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PGA TOUR: Harrington at home in Ireland

/noticias.info/ By Helen Ross
PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents

STRAFFAN, Ireland -- Padraig Harrington was asked the inevitable on Wednesday. How do you sum up what it feels like to be an Irishman from Dublin playing in the Ryder Cup on your home soil?

“Would you like that in one word?” Harrington said, joking, and then he struggled to confine his answer to many more.

Besides, maybe that young boy the Irishman encountered during a practice round this week said it best. The youngster was trying to get Harrington’s attention and he ended up shouting at the Irish pro, ‘Hey, mister.’

“You just wouldn’t hear that at a golf event,” Harrington said. “He’s a kid that probably wouldn’t have even thought of going to a golf event. I may be pre-judging him by his accent and what he said, but the likelihood is that there is a guy that might grow up to love golf, and it could make an impact on his life.

“It is a bit different because (the Ryder Cup) is in Ireland, or at least, I see it as being different. It is reaching out to more people. 45,000 people (daily) is a lot of people to come to a golf event for what, five, six days. So it’s making quite a difference in that sense.”

Harrington, whose image has been used on countless promotional posters, is one of three Irishmen on the European Team. More than likely, though, he won’t be paired with Paul McGinley, as he has been twice before, or the affable Ulsterman Darren Clarke.

Forget the luck of the Irish. European captain Ian Woosnam would be hard-pressed to break up the team of Harrington and Colin Montgomerie, the Scotsman who is playing on his eighth Ryder Cup team and has a cumulative record of 19-8-5.

The duo has won three of the four matches they’ve played -- including the opening dressing down of Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods in 2004. Harrington and Montgomerie also derailed the Mickelson-David Toms juggernaut in 2002.

“I don’t think anyone would not relish the chance to play with Monty in a Ryder Cup,” Harrington said. “He’s one of the best players in the world in the Ryder Cup format. He excels. So definitely, I’d like to play with Monty.”

Harrington said Montgomerie is “definitely the one leading the ship” whenever the two have played together at the Ryder Cup. “That’s a position he likes, and he plays it very well,” the soft-spoken Irishman said.

You certainly can’t argue with the results. The well-respected duo was hand-picked by their European teammates to face Mickelson and Woods in the opener in 2004. That 2-and-1 victory set the tone for a weekend that produced an 18 ½ to 9 ½ European rout.

“Everybody was aware that Phil and Tiger were going to play together, I think from that Tuesday,” Harrington recalled. “So the European Team got to sit and discuss it at our team meetings and decide who would play them.

“It was myself and Monty chosen to play that match, most so because we felt we’d play our own game and play a steadier game. We were not going out there trying to match them, we were just going out there to try and play our own game and let them do whatever.

“We were in a nice, comfortable position that we could plan for it. There was no surprise in it. We knew for two days what was before us.”

Harrington and Montgomerie played nine holes together on Wednesday, losing 1 down to Henrik Stenson and McGinley, who made an eagle on the 18th hole.

The practice session was abbreviated due to strong winds and rain that prompted officials to close the course for three hours earlier in the day. The very real threat of similar weather could curtail Thursday’s preparation, as well, but Harrington isn’t worried.

“I think all of the players would be quite happy if they were told they were playing (the Ryder Cup) tomorrow,” he said. “Everybody will be chomping at the bit to get going tomorrow, and maybe not playing some of the golf course for 18 holes today is going to help us out that we’re not going to feel like we’ve overdone it.

“If you do five matches, it’s a very long week, so maybe this will be a blessing.”

Besides, Harrington and his teammates are well-acquainted with The K Club, which hosts the Smurfit European Open on the European Tour. He doesn’t think the wicked weather gives the Euros an advantage over the Americans, either.

“It’s not like anybody on their team can’t play shots that we can play,” Harrington said. “I just see it as being a fair golf course. … It’s not like saying it’s windy this week and the Europeans will have a distinct advantage. All of the U.S. guys have proven by winning the last number of (British) Opens that they can play well in the wind.

“So I don’t believe for one second that the U.S. won’t be well capable of hitting as straight as the Europeans or straighter. I believe in Europe we play on narrower fairways compared to a U.S. week, but on this level, when you’re looking at the 12 players who made the Ryder Cup team, I think most are well-seasoned and have got the ability to manage whatever conditions are thrown at them.” notas_de_prensa_archivo