Harrington fans the flames for Team Europe
FEWER FANS NO WORRY FOR VISITING CAPTAIN AT WHISTLING STRAITS
Team Europe captain Padraig Harrington says bring on the noise from American fans at the Ryder Cup even if the Covid-19 pandemic reduces the number of Europe supporters at Whistling Straits.
After the biennial team golf showdown between US and Europe was postponed a year because no fans could have attended under 2020 pandemic safety rules, the Irishman doesn’t mind a hostile crowd when play starts on Friday.
“Our players play for the glory of this event,” Harington said. “If there was 40,000 US fans and no Europeans, we’d prefer that than having no fans. That’s just the reality.
“We want the noise. We want the excitement. We want the buzz of it all. Yes, the players will have to deal with it and yes, they will have to embrace it. But they wouldn’t want the alternative. Having no fans is no fun. They will enjoy it.”
European teams have won nine of the past 12 Ryder Cups, including the most recent in France in 2018, and three of the past six on US soil.
With such veterans as Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter on the squad, Europe knows what to expect with Covid-19 rules hindering European travel to the Wisconsin shores of Lake Michigan.
We expect a loud crowd. We expect excitement, and the players should be well-prepared for it. It’s not like they haven’t seen it before. After all, it is only golf.” Padraig Harrington » Team Europe captain for the Ryder Cup
Strong line-up
“Europe has a strong team when it comes to experience. That’s quite relevant when you’re playing an away match,” Harrington said. “We expect a loud crowd. We expect excitement, and the players should be wellprepared for it. It’s not like they haven’t seen it before. After all, it is only golf. It’s pretty safe inside the ropes. I don’t think they need to worry about too much.”
Harrington also isn’t worried about Spanish world No. 1 Jon Rahm, who won the US Open in June, missing the cut last week in a US PGA Tour event.
“He was lifting very nicely in the gym today when I arrived,” the Irishman said. “I arrived in to find him too sweaty to give a hug to lifting some heavy weights. I said, ‘OK, things are looking good.’”
Asked what helps unite European talent, Harrington said the emphasis the late Seve Ballesteros put on the Ryder Cup to bolster the European Tour has become a motivating force.
“Seve. Pretty straightforward. Seve,” he said. “It was a way for Seve to legitimise The European Tour The great players in Europe didn’t get great access to play in all the best events in the world. Seve was always fighting against that. Winning the Ryder Cup was the way to say that Europe deserved a seat at the table.”
Harrington said Europe enters with a game plan but can adapt quickly if it falls apart.