“We had consumed 72 bottles of wine”: Former Ryder Cup captain states current pro golfers are not as fun anymore

Paul McGinley, a former professional player who captained the European team in the 2014 Ryder Cup, thinks golf has lost out on fun as the amount of alcohol consumed by players now is less than before.

In an interview for Golf Chanel, McGinley said that in today's professional golf, it is not as much fun as it was 15 years ago and more. This is despite the fact that the sport offers much more money these days.

The problem from his perspective is that the decline in fun is associated with the reduction in alcohol consumption.

McGinley told Golf Channel:

"Back in our day, there was quite a bit of alcohol consumed ... even during Ryder Cups ... I remember one of the backroom staff telling us on a Saturday night ... we had consumed 72 bottles of wine already on Saturday night — and they had to go and re-order."

"It's not like we were getting drunk every night — far from it. But everyone would have had one, two, maybe three glasses of wine at night and it was normal. And nine, 10 out of the 12 players would do that," he added.

Paul McGinley compared that era with his experiences closer to date. According to what he said, current players do not have the same interest in alcohol as before.

"I was amazed when I was [Ryder Cup] captain in 2014, nobody drank. I mean, nobody. I wasn't like, 'It's a Ryder Cup I'm not going to drink.' It was a case of, 'No, I'm not drinking, I don't drink when I play. It's not even a question,'" he explained.

Paul McGinley also said that, in his opinion, the increase in prize money in golf has led to less interaction between players.

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Paul McGinley at the Ryder Cup

Irishman Paul McGinley participated as a player in three editions of the Ryder Cup (2002, 04, 06). In all of them, Team Europe was the champion.

Paul McGinley, 2002 Ryder Cup (Image via Getty).

McGinley left positive results, as in nine matches he achieved two victories, five draws, and two defeats. Thus, he contributed 4.5 points to the European cause. His best results came in individual matches, out of which he won one and drew two.

In 2014 he was selected as captain of the European team. McGinley put together a team with great players such as Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Justin Rose, and Martin Kaymer, among others.

They faced an American team led by Phil Mickelson and which also had stars such as Bubba Watson, Matt Kuchar, and Zach Johnson. However, the Europeans led by McGinley were able to control the tournament and win the trophy for the third consecutive edition.

On the first day, the United States came out ahead by one point, but Europe responded the next day by taking a two-point lead. On the third day, the lead was reduced to a minimum, but Europe was still ahead. All was set to be decided in the singles round.

The fourth and decisive day saw the European team win five singles matches and draw three to take the Ryder Cup with a five-point difference. It was the eighth European victory in the last 10 editions of the event so far.