SHANE CAN’T COUNT ON ME
Padraig: Friendship nearly cost him a place in the team
EUROPEAN captain Padraig Harrington insists his friendship with Shane Lowry made it harder for the former Open champion to get on the Ryder Cup team.
Lowry held the last automatic place heading into the final qualifying event, but was knocked out of the team by Bernd Wiesberger’s performance in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
However, the 34-year-old was then given one of Harrington’s three wild cards for the upcoming contest at Whistling Straits, with Sergio Garcia and Ian Poulter getting the others as former world No.1 Justin Rose missed out.
“Everybody said ‘You’re going to pick Shane, you’re going to pick Shane’, and if anything that pushed it away from me. I’m terrible like that,” Harrington said.
“It actually made it harder for Shane to get in the team.
“I had to keep checking with the vice-captains. You know, ‘I’m not biased here. This is right. Don’t let me be distracted here because Shane is my friend’.
“It was with the support of the vice-captains I was able to give him the nod and I was thrilled with that.
“There’s downsides to this job, having to tell the guys that weren’t getting the picks, but having to tell Shane that he got the pick was a big thrill of mine that he is a friend of mine and knowing that it was the right thing to do, it wasn’t me being unconsciously biased.”
Lowry, who was with his father in the players’ lounge at Wentworth when Harrington called to give him the good news, is confident he can justify his captain’s faith.
“I have a huge amount of selfbelief 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.
“My dad was 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 number one fan and he’s been there through it all.
“He was there in 2016 when I felt like 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 the good times, as well.”