Pádraig Harrington happy as Ryder Cup clock ticks louder

Padraig Harrington: Players can still play their way into the Ryder Cup team. Picture: AP Photo/Chris Seward

European Ryder Cup captain Pádraig Harrington says "pretty much everything is in order" as he counts down to next month’s event at Whistling Straits.

Harrington is in the field at the Czech Masters at the Albatross Golf Resort, Prague — where he is tied 18th after a 2 under par 70 — but his focus is also on those around him as he finalises his plans for his three captain’s picks at the end of the qualification campaign on September 12.

"There is a little sense of running out of time — I don’t know if that is a good or a bad thing to be running out of time,” he told Sky Sports. “Pretty much everything is in order, in line so it is just a few last things that have to be put together.”

When quizzed on whether his potential pairing plans chop and change every week, Harrington provided an interesting insight into his thinking.

“Not really, no. What chops and changes is what do you do if you want an alternative.”

He explained: “If you change position A it means you might have to take someone from another match and that can affect two or three games.

“It is not that hard to predict who is going to play right now but on the week of the tournament, you have to adjust to who is playing well and who looks good. Then you have to be ready after day one when you have played everyone to know who is the hottest and what alternatives you have at that stage.

"It is no use starting to think about that on the Friday evening (of the Ryder Cup); you have to be prepared for the changes rather than anything else. The first set of matches on the first day wouldn’t be as hard as the second set.”

As it stands, the nine automatic qualifiers for Team Europe include Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, and Rory McIlroy from the European Points List, with Viktor Hovland, Paul Casey, Matt Fitzpatrick, Lee Westwood and Shane Lowry from the World Points List.

And in terms of any late charges coming into the selection race, Harrington added: “anyone can play their way in, the ball is in their court.”

Henrik Stenson found his form in spectacular fashion in front of Harrington to take a share of the lead after day one. He needed a captain’s pick to make a fifth Ryder Cup appearance in Paris — where he won three points from three — and a win this week could greatly increase his chances of another. He carded a bogey free 67 to hit the front at five under alongside Australia’s Maverick Antcliff.