Harrington keen to end Ryder Cup wait

Pádraig Harrington

Pádraig Harrington denies he’s in a one-horse race for the 2020 Ryder Cup captaincy and insists he’d prefer to know is fate sooner rather than later.

The Dubliner (47) admitted yesterday he was sounded out by the European Tour about his desire to skipper the side at Whistling Straits “almost immediately after” Europe’s win in Paris.

And while he knows there are “two names in the hat” with his own — Paul Lawrie is one player who has publicly expressed his desire to do the job with Robert Karlsson believed to be the other one hoping to be considered — he denies that the presence of fellow Irishmen Paul McGinley and Darren Clarke alongside Thomas Bjorn on the five-man selection committee (CEO Keith Pelley and a member of the players’ committee complete the quintet) makes him a shoo-in for the job.

“I would hoping they will make their decision without bias,” Harrington said ahead of the $7 million Turkish Airlines Open at the Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort.

“It's interesting getting asked questions about it when I know no more than anybody else.

“There's not much I can say, bar, yes, I'd like to be Ryder Cup Captain, my name's in the hat and there are other names in the hat and nobody is fully sure when they are going to announce it.”

While Bjorn was named as captain nearly 22 months before the Ryder Cup and felt that the lead-in was too long, Harrington would relish a pre-Christmas announcement even if the successful candidate faces a huge task on US soil.

“I know what he's saying, but I keep getting asked,” said Harrington, who is considered a certainty to get the nod despite the posturing. “We've had, what, 20 minutes on this and I'm trying to say I'm not the Ryder Cup captain for 2020, it has not been decided.

“But once you start talking about it, eventually it starts looking like, I think I am. It puts me in an awkward position. I'd prefer the clarity.

“I know a number of players have come out and said they feel I should be the next captain. I think what they are really saying is that they liked what they saw and they would like a continuation of what they have seen and not to rock the boat too much.”

Tempestuous as a player, Bjorn surprised some with his even-tempered captaincy and anyone expecting Harrington to try some of his more eccentric practice methods if he’s captain in Wisconsin will be sorely disappointed.

“I think I would be myself,” he said. “Maybe sometimes I might be pigeonholed into being a certain self that I'm not, so if you do see something different, it's just you didn't know me in the first place.  

“There's an edge of me that would be more towards the Bernhard Langer type obviously, and it would be interesting to see, would I be a little bit more controlling.”

He has no plans to reinvent the wheel, even if Wisconsin native Steve Stricker — the likely US captain — would present formidable opposition on a course that could favour the Europeans.

“I would definitely go for continuity,” he said. “If I was captain, I wouldn't be going out there to do anything new, no.”

Harrington has gone on record as saying that while he’d like to see home advantage eliminated and the Ryder Cup course set up by a neutral party, it’s not going to happen for decades. That said, he believes Whistling Straits could prove a good venue for Europe with its windy, links like qualities.

“A neutral setup, yes.  I don't think it's going it happen very soon but I do think eventually if it keeps going, we win in Europe, they win in the States, and for whoever is captain next time, I think the players aren't that happy that it's at Whistling Straits.  

“They know that they have had a better chance of winning The Ryder Cup if they went back to a Hazeltine style of golf course, rather than going to a links course in the States.  

“The players themselves are very aware that they would go to their traditional style golf courses, they would have an advantage over the Europeans.  While they will try obviously to set Whistling Straits up to suit them, you know, from our side, we hope they don't have as much wiggle room as they would have with the likes of Hazeltine.”

On Stricker, he expressed total respect, adding that he wasn’t a man to be underestimated.

“I know Steve from playing with him in the US,” he said.  “Solid bloke.  Good guy.  Tough.  Yeah, I think wouldn't be a man to underestimate.  This is a guy who has come back from the driver yips in golf.  This is a guy who has become a world class player a couple of times later on in his career without the firepower and arsenal that other players have.  You know when you're going up against a guy like that that he's mentally tough and strong.  

“Yeah, I think he's a nice Ryder Cup Captain, as in he  he's like the guy you're playing against in the golf course; the guy you want to play on the golf course is always a tough guy but a guy who is very straight and that's Steve Stricker.  He's as straight as they come.  You know you've got a game when you're playing against him, but there's no messing from his side.”

As for the Turkish Airlines Open, where he’s joined by Shane Lowry and Paul Dunne, he needs a good week as he’s 89th in the Race to Dubai with only the top 64 available players qualifying for next week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge and only the top 60 outright making the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, he’s got some work to do.

“I need to putt a bit better, but I'm working on that, and putting can come and go,” said Harrington, who was fourth behind Justin Rose last year. “It's not like you can't have a good week and I'm waiting for that to happen.”