Harrington relieved and disappointed at Ryder Cup postponement
EUROPE’S Ryder Cup captain Pádraig Harrington said he greeted yesterday’s confirmation that this year’s event will be postponed until 2021 with relief and disappointment.
The biennial match between the United States and Europe was scheduled to take place at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin from September 25, but after months of conjecture organisers have decided they did not want to stage the event without fans in the current coronavirus climate.
It means the competition will now take place from September 24 to 26, 2021 and every two years thereafter, meaning Rome’s turn to host will now come in 2023 with Adare Manor in 2027 – the centenary year of the competition.
Asked if he had mixed feelings of disappointment and relief after months of speculation, Harrington (right) said: “Definitely both feelings.
“Disappointed. But, as you say, this has been coming for a number of weeks. I have been waiting on the news for the last couple of weeks but now that it is confirmed, it is certainly relief at this stage,” he told RTÉ.
“The decision is taken purely on health and safety. With the set-up of the golf course, for example, the workers would have had to go in at this stage and you can’t ask anybody to go out in these conditions necessarily.
“But there were many complications behind the scenes that really would have made it very difficult for me as captain to go there with the team I wanted.”
The move comes after months of debate about whether the event could go ahead at all or behind closed doors. Harrington changed his tune several times, from saying: “It can’t happen,” to: “It might happen,” and back and forth at various junctures.
That is when the players became involved.
Rory McIlroy, the world No 1, was bullish in his response to the rumours, maintaining that the golfers should not just be expected to turn up and play in a fanless arena.
Steve Stricker, the US captain, struck another blow for the “it just wouldn’t be a Ryder Cup” majority when announcing it would be “a crime” to Wisconsinites if spectators were not allowed in, warning it would be “a yawner”.
Stricker later suggested that if they could find a way to accommodate 25,000 fans, the players would be assuaged and it could go ahead.
After much back-room bartering, an agreement was made that sees the Presidents Cup moved to 2022, with the Ryder Cup returning to the odd years on the schedule that was lost when the 2001 match was suspended in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks.
This makes so much more sense from a marketing point of view as the Ryder Cup, sometimes referred to as “the third-biggest event in sport”, will no longer be held in the same year as the Olympics.
Hosts
Italy will be happy to have another year to prepare as hosts for 2023, while at Adare Manor they are celebrating the fact that the 2027 match will be the centenary year.
“It became clear that as of today, our medical experts and the public authorities in Wisconsin could not give us certainty that conducting an event responsibly with thousands of spectators in September would be possible,” said Seth Waugh, CEO at the PGA of America.
“As disappointing as this is, our mandate to do all we can to safeguard public health is what matters most.
“The spectators who support both the US and European sides are what make the Ryder Cup such a unique and compelling event and playing without them was not a realistic option.”
Harrington was similarly humble, as the Irishman became accustomed to emulating Sam Torrance’s threeyear reign in 2002.
“When you think of the Ryder Cup you think of the distinctive atmosphere generated by the spectators, such as around the first tee at Le Golf National two years ago,” he said. “If that cannot be responsibly recreated at Whistling Straits in September, then it is correct we all wait until it can be.
“I know, right now, that September 2021 feels like a long time away, but it will come around quickly and I guarantee that the European players and I will be ready when it does.”
The European Tour has confirmed that the qualification process for Team Europe for the 43rd Ryder Cup has been frozen until the beginning of the new year, with all points earned to date on both the European and World Points lists continuing to count. (© Daily Telegraph, London)