PAUL McGinley's slide outside the world's top 150 has not stopped him believing there is a lot more good golf left in me'' - and at Wentworth yesterday he made a lot of other people believe it too.

A seven-under-par 65 in the opening round of the £3.5m BMW PGA Championship was exactly what the 41-year-old Dubliner was looking for in his biggest week of the year so far.

Desperately keen to earn a fourth Ryder Cup cap - he resigned as an assistant to European captain Nick Faldo insisting he wanted to focus solely on his game - McGinley turned in a supreme display of shot-making skills.

He did so on a bouncy West Course that may have suited him, but certainly did not bring the best out of some of the big guns.

Ernie Els, whose redesign of the course was aimed at making it more taxing, and Darren Clarke struggled to 75s, while Justin Rose and Retief Goosen were one worse than that and Lee Westwood shot a 77.

Double bogeys on the 15th and 16th even had the Ryder Cup points leader laughing and when asked about his amusement Westwood said: I was seeing the funny side of not being able to hit the hole from three feet.'' Swede Robert Karlsson, another of the 2006 heroes trying to force his way into the 2008 side, is in second place after a 66.

I like to be challenged with course management and ball control,'' said McGinley. And when it's playing hard and fast this is a real proper test of golf.

This is old-style. That is what the game was initially designed around and I revel in it.'' He is trying to become the first Irish winner of the title since Harry Bradshaw 50 years ago.

McGinley is down in 33rd place in the cup standings but with a first prize of nearly £600,000 on offer he could jump as high as sixth on Sunday night.

It's right in the back of my mind to be honest,'' said the 2002 match-winner, whose three appearances have all seen European victories.

I've got to have a hell of a summer to make it. I've a few more hurdles to jump."