In 1991, McGinley turned professional. He joined the European Tour in 1992, aged 25. In 1993, he lost a playoff to
Costantino Rocca in the
French Open. In 1994, McGinley lost a playoff to
José María Olazábal in the
Open Mediterrania. McGinley eventually won his first title on the European Tour at the 1996
Hohe Brücke Open. In 1997 he won the
World Cup of Golf for Ireland with
Pádraig Harrington (who attended the same secondary school,
Coláiste Éanna, as McGinley). At the 2001
Celtic Manor Resort Wales Open, McGinley won the tournament on the fifth extra hole of a playoff in an event that was so badly disrupted by torrential rain that it was reduced to just 36 holes. After his victory, McGinley quipped: "
Goran Ivanišević said God sent the rain for him at
Wimbledon and maybe he sent it for me too!" McGinley's best finish in one of the four
major championships is a tie for 6th place in the
2004 PGA Championship. He has featured in the top 20 of the
Official World Golf Ranking. His best season on the European Tour was in 2005 when he finished third on the Order of Merit. He made the cut in 21 out of 23 events that year and gained his fourth and, to date, last European Tour victory in the season-ending
Volvo Masters at the
Valderrama Golf Club in Spain. McGinley started his final round four shots off the lead. He shot a final round of 67 for the biggest individual tournament win of his career, finishing two strokes ahead of Spain's
Sergio García. Before his victory in the 2005 Volvo Masters, McGinley had three runner-up finishes in tournaments that year, finishing second to
Ángel Cabrera in the
BMW Championship at Wentworth and losing in the final of the
HSBC World Match Play Championship at the same venue to New Zealander
Michael Campbell (2 & 1). In an absorbing contest, Campbell clinched the title with a half on the penultimate hole after McGinley had driven wildly into the trees on the previous two holes. McGinley later said he was "hurt like you can't imagine" after losing in the final. He said: "I fought as hard as I could and I'm bitterly disappointed." At the 2005
TCL Classic, McGinley shot a final round of 63 to force a sudden-death playoff with
Paul Casey. However, on the second extra hole, Casey holed a 25-foot birdie putt from the back of the green to win the title. At the 2008
KLM Open played in the Netherlands, McGinley shot a final round of 64 to finish runner-up in the tournament, behind
Darren Clarke.
Ryder Cup McGinley made three consecutive Ryder Cup appearances in 2002, 2004 and 2006, with Europe being victorious each time. In the
2002 Ryder Cup, his ten-foot putt on the 18th hole in his match against
Jim Furyk secured the ½ point Europe needed for victory; the team eventually won 15½ to 12½. In the
2006 Ryder Cup at
The K Club in Ireland, McGinley offered a handshake and conceded a 20-foot putt for a half to
J. J. Henry on the 18th green of his last-day singles match because he feared his opponent might have been put off when a streaker ran across the green. In the
2010 and
2012 matches, McGinley served as one of the European vice-captains to
Colin Montgomerie and
José María Olazábal respectively. On 15 January 2013, he was named the Europe team captain for the
2014 Ryder Cup. In May 2013, McGinley gave European player
Sergio García his backing following a public feud that the Spaniard had with
Tiger Woods and a controversial "fried chicken" remark that García made about Woods. In an interview with
BBC Radio 5 Live, McGinley said: "I think there's a personality clash and they don't particularly like each other's company. For me, it's no big deal. He apologised for it and, as far as I'm concerned, we move on. People make mistakes and say things all the time that they regret and didn't mean." Garcia would eventually qualify for McGinley’s European squad, ahead of the Ryder Cup in September 2014. At the
2014 Ryder Cup in Scotland, McGinley’s European team defeated the American team captained by
Tom Watson with a winning margin of 16 to 11. ==Personal life==