FLYING THE FLAG
Harrington to follow in Irish duo’s footsteps
WHEN The K Club was awarded the 2006 Ryder Cup, there was a sense of grievance among some seasoned Irish professionals at being overlooked for the captaincy in favour of Ian Woosnam. How things have changed. For the third time since 2014, an Irish golfer will lead Europe into Ryder Cup combat against the United States of America.
Confirmation of Padraig Harrington’s coronation as captain for the 2020 match in Whistling Straits, Wisconsin, will be formally unveiled at lunch-time today at Wentworth — home of the European Tour headquarters in Surrey.
Harrington will follow Paul McGinley (2014) and Darren Clarke (2016) as captains for the biennial battle against America’s finest.
Both McGinley and Clarke had a strong say in appointing Thomas Bjorn’s successor, which undoubtedly helped Harrington’s case.
But the turning point came last October when Lee Westwood, Harrington’s only serious rival, made it clear he’d rather be considered for the captaincy in Rome in 2022.
Even had Westwood stood his ground, he was up against a formidable opponent.
In the end, Harrington’s status as a three-time major champion, including the 2008 US PGA win, made him favourite, never mind his Ryder Cup playing record, which includes four wins out of six appearances, and three suc2020, stints as vice-captain in 2014, 2016 and 2018,
With nine wins for Europe in the last 12 renewals, including the ultimately one-sided outcome in Paris last autumn, Harrington comes to the helm with Europe riding high.
That he knows Whistling Straits in Wisconsin from the US PGA Championships of 2004, 2010 and 2015 is a further plus, and contrasts with the dearth of knowledge US skipper Jim Furyk was armed with at Le Golf National in Paris.
But there is devil in the detail, and Europe’s record on US turf is indifferent. Either side of the miracle of Medinah in 2012, there were hefty defeats in 2008 at Valhalla under Nick Faldo and 2016 at Hazeltine under Clarke.
There was also the bruising ‘Battle of Brookline’ in 1999, in which the US prevailed narrowly, where Harrington felt his singles match against Mark O’Meara would decide the outcome.
The Americans rarely cough up much on their home patch and with five players inside the world’s top six, 13 inside the leading 20, Harrington’s team will probably start as underdogs.
The 47-year-old Dubliner will know what’s coming as soon as he is unveiled as captain — the Rory question. He will be ready, too, because Harrington is rarely caught off guard.
Can he support a player who has recently referred to the European Tour as ‘a stepping stone’ and has aligned himself to the PGA Tour for the foreseeable future? Of course he can. Harrington juggled both Tours successfully and even when he was competing, and winning, in the States, was able to play sufficiently in European events to keep his card.
To be eligible for selection in the Co Down native only needs to compete in four events outside the majors and the WGCs, and he can worry about those next year.
By the time the Wisconsin matches come around, he will have played eight more majors, and had two more shots at becoming only the sixth golfer to complete the Grand Slam. Those tournaments matter more, and rightly so.
Unlike Colin Montgomerie, McIlroy’s career won’t be defined by the number of Ryder Cup wins. The notion of him not being available for selection in Whistling Straits seems risible. He has played on four winning teams and become Europe’s talisman, just as Seve Ballesteros and Monty were before him.
He has also led from the front and served all his captains as they’d hoped he would: Montgomerie (2010), Jose Maria Olazacessive bal (2012), McGinley (2014), Clarke (2016) and Thomas Bjorn (2018).
He will be around for another five or six Ryder Cups and will, when suits, duly become Europe’s captain. So, Harrington doesn’t need to respond to any provocative McIlroy queries today.
Instead, he can leave that to one side and think of those who might step forward from the shadows into the Ryder Cup spotlight.
Shane Lowry, a close friend of Harrington, needs no greater spur than to build on his fine second half of 2018, while Paul Dunne, another pre-tournament fourball regular, will seek to recapture the form he showed early last year.
Matt Wallace’s work ethic mirrors Harrington and he would be an asset too.
There are many bridges to cross, rather than any to burn, between now and September 25-27 of next year.