‘The development tours are soaking up the people who are available – half of them are playing for the own money. This produces ‘quasi’ pros – it’s a contortion of market forces.

‘What makes me most concerned is the players who are lost to the game. They do it (play professionally) for 3-4 years then give up!’

What is certain is that McEvoy will ensure that his Walker Cup players do not give up, as was seen in Yorkshire last year. As a Captain and now as Chairman of Selectors, was it a Ryder Cup like commitment to the team?

‘Chairman and Captain have the same responsibilities. Until the match starts, it’s all my golfing time – 10 weekends a year, then 2 full weeks for the Cup itself. I have to be at all the major events to see the players.

‘I would reckon on about 30 days each year – I would suspect more time than Bernard Langer for the Ryder?’

What about the Walker Cup’s chances of success?

‘It really does depend on what is coming next. The three turning professional have wiped three players from the top of the list. Those three would have been very useful. We will just have to see what next year brings’

I move the interview on to the rise of Luke Donald in World Golf and what could be the future for Paul Casey, post his comments on the Ryder Cup.

‘I always thought Luke (Donald) should have played more in Europe even before this year. Its made him stronger playing in the US – though you only have to look at the commercial opportunities that have come his way this year. I think he intends to keep playing more in Europe.

‘He (and Paul) need to start performing in the Majors. They are good enough and perhaps they should have done so sooner.

‘As for Paul (Casey), what he said will I suspect come to haunt him. He’s handled it very well. He has never done the envy thing and he has stood by what he said.

‘The media need stories – it’s the way of the World. You watch Luke and he considers his answers before he replies. Paul is more spontaneous – he’s always good copy. I think he will carry on as he has done.

‘You have more and more people from the same backgrounds playing the game (professionally) – the US College system produces golfers with a similar background. Then it becomes really hard to identify players, especially with the requirements to wear a hat.

‘If Stuart Cink walked into this office right now, you wouldn’t know who he was. Back in the late 70s, their (the US) Ryder Cup team, you would know who they all are.’

What about McEvoy’s own history, all the Championships including the Masters? Was there a shot or shots which cost Peter even more success?

‘A lot!’, replied Peter, ‘But if there was one, it would have been playing David Curry in the semi-final of the 1986 Amateur Championship.

‘No disrespect to the other finalist but both myself and David knew that if we won that semi-final we would have had a very good chance of winning the Championship itself. I lost at the 19th in the semi-finals when I bunkered by tee shot at the par 3. I had the honour, the momentum …’

What about the best golf Peter ever saw, one shot or a passage of play? As it was, Peter summoned up 36 holes he witnessed at first hand, the first two rounds from one of the players who engaged in part of a duel for the Open Championship that will never been forgotten. That contest might never have been had a certain J W Nicklaus been able to putt -

‘I played the first two rounds of the 1977 Open with Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus. To spread out the galleries the marquee pairings went out through the day and the Amateur Champion was always paired with past Open Champions. I can remember being up there (from the tee) with both players for the first few holes then on the par five he (Nicklaus) is suddenly 60 or 70 yards ahead of me. His golf from tee to green was as near to perfect as you can get, booming drives, irons very close to the flag – but his putting. He shot 138 and if my mum had been putting for him it would have been 128.’

My final question is back to his own golf. Will Peter be trying to become the Centenary Warwickshire Amateur Champion in 2006 – or perhaps to win the Warwickshire Open?

‘I could do with something like that as a target. Its just because of time but I have sufficient pride that I am still scratch golfer and if I were to commit to something like that, I wouldn’t be making up the numbers.’

If ‘P McEvoy’ does appear on the starting sheet for the Amateur in May 2006, you can be sure he will be a contender but between then and now there is his work for Playgolf, for his own company Sporting Concepts and then of course there is the Walker Cup. As a leader, McEvoy has achieved a special stature and his services are continual demand, both professionally and as a supporter of English Golf. He is sure to be in the golfing news for as long as he is involved in the sport.