Harrington ready to risk it all for shot at Ryder Cup captaincy

THREE-TIME major winner Padraig Harrington believes he is putting his career on the line by taking on the Ryder Cup captaincy in 2020.

Harrington won the Open Championship in 2007 and successfully defended the title the following year, before winning the US PGA Championship just three weeks later.

However, the 47-year-old is well aware of the damage a Ryder Cup defeat can do to a captain’s reputation having played under six-time major winner Sir Nick Faldo in Europe’s defeat at Valhalla in 2008.

“It’s something I did think long and hard about,” Harrington said during a press conference to announce his appointment at the European Tour’s headquarters at Wentworth.

“It’s possibly easier to be Ryder Cup captain at home, but I realise it was good timing in my career and probably the best chance for the team in an international setting, going to the US having me as captain at this time.

“Then it really came down to whether I wanted to be in the hat and put what is a successful career on the line. It is a different element to your career and we know a successful captain is great and a losing captain, it’s his fault. I am putting something on the line going out there.

“I’m well aware that it’s win or nothing, that’s the way it goes. When you’re a Ryder Cup captain, you’re putting the history of your game – your legacy – on the line.”