by Saturday,” McGinley told NBC Sports.
"We had consumed 72 bottles of wine, by Saturday."
Paul McGinley recalls how a 'different' kind of fuel powered @RyderCupEurope to a record-breaking Ryder Cup win at Oakland Hills in 2004 🍷🍷🍷 pic.twitter.com/G5Gef50wnx
— Golf Today (@GCGolfToday) September 4, 2023
A different kind of fuel they all consumed, he said.
“Also, the world has changed a bit, too,” he said. “Back in our day, there was quite a bit of alcohol consumed … even during Ryder Cups. I was amazed even when I was captain in 2014, nobody drank. I mean, nobody. I wasn’t like, ‘It’s a Ryder Cup I’m not going to drink.’ It was a case of, ‘No, I’m not drinking, I don’t drink when I play. It’s not even a question.’”
“Quite a bit” feels like an understatement, no?
They didn’t get drunk, necessarily, he said. About two to three glasses of wine a night with 10 or so players doing that during the week heading into the tournament.
That’s not all that’s changed, either.
“Is golf as fun as it was 15 years ago? I think they’re making three times the money we were making,” he added. “But the camaraderie we had in the game back then — and maybe it’s because we weren’t playing for as much money as they are now and we weren’t flying around everywhere in our private jets and there wasn’t 50 Netjets sitting at the airport to take players home every night.”
McGinley began his professional career in 1991, so the travel alone to some of these tournaments has changed drastically.
He remains one of the more outspoken former pros, even admitting he would have joined LIV Golf if he had been given the opportunity earlier in his career. McGinley said, however, he wouldn’t have done the LIV Tour, then come back to play the European Tour.
Either way, one would assume the wine consumption would remain prominent.
About Jessica Kleinschmidt
Jess is a baseball fan with Reno, Nev. roots residing in the Bay Area. She is the host of "Short and to the Point" and is also a broadcaster with the Oakland A's Radio Network. She previously worked for MLB.com and NBC Sports Bay Area.