Harrington and Monty tell McIlroy it’s no easy Ryder

RORY MCILROY, the 20-year-old second favourite for the 3 Irish Open starting at Baltray this morning, was last night taken to task by both Colin Montgomerie and Pádraig Harrington for describing the Ryder Cup as an “exhibition”.

The youngster claimed it was “a great spectacle but an exhibition at the end of the day” and later in his media conference removed any misunderstanding by reiterating that “it is an exhibition and should be played in the right spirit.”

Harrington, the favourite to repeat his victory of two years ago at Adare Manor, claimed that the 2004 Ryder Cup in Detroit “was the most exciting golf I’ve ever played in my life, the most exciting experience I’ve had on a golf course. And I’ve won three majors since then. So that says how big the Ryder Cup is.”