Harrington wary of Woods

Padraig Harrington fears Europe will be facing a backlash from a "wounded Tiger" in the Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills.

Woods goes into this weekend’s clash in Detroit with a record of five wins, eight defeats and two draws from his 15 matches in the last three contests.

The former world number one is also under pressure from American captain Hal Sutton to prove his dedication to the cause as the home side look to regain the trophy last won in controversial circumstances at Brookline in 1999.

And Harrington predicts Woods will eventually produce some of his best golf in a team environment rather than in search of individual glory.

“He is out to prove something,” warned Harrington, the world number eight and Europe’s top-ranked player. “So there’s definitely going to be a backlash from Tiger at some Ryder Cup, it’s going to happen.

“I would think it’s more of a wounded Tiger at the moment and he would be very dangerous to play against. Obviously guys have beaten him in the last couple of years but he’s going to have something to prove and I would see him as quite intimidating.”

The only time Woods has been on the winning side in the Ryder Cup was at Brookline five years ago, when the American fightback on the final day was overshadowed by the behaviour of some of the crowd and the invasion of the 17th green during Jose Maria Olazabal’s crucial match with Justin Leonard.

A great sporting contest at The Belfry two years ago has helped dim the memories of that unsavoury occasion – Sutton is adamant the Americans have done enough apologising – and Harrington can now see the silver lining in an otherwise dark cloud.

“If you remember there was talk before Brookline of players wanting to be paid and it was a poor build-up but they showed on the 17th green how much it meant to them to win,” added Harrington, who won the German Masters in Cologne on Sunday.

“And that’s a good sign for the Europeans. Eventually we got the Ryder Cup to a situation where the US team wants to win every bit as much as the European team.

“When you reflect on that you’ve got to think that was a great situation for us, they celebrated so hard it’s a sign of respect for us; that they thought we were a worthy opposition whereas in past years I’m sure it was hard for them to motivate themselves.”