Paul McGinley has paid tribute to the late Christy O'Connor Junior as he reminisced about stand-out moments he provided as he watched on during his own formative years.
The 2014 Ryder Cup captain and Roddy Carr joined Off The Ball to remember a colossus of Irish golf.
One achievement that stood out for McGinley was O'Connor Junior's showing at the 1989 Ryder Cup.
"To see him going out against Fred Couples, who was then one of the younger players on the American tour and very much a superstar in the making," said McGinley.
"So to go out against a player who was totally overpowering him the whole way around, bring him down the 18th and put the pressure on him with that 2-iron at 18 made me proud as a young Irish student over in San Diego."
Another moment which roused a sense of pride for McGinley came when he saw O'Connor contribute to a winning effort in the Dunhill Cup.
O'Connor Junior during the 1989 Ryder Cup Picture by: Ross Kinnaird / EMPICS Sport
"You look up to people from your home country and I certainly did. When I came out on tour, they'd won the Dunhill Cup and like everybody else in Ireland back then in the late 1980s, it was a huge emotional thing to see Irishmen wearing the green jerseys going out and taking on the world and winning the way they did."
Carr, who spent much time with O'Connor on tour, remembered an "incredible character".
"I have a memory of him in an airport in Geneva. Seve had just won the Swiss Open by three shots and we were all delayed as we were in those days. I think it was 1997. Christy had just picked up a little whistle. He could play anything and he started to play and he had the spoons and the whistles going in the little cafe in the airport. Junior was holding court and the whole place was having a ball. That was the essence of Christy Junior. He made everybody happy around him," Carr recalled.
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