Pure theatre. Where had we seen that punched, clenched fist before? The broad smile on Paul McGinley's face?

This time, though, unlike the winning putt the Dubliner holed to win the Ryder Cup for Europe at The Belfry in 2002, McGinley's spontaneous reaction to holing a monster 30-footer for birdie on the 18th green of yesterday's second round of the US PGA Championship owed as much to the fact he had proved a point, as much to himself as to those on the outside who wondered about his freefall down the world rankings.

Less than two years ago, after his 2005 Volvo Masters win in Valderrama, McGinley was as high as 22nd in the world. Now, he is ranked 155th and his presence in the field at the final major of the year was due to a special invitation, as the PGA of America sought to ensure that all of Europe's winning Ryder Cup team members would be playing.

McGinley has made the most of it.

Yesterday, in shooting 66 for a midway total of 140, level par, McGinley - just as he did at Carnoustie less than a month ago - played his way into contention in a major. It would seem he has turned the corner, and that the self-belief that is a vital weapon in any golfer's armoury has returned.

One man not surprised by McGinley's re-emergence is Padraig Harrington, who also points out that the resurgence from his compatriot has come about after his decision to team-up with sports psychologist Dr Bob Rotella.

"It just goes to show," said Harrington, "what the right attitude can do. Paul needed to get to a low point in order to have a change-around. I've had periods in my career where you get frustrated and walk off the course stressed. And you know if you do that you're trying too hard and not competing.

"Paul's had a year of that, and I'm only too happy that he is back in the right frame of mind. As I've always said, and I really believe it, if you walk down to your ball in the rough with a smile on your face you're going to have a better lie."

McGinley didn't have to walk into the rough too often yesterday, hitting 10 of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens in regulation. It was an impressive ball-striking round, which brought about an improvement of eight shots on his opening effort.

"The scorecard shows an eight-shot difference, but it wasn't an eight-shot difference in the way I actually played. It was maybe closer to a four-shot difference. You know, I didn't play that badly in first round, and I was disappointed to shoot 74."

The difference in his second round was that he took most of his chances, claiming five birdies and just a lone bogey, on the 16th where he drove into the trees.

After starting with birdie chances on the first two holes, McGinley got into the rhythm with his opening birdie on the third. He followed up by hitting wedge to eight feet for another birdie on the fifth.

After turning in a bogey-free 33 strokes, McGinley continued his hot streak. He holed from 15 feet on the 12th and hit an eight-iron approach to 12 feet on the 15th. And, after suffering that bogey on the 16th, he finished in style with a seven-iron approach to 30-feet on the 18th where he rolled in the birdie putt and reproduced that trademark punch in the air and wide smile.

Obviously, the conditions haven't affected McGinley.

"The truth is I struggle in the cold, that's why I'm always wearing those hand mittens. But the heat doesn't bother me. I've lots of experience of playing in Asia and Australia and South Africa. I've learnt that it is not just what happens on the golf course that's important. You've got to eat the right foods as well. For example, I'm not eating any red meats this week, instead I'm eating lots of pastas, lots of fish. I'm giving myself the best opportunity I can."

McGinley doesn't put his return to form down just to working with Rotella, he also attributes it to the work he's done on the driving range with coach Bob Torrance.

"It's a combination of those things, while Padraig's win in the Open has also been a factor for every European player. When something like that happens, it raises the bar for us all. I believe you can relate Padraig's win to what happened in the Ryder Cup as well. Once the European team won away in Muirfield Village (in 1987), the whole bar for European golf was raised and people stepped up to that.

"Again with a European winning a major, it's the same thing. I think we are on the verge of a run like we had in the 1980s and the early 1990s with all those guys winning a major. I think there is so much talent on the European Tour."

McGinley, after spending the season battling to regain his place among the elite, is aiming to use the experience of Carnoustie - he was in the penultimate group on Sunday's final round - to good effect.

"My main intention setting out was to make the cut . . . now, hopefully, I can stay in touching distance of the leaders, play well over the weekend and what happens happens. I'm obviously pleased with my position. I put myself under pressure today because of the cut line and my priority was to get away from that. I've worked extremely hard on my game and it is very pleasing to come out the other side with rounds like this."