Who knows what Nick Faldo, who apparently frowns upon all this camaraderie in the locker-room, would have made of it? But the other night, Padraig Harrington made a phone call to his long-time sports psychologist, Dr Bob Rotella, wondering if he'd mind having a chat with Paul McGinley.

The gist of the call is that Harrington feared his chum was beating himself up - mentally, not physically - over his poor form of late and his consequent slide down the world rankings.

"No problem," said Dr Bob.

And, sure enough, Rotella and McGinley sat down for an hour of earnest conversation that yesterday reaped immediate dividends as the Dubliner fended off the cold by wearing two sweaters, wore his mittens lined with hand warmers like a comfort blanket and, generally, stayed out of harm's way to finish the day alone in second place behind leader Sergio Garcia.

So, this turnaround for McGinley, who has fallen to 170th in the world rankings, was as dramatic as they come. Could he explain the magic? What wonderful knowledge had the good doctor imparted?

The trademark McGinley smile, that has been missing for far too long when talking about his golf game, materialised.

"Did he tell me something I didn't already know? Not really. But he reinforced what I did when I played well . . . about playing one shot at a time, being patient with what you're doing, being target-oriented, which is what we all seem to be doing when we're playing well. He reinforced ideas about the "softness" of competing, as opposed to the aggressive way of competing, which I'm inclined to do."

McGinley's career has reached many heights, but virtually always in a team environment. In Ryder Cups, and World Cups. His greatest achievement in individual competition was winning the Volvo Masters in 2005 and finishing third on the European Tour money list.

At one time, he reached 22nd in the world rankings.

His tumble towards oblivion had the player in turmoil.

"My Achilles' heel has always been trying too hard, pushing too hard. I can't tell you how disappointing the past year or more has been. It is horrible to be there in the top-20 in the world and to plummet as quickly as I've done. I've played a lot of mediocre golf, and that's what hurt me," said McGinley.

Yesterday, though, he rediscovered much of what had enabled him to reach those heights. Out on the range prior to his round, McGinley also found a little key in his swing.

"I'm not a big guy, I don't swing the club very upright. I swing around myself. I just found a bit of rotation in my swing and some clubhead feel, something I hadn't had this season. I played with a lot of ball control, something I haven't been doing.

"I've been hitting some wild shots and that's what has been getting me into trouble. It felt really good to play with the ball under control, to be honest."

Not known as one of the longest players on tour, McGinley remarked: "There's more than one way to skin a cat. Obviously, I can't overpower a golf course.

"What I can do is have good ball control and course management and to putt well. That's the only way I'm going to contend on a big golf course."

McGinley has contended in majors before, most notably at Royal Lytham and St Annes in 1996 when he shared the midway lead with eventual champion Tom Lehman. He actually slipped back to finish tied-14th over the business end of the tournament. But he is a more hardened player now, with three Ryder Cup campaigns behind him.

"I think, from my experience, trying to win majors is something that evolves. It is a question of being in control of what you are doing, staying patient and not getting ahead of yourself. You've got to play it one shot at a time and let the situation evolve," he claimed.

Of that flirtation with contending in the Open at Lytham just over a decade ago, McGinley recalled: "It was just a circus. It was something I hadn't been used to or seen. I remember 20, 30, 40 photographers around the greens and just off the tee-boxes. Every time someone hit a shot there was a massive click, click, click. It was just the magnitude of what I was doing and where I was. I was overawed by the whole thing. It was a big, big, big learning experience."

So, 11 years on, McGinley has again played his way into contention. But, as he observed, the hard work has still to come. He has produced what Dr Bob reminded him he could do.

Now he must repeat that for another three days.