COMING TWO AMERICA
Padraig: Beany’s battlers silencing States on road just motivation needed for sequel
PADRAIG HARRINGTON insists his Ryder Cup side will take inspiration from the Solheim success of Catriona Matthew’s heroines.
And the Irishman says the unswerving belief instilled into Europe by Colin Montgomerie will be another crucial cornerstone of his management at Whistling Straits.
Matthew’s troops went into the lion’s den and sank the United States in their own backyard in Ohio.
Beany’s belters did it against the odds with no crowd support, no family and friends in attendance and in the face of a huge and partisan home crowd.
Harrington’s boys will go into an identical scenario in Wisconsin in just over a fortnight when their Ryder Cup hopes go on the line against Steve Stricker’s States.
The Irishman says he’ll tap into some of Matthew’s methodology and said: “Momentum. Inspiration. What’s not to take?
“I was watching it and I was thrilled the way they went about it, how they did it, the win. It definitely helps us.
“You want all the momentum you can get as the Ryder Cup team.
“Them going out winning and the style they won. They dominated. Let’s be honest, they won fair and square.
“There was no luck involved. Sometimes you might think, ‘Oh, did they get lucky to win?’
“It wasn’t the case and that’s the sort of momentum we would be looking for.
“There were a few things you looked at in the practical sense. Obviously there was a dominant US crowd compared to our side. Things like that we will talk about and adjust and certainly learn from. I tried to learn as much as I could, even copying a few things from the speech!”
Harrington claims lessons learned from Monty during his successful captaincy at Celtic Manor in 2010 will also be invaluable.
He added: “Monty made his team believe they were better than the US, especially when it came to playing everybody the same day.
“He came in and said we decided that. It’s our decision. We’re going to do this because we’re better than them, 12 against 12. That was impressive.
“Monty took all of the good of the past, put it together and left nothing. Got rid of whatever wasn’t working.
“That was really a very important one. So that would certainly be one to mirror.”
Before he gets to Whistling Straits, Harrington has his final 12-man team to sort out.
The skipper has a host of big decisions to make even before the final placings at this week’s BMW PGA Championship are decided on Sunday and he then makes his three wild-card picks.
Robert MacIntyre is in contention for one of those positions, while he can qualify automatically with a top-two finish at Wentworth.
Fellow Scot Calum Hill could also make it from leftfield if he lifts the trophy.
Harrington said: “There’s a number of players who can push their way into the team and a lot of points to play for this week. We wanted a bit of drama at the end. I’m looking at it like a punter at home, what could happen, what’s possible.
“But the nitty-gritty as we get further into the tournament, certainly further into the weekend, myself and the vice captains would have a better picture, understand what’s going on. And then we have to prepare for the three picks.
“We have covered very much partnerships, who could play with who in foursomes and fourball, what we need in that sense and the picks will be there.
“It’s about picking three players who complement the nine guys who qualify. Who matches up well with those guys and brings balance to the team where it’s needed.”
Harrington already has three names in mind and, although he’d give none away, Sergio Garcia appears to be one of them, despite a no-show at Wentworth.
The captain has suggested recently he’d have liked the Spaniard travelling to England but seemed less stressed about his absence last night.
He added: “I’ve spoken to Sergio quite a bit over the last couple of weeks.
“The Tour Championship was a great thing for him to get to and it was a step too far for him to come over here. He could’ve come here and played his way into the team and taken all doubt out but he’s comfortable where he’s at. It’s a better decision in terms of resting up and getting ready if he’s in the team. But it does put a bit of risk in there, doesn’t it?”