The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Consistency earns wildcard for Lowry
Padraig Harrington said he had to check with his Ryder Cup vicecaptains to ensure he wasn’t being biased in picking his close friend Shane Lowry as a wildcard for Whistling Straits.
The team had been “the elephant in the room” for two and a half years between the pair, he said.
“Everybody says, you’re going to pick Shane, and if anything that pushed it away from me,” he said.
“I’m terrible like that. It actually made it harder for Shane to get in the team.
“But his consistency, his form has been tremendous. He really pushed on during the latter half of the season.
“I had to keep checking with the vice-captains. You know, I’m not biased here. Don’t let me be distracted here because Shane is my friend.
“The pick was a big thrill of mine in that he is a friend of mine, but it gave me all the confidence in the world that this was the right thing to do.
“I believe he’s going to do a good job. He brings great passion. He fits very well into the team and it’s great to have a few rookies in the team.”
While Justin Rose was “right on the bubble”, said Harrington, ultimately there wasn’t a spot for him.
“It was difficult to have to ring him,” he said.
“He played well enough to be on the team. Clearly he’s good enough to be in the Ryder Cup. Clearly he’s a great player, showing some form right now.
“Certainly I had my heart set on Ian (Poulter) and Sergio (Garcia) being the hearts and the soul of the team.
“Bernd Weisberger, he delivered. He played his way into the team under pressure this week. Exactly what a captain wants to see, and it ultimately left no spot.”
Harrington revealed that during the Covid delay of a year, he was offered the chance to have as many as eight wildcard picks, but declined.
“I was offered eight picks
because we were thinking about no golf for six months into the Ryder Cup,” he said.
“You might have 20 people who might have a chance. That’s 730,000 combinations of teams you can make up out of that.
“I wouldn’t have skipped past Bernd Weisberger. He played great and he delivered under pressure. If I had four picks, Bernd would have been a pick, anyway.
“I’m sure Steve (Stricker) was happy with his six picks, but I’m not focused on what he’s doing, much more focused on trying to build the best team I can for Europe.
“My choice was three picks instead of eight or six. I’m very comfortable that was the right decision.”
Lowry, who will be one of three rookies in the team
alongside Wiesberger and Viktor Hovland, has not tasted victory since lifting the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush in 2019.
His best result in 2021 is a tie for fourth, with Harrington and fellow team member Paul Casey, in the US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, while he also recorded top-10 finishes in the Players Championship, RBC Heritage and Memorial Tournament.
Lowry was also 12th in the belated defence of his Open title at Royal St George’s and Harrington added: “(I’m) thrilled with the way he handled the pressure throughout this year.”
Lowry, who was with his father at Wentworth when Harrington called to give him the good news, is confident he can justify his captain’s faith as Europe
look to make it eight wins from the last 10 contests.
“I have a huge amount of self-belief that I can go there and deliver points for Europe and that’s all that matters, really,” Lowry said.
“Doesn’t matter whether you made the team number one or the last man to have done it. I have the selfbelief that I can deliver points and that’s what it’s all about.
“My dad was obviously very anxious and it was just a lovely picture with the two of us we might share over the next few days. It’s incredible because he’s my No 1 fan and he’s been there through it all.
“He was there in 2016 when I felt I was close to the team and didn’t make it and he was there to pick me up off the bad times and it’s great to have him there to enjoy good times.”