Harrington views Gleneagles role as test of future captaincy credentials

Pádraig Harrington’s future as a Ryder Cup player looks less certain than ever after he admitted his appointment as one of Paul McGinley’s five Ryder Cup assistants is a test to see if he’s got the right stuff to become captain himself.

The Dubliner turned 43 last Sunday and having failed to qualify for the last two Ryder Cup teams, while crashing from third to 287th in the world, he’s in position to challenge for the captaincy in 2016 at Hazeltine, 2018 in France or in 2020 at Whistling Straits, when he will be 49.

McGinley will have five assistants at Gleneagles later this month after he added Harrington, 2012 skipper José María Olazábal and four-time Ryder Cup player Miguel Angel Jimenez to a backroom team that already features Des Smyth and Sam Torrance.