Golf: It's just as well Paul McGinley doesn't look to the football teams he supports for his on-course inspiration; otherwise his life would be a hell.

Think of it: he's a season-ticket holder at West Ham United - relegated from the Premiership - and also at Celtic - defeated, albeit gallantly, in the UEFA Cup final in midweek - and, for good measure, he also keeps a rather close eye on the fortunes of Dublin's Gaelic footballers.

Anyone would think he was a sucker for punishment.

Life hasn't entirely been a bed of roses on the golf course either in recent times, not since he reached hero status by holing the winning putt in last year's Ryder Cup at the Belfry. He has slipped to 134th in the latest world rankings - compared to 35th at the end of the 2001 season - and, in his last tournament before the Volvo PGA, at the TPC of Europe in Hamburg last week, he missed the cut.

Strange thing is, however, McGinley's more upbeat about his game now than he has been for some time. Despite still admitting to "feeling sick in my stomach" after Celtic's midweek defeat, McGinley actually made the short drive from his home in Sunningdale to the West Course yesterday morning with a sense that the work he has done with coach Bob Torrance is about to reap dividends.

After three holes of his second round, some second thoughts, of the pessimistic kind, may have crept into his mind: a bogey-par-bogey start was not what he had planned. Still, it was to McGinley's credit that he overcame that start - "it happens around here," he said, "you just get caught out . . . it's not the first time it has happened and it won't be the last" - to recover, firing an eagle and three birdies for the remaining 15 holes to sign for a 69, moving him to five-under-par 139 at the midway stage and right into the thick of the action.

The eagle came on the fourth hole, a short par five of 497 yards, where he hit his drive over the brow of the hill. With 216 yards to the flag, he floated in a four-iron approach that finished six feet from the hole. Of course, he rolled in the putt, and he was back in the mix again.

Thereafter, he didn't drop a shot, and collected birdies at the 10th - where he hit six-iron to 10 feet - and the 14th - six-iron to 30 feet - before collecting his final birdie on the 17th, where he was on in two and two-putted.

"I'm back in the ball game again, and that means a lot to me," insisted McGinley. "I'm excited about my golf at the moment. I feel I'm hitting the ball really well, and I feel I have it under control. The thing is, I am not scoring as well as I should. I need to sharpen up my wedge play."

A lack of tournament sharpness is one reason McGinley feels he is not consistently firing at the flag when he has a wedge in his hands. This is only his seventh event of the season.

"I haven't played enough, and I really do feel I need a little bit more tournament sharpness. As I say, I'm enjoying my golf. I'm buzzing about my golf again. I had a poor year last year, but I'm waking up in the morning now with a buzz about playing."

Last week's missed cut in Hamburg hurt. "I was disappointed because I didn't play badly, but I know that I have to sharpen up my scoring. It's like a football team playing really well without scoring goals, and that's the way I have been playing.

"I remember last year when I missed the cut here, I came away from Wentworth knowing that I had played atrociously, and that was a body blow. Last week in Germany wasn't a body blow. I walked away feeling I hadn't played badly but that I just hadn't scored. I know that I've got to become a little sharper, more competitive. I'm hitting my approach shots okay, not bad, into 15 feet - but you're not going to hole 80 per cent of 15-footers, you're going to hole 80 per cent of three- and four- and five-footers, and that's what I've to aim for," he insisted.

For all that, and despite not hitting the ball as close to the pin as he would like, it would seem that McGinley's fortunes are finally changing. Playing a course like Wentworth helps. "I like it, because it is not the normal type of course we play nowadays, which is soft and where you stand up and hit it as far as you can, find the ball, get the computer out and get your yardage and just hit the yardage again. You've got to think your way around here.

"You've got to hit irons off the tee, or you can risk reward. You can take a three-wood off the tee and take on the bunker or you can hit irons short and go in with a longer second shot. It's the sort of course where you've got to use your mind as well as your physical attributes."

In short, it is McGinley's kind of thinking man's course. Now that he has put himself into "the mix", the next part is to continue with the good work.

Perhaps, it could even start his ascent back up the world rankings from a position that is a false indication of his real talents.