Pádraig’s Ryder hopes hang by a thread

Pádraig Harrington’s hopes of winning The Barclays and keeping his slim Ryder Cup wild card hopes alive were dealt a near fatal blow when he crashed to a four-over 75 to fall five shots off the lead at Bethpage Black in New York.

Even before he teed off, European skipper Jose Maria Olazabal left the Dubliner in no doubt that he was not at the top of his list of potential picks and needed to do “extraordinarily well” this week.

Demanding a win, Olazabal added: “He is an experienced player, obviously. But at the moment he has not been able to deliver. Period.”