McGinley’s ultimatum to Ryder hopeful Harrington
Harrington, 42, is being touted as a potential team vice-captain for the showdown as Europe bids for a hat-trick of successive victories. Qualification for the team seems a long shot with the three-time major winner down to 181st in the world rankings and out of many big tournaments such as this week’s WGC-Cadillac Championships in which big points can be amassed to climb up the qualifying tables.
Yet on the day McGinley unveiled fellow Irishman Des Smyth and Scotland’s Sam Torrance as his first two assistants for the 40th edition of golf’s greatest team event, the European skipper said he would not name his remaining vice-captains until after his team was finalised and his three wild cards were picked on September 2.
“I want everybody to forget about the vice captaincy,” McGinley said following his announcement of Smyth and Torrance at Government Buildings in Dublin yesterday. “I’ve picked two guys with lots of experience, everybody else, focus on your golf over the summer.
“It doesn’t matter where you are in the table, it’s important to stay focused on that and let me deal with vice captaincies when the time comes at the end of the team being formulated.”
Asked if that applied to his friend, McGinley said: “Yeah, very much so. I’ve talked to Pádraig about that,” while in answer to whether Harrington was capable of producing the necessary form he replied: “Oh, no question. Pádraig Harrington having a strong summer? Somebody would want to be mad in the head not to pick him. So good form over the summer is very important.”
McGinley, Harrington and Smyth attended last night’s Carr Golf Group-sponsored Irish Golf Writers’ Awards dinner at Portmarnock GC and the Ryder Cup captain said he believed the two-time Open and 1998 PGA Championship winner was close to being back to his best form.
“I played a practice round with him in Pebble Beach [last month]. Listen, we all know Pádraig. He’s not far away. He’s hitting the ball wonderfully well, his short game is still there. His competitive instinct and his appetite for the game is still there. Now it’s about proving it and going out and having a good summer.
“If he goes out and has a good summer, Pádraig, of course he’s going to be right up there with a potential pick. If he has a strong summer. But he needs results. I don’t have to tell him that, he knows that himself.
“It’s just about showing me evidence why you want a pick. The evidence is where your results go over the summer. I don’t mean just one good week, I mean consistency.”
Harrington will not be the only 40-something on Tour hoping to make the team but in line for a vice captaincy role if he does not, with McGinley having appointed Miguel Angel Jimenez to lead Europe’s team in Malaysia at the inaugural EurAsia Cup match with Asia at the end of the month.
Jimenez will have Smyth assisting him as the 61-year-old prepares to revise his role as a vice-captain to Ian Woosnam at the 2006 Ryder Cup.
Both Torrance and Smyth were described by McGinley as mentors in his career but asked how easy it would be to switch to being their boss come September, the Europe captain said: “I don’t see myself as the boss although I’m the captain in place. I don’t see myself as an authoritative figure. I see myself as very much a team man. I’m very interested in garnering opinions and I’d like to talk to everybody.
“If they are saying ‘black’ and I’m saying ‘white’, I want to know why they’re saying ‘black’. Sometimes they convince me, sometimes they don’t. I’ve strong views, been lucky to be involved in a lot of team events, I know what works. I’ve seen the template that’s worked in the past in team rooms in the Ryder Cup.
“I’ve seen what we’ve done, seen what all the captains have done. There are a number of reasons why we’ve been successful. My job is to take that template, enhance it, make it better and roll it out again. I don’t want to be a maverick, coming out of left field with a load of ideas. My job is to take this template that has been worked on so hard. Sam has been part of the evolution of that template. Mark James has been part of it. Bernard Gallacher has been part of it. We’ve evolved it and my role is to move it forward.”
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