One of the first congratulatory calls that Paul McGinley received yesterday morning was from compatriot and friend, Darren Clarke. "We're negotiating a price," the Ulsterman later commented, regarding the putter which McGinley used to such splendid effect when winning the Oki Pro-Am last weekend.

The Scottie Cameron blade was, of course, "borrowed" from Clarke who sees little prospect of getting it back. "What makes it interesting is that it's the putter I used when finishing second in the British Open at Troon - and I can't remember when I putted as well as that," added Clarke. "I'm sure Paul and I can some to an amicable agreement."

Meanwhile, McGinley has set himself two key targets for next year and, effectively, one complements the other. The first is to establish a prominent position early in the race for Ryder Cup honours and the second is to make the top-50 in the Sony World Rankings.

"I thought I had a chance of making the Ryder Cup team this year, but I obviously wasn't ready," he said. "My attitude towards it hasn't changed. I still believe that it becomes a byproduct of playing well and not something that should become an obsession."

A top-50 position in the world rankings is crucial towards securing a place among the game's elite for the 1999 season. That is when four important tournaments, agreed among the world's major tours, will be open only to players in the top-50.

Probably the least surprising aspect of the Dubliner's latest success is that it was the product of diligence to his craft. Unlike 75 per cent of the Oki field, McGinley considered the challenge of playing two courses sufficiently important to warrant his presence in Madrid on the Monday of tournament week.

So, he went there directly from St Andrews, where he had captained Ireland in the Alfred Dunhill Cup. He was aware of the difference in a pro-am format which meant professionals would play either their first or second round on La Moraleja 1 before completing the other 54 holes of the tournament on La Moraleja 2 which, as it happened, had been used in the Spanish Open earlier in the year.

"My first round was on La Moraleja 1, a tricky, fiddly layout that placed heavy demands on course management," he said. "Most of the competitors ignored it in practice and simply concentrated on La Moraleja 2. This seemed a little odd to me, given that they would already have known it from the Spanish Open."

In the event, a number of them paid the penalty by carding rounds of 71 or 72 or higher on a relatively short, 6,500-yard stretch offering considerable birdie opportunities. McGinley, on the other hand, had an opening 66 there and followed it with a 67 at La Moraleja 2.

"It wasn't your average standup-and-hit-it type of course," said McGinley. "Either way, I felt that in preparing for it the way I did, I was doing no more than I would normally do in such circumstances."

Strategic planning is also evident in his schedule for next season. Knowing that he will need to be competitively sharp when Ryder Cup points for 1999 become available next September and October, McGinley has opted for a relatively gentle start to the New Year.

Like Clarke, he will not be travelling to tournaments in Australia and South Africa. Instead, he plans to start his European season in the Desert Classic in Dubai, on February 26th. "I will probably sharpen up with two weeks of practice in the US," he said.

He went on to explain what he meant at the weekend, when he talked about raising his game to a new level during the Oki tournament in which he hit 67 out of 72 greens; kept a bogey off his card for the opening three rounds and had no three-putt.

"I felt I was totally in control of every shot," he said. "In fact for the first time in my life, the game seemed easy. It became a repetition of quality shots whereby I simply had to produce good figures. The experience was invaluable in that I now have the confidence of knowing I can operate at that level."

Howth's women will be particularly active next week in the autumn finals of ILGU Eastern District competitions. The north Dublin club are, in fact, involved in three competitions, including the Fifth Team final, in which they meet Powerscourt, who will be making their debut at this level.The other two engagements for Howth are both against Dun Laoghaire.The line-up for Malahide GC on Monday is: Second Team - Dun Laoghaire v Howth; Third Team - Ballinascorney v Ardee; Fourth Team - The Island v Beech Park; Fifth Team - Balbriggan v Powerscourt.At Heritage GC (Thursday): Townsend Foursomes - Dun Laoghaire v Howth.