PADRAIG HARRINGTON HAS admitted he was only made vice-captain for last year’s Ryder Cup because he and Paul McGinley are friends.
The three-time Major winner was one of five understudies to McGinley during the tournament in Gleneagles last September as Europe won the Ryder Cup for the third successive time.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Late Late Show, Harrington conceded it was a risk having him as vice-captain given his ‘stature within the game’ and acknowledged that he was only asked by McGinley because the pair have a close relationship.
“Paul invited me to be captain because I’m a friend of his,” he said. “Ultimately, that’s why he did it. He knew there was a danger having me as a vice-captain that it might take away from his authority. Me being a three-time major win could have a distraction from him being the sole man in front.”
“He might not have selected only that we’re friends. You don’t want someone there, who has a pretty big stature in the game, that could take away from him.
“That’s fair enough, he really wanted to show he was the man out in front, he was the captain. It was very important for him that he had the respect of the players and I wasn’t going to, in any shape, undermine it.”
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Harrington was part of McGinley's successful team Peter Morrison
Peter Morrison
It was only the second time in the last eight editions of the Ryder Cup that Harrington wasn’t involved in a playing capacity. However, the 43-year-old admitted he was more than happy to take a step back and watch from afar.
“It was a jolly-up for me,” he said. “There was no pressure, no stress. I was last person up in the morning. My big decision was whether I was going to have a cappuccino or a cup of tea.
“I was last person out of the team room at night, myself and my wife would be looking for doubles partners on the table tennis table. I just had a ball.”
While Harrington has endured a difficult few years as he’s battled with form and fitness, the Dubliner is optimistic ahead of the 2015 season after ending 2014 with his first win in nearly four years.
Victory at the Indonesia Open in early December ended a barren streak that had extended back to June 2010 and while finishing in the winner’s enclosure was satisfactory, it was an important juncture in Harrington’s renewal.
“Winning is a good habit, it was timely too,” he explained. “It was the last tournament of the year and normally when you win a tournament you play the following week so you only usually get a week out of win whereas I got seven weeks.
“It was nice but not very important. I was doing a lot of good things in my game, I could see things changing around so the importance of it was that things worked, my mental game clicked.”
During his slide down the world rankings – he now sits in 226th – Harrington has been accused of over analysing his game to the point that it was undermining what he did on the course. After a prolonged period in the doldrums, however, he firmly believes a new corner has been turned.
“I’m always optimistic and a confident person but I do believe my game is better than ever,” he said, looking forward to 2015. “For years I’ve been fighting against the mental stuff and struggled with easy shots.
“When I have a lay-up on a par 5, which would traditionally for a killer be and this is stuff I’ve been working on. I tend to believe that everybody else finds that easy and I think that because I’m a three-time major winner and a successful professional golfer that I should find it easy as well.
“In many ways, on those sort of shots, I’m trying to be someone I’m not and I’ve always had my most success when my back is against the wall. When I get an easy shot this year I will be red flagging that in my head, saying you have to pay more attention to this shot.
“I would love to be the guy that walks around there with the big ego and saying this is easy and in some ways after winning three majors its made it harder for me and I need to act like the guy is trying to prove something.”
After an extended break, Harrington is set to begin his year at the Phoenix Open on the last weekend of January.
'It was a jolly up for me" - Harrington talks Ryder Cup, renewed confidence and his mental game
PADRAIG HARRINGTON HAS admitted he was only made vice-captain for last year’s Ryder Cup because he and Paul McGinley are friends.
The three-time Major winner was one of five understudies to McGinley during the tournament in Gleneagles last September as Europe won the Ryder Cup for the third successive time.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Late Late Show, Harrington conceded it was a risk having him as vice-captain given his ‘stature within the game’ and acknowledged that he was only asked by McGinley because the pair have a close relationship.
“Paul invited me to be captain because I’m a friend of his,” he said. “Ultimately, that’s why he did it. He knew there was a danger having me as a vice-captain that it might take away from his authority. Me being a three-time major win could have a distraction from him being the sole man in front.”
“That’s fair enough, he really wanted to show he was the man out in front, he was the captain. It was very important for him that he had the respect of the players and I wasn’t going to, in any shape, undermine it.”
It was only the second time in the last eight editions of the Ryder Cup that Harrington wasn’t involved in a playing capacity. However, the 43-year-old admitted he was more than happy to take a step back and watch from afar.
“It was a jolly-up for me,” he said. “There was no pressure, no stress. I was last person up in the morning. My big decision was whether I was going to have a cappuccino or a cup of tea.
“I was last person out of the team room at night, myself and my wife would be looking for doubles partners on the table tennis table. I just had a ball.”
While Harrington has endured a difficult few years as he’s battled with form and fitness, the Dubliner is optimistic ahead of the 2015 season after ending 2014 with his first win in nearly four years.
Victory at the Indonesia Open in early December ended a barren streak that had extended back to June 2010 and while finishing in the winner’s enclosure was satisfactory, it was an important juncture in Harrington’s renewal.
“Winning is a good habit, it was timely too,” he explained. “It was the last tournament of the year and normally when you win a tournament you play the following week so you only usually get a week out of win whereas I got seven weeks.
“It was nice but not very important. I was doing a lot of good things in my game, I could see things changing around so the importance of it was that things worked, my mental game clicked.”
During his slide down the world rankings – he now sits in 226th – Harrington has been accused of over analysing his game to the point that it was undermining what he did on the course. After a prolonged period in the doldrums, however, he firmly believes a new corner has been turned.
“I’m always optimistic and a confident person but I do believe my game is better than ever,” he said, looking forward to 2015. “For years I’ve been fighting against the mental stuff and struggled with easy shots.
“In many ways, on those sort of shots, I’m trying to be someone I’m not and I’ve always had my most success when my back is against the wall. When I get an easy shot this year I will be red flagging that in my head, saying you have to pay more attention to this shot.
“I would love to be the guy that walks around there with the big ego and saying this is easy and in some ways after winning three majors its made it harder for me and I need to act like the guy is trying to prove something.”
After an extended break, Harrington is set to begin his year at the Phoenix Open on the last weekend of January.
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Golf Interview New START Padraig Harrington