RYDER SHOULD BE STUCK IN NEUTRAL
Harrington: Home advantage too big a factor in cup clash
PADRAIG HARRINGTON reckons the future of the Ryder Cup will be best served on “neutral” courses – to stop the home side setting traps.
But he admits it could be a half-century before it happens.
A year out from the biggest show in golf hitting Whistling Straits, Europe’s captain suggested the luxury of setting up courses to suit could be scrapped.
Six of the last seven Ryder Cups have been won by the home team with Europe’s so-called “Miracle of Medinah” the sole exception.
Harrington will be out to retain the trophy when he squares up to Steve Stricker in Wisconsin after Europe trounced the USA by seven points in Paris.
The Irishman, a vice-captain under Thomas Bjorn last time, said: “There is a substantial difference – I would advocate even too much of a difference – between home and away.
“Clearly in Europe we get to set the golf course up and we set it up in every way we can to suit our players. And in the States we have seen that as well where it is set up to be the most advantageous for the home team.
“It is not going to happen probably in my lifetime but 40 or 50 years down the road, with the Ryder Cup still going along, it would probably be best to have a neutral set-up where there is no setting up a course as we did in Europe last time.
“It was very tight off the tee and that made it real difficult where par was a good score.
“Whereas if you went back to Hazeltine, it was more of a birdie-fest where the statisticians get involved and tell us what suits each team. Thankfully here at Whistling Straits this is a much more natural golf course and I am interested to see what Steve has in store. But it does not look like you can do a lot with this course.
“Even the weather could be very changeable the week of the Ryder Cup. In many ways this is a course that is just going to test the players on its own merits.
“It will be a great venue for the Ryder Cup. It’s a dramatic golf course. We need that in the Ryder Cup.”
Whistling Straits has hosted three US PGA Championships since 2004 but none of them produced a home winner. And Stricker admits “there are no real tricks here” as the USA bid to win their third cup in 10 attempts.
A vice-captain to Jim Furyk last time, he said: “It is not going to be eight on the stimpmeter, like it was in Paris, it is not going to be as high a rough as it was. But it is a bit more of a challenge here.
“It is a links-style course although a lot of it is still played through the air.”
● Korean pro Bio Kim has been banned for three years for making an obscene gesture to a fan.
The 29-year-old won the DGB Financial Group Open on Sunday but showed his middle finger and slammed his club into the ground when a mobile phone picture was taken on his backswing on 16.
Kim apologised but the Korean Tour yesterday imposed the ban and a £6800 fine. The Tour said: “Bio Kim damaged the dignity of a golfer with etiquette violation and inappropriate behaviour.”