'He's Been Something Special' - Paul McGinley Backs One Particular Player To Star In Ryder Cup

The Ryder Cup gets underway at the end of September and, between now and then, there is plenty of golf to be played to decide the 12 spots on Team Europe and Team USA.

There's no denying that some players will be top of the list and, according to three-time Ryder Cup player, Paul McGinley, one European rookie is standing out amongst the rest.

Speaking at the Team Cup, where Team GB&I face off against Continental Europe, McGinley singled out Matthieu Pavon's performance, with the Frenchman claiming three wins from three alongside fellow countryman Romain Langasque.

"Matthieu Pavon has stood out, and I know he's on a team that will lose, but he's been something special," explained McGinley, who was named as a Strategic Adviser to Luke Donald's European Team for this year's contest.

"He's got a bit of grit about him. It's no secret that we are looking at two or three rookies again. We are looking at this Ryder Cup in a very different way to the way we've looked at an away one before.

"What we are particularly looking for is personality, guile and grit, someone who can play in a hostile environment, someone who has an edge about them and, I think, Pavon brings that to the table. He had a big year in America last year, which has set him up for a particularly big year this year because he's in all the Majors and big Signature Events. It'll be interesting to see how he plays in that but, this moment in time, he looks very, very strong."

Picking up his first win on the DP World Tour back at the 2023 Open de Espana, Pavon was the last player to secure his PGA Tour card via the Race to Dubai Rankings.

Since that moment, he went on to won the Farmers Insurance Open at the end of January 2024 and climbed to a season-high 20th in the World Rankings. However, it's not just Pavon who is the only potential Ryder Cup rookie in the picture, with 2014 Ryder Cup winning captain, McGinley, mentioning a few other names.

"Aaron Rai you would put in a similar vein (to Pavon), and another name is Matt Wallace, another player with the grit and the guile that we think can perform in that hostile atmosphere.

"Obviously, you have to throw in the players that have played this week. Matthew Jordan has been brilliant. Romain Langasque has played well today, but all of these guys are maybes. You never know, they have one good season and you never know where they may end up.

"The performance this week is not going to be the determining factor, but it might be if they have brilliant seasons. Those kind of guys will have to have brilliant seasons to bring them up to the level of Pavon and Wallace, those guys who have last season in the bank."