Pádraig Harrington vows to follow 'unwritten rule' - and get tattoo if Europe win Ryder Cup

Thomas Bjørn delivered on his promise to get a tattoo when his European team won in 2018 - now Pádraig Harrington will have to follow the new tradition if he leads the visitors to glory

Team Europe captain Padraig Harrington and Matt Fitzpatrick smile as they pose for a team picture during a practice day at the Ryder Cup. Picture: Charlie Neibergall

Thomas Bjørn delivered on his promise to get a tattoo when his European team won in 2018 in France. Pádraig Harrington promises to do the same if the team he captains defeats the Americans this week at Whistling Straits.

“I am delighted that that's all they ask for, but I'd have given up a lot more,” Harrington said Wednesday. “So yes, I will be getting a tattoo. If my team produce a winning week, I will be getting a tattoo to mark the occasion, and very comfortable that they only asked that much of me because I would have given more.” Harrington said that Bjørn’s commitment has turned the tattoo into a new standard for winning Ryder Cup captains.

“I think it's an unwritten rule, so it has come up, yes, in conversation,” he said. “Maybe they didn't ask. Maybe I offered and they felt that was enough. But definitely, yeah, it's a given now in Europe. Captain has to get a tattoo. And I don't have any other tattoos at this stage, so it would be a new experience for me. Where on the body? I don't know. It depends … how long it is.”

With a crowd expected to be more partisan weighted than usual because of pandemic travel restrictions, Harrington and his team seem to be waging a charm offensive to win over some of the Wisconsin crowds – which frankly are already more pleasant and polite than most places in the US.

Harrington has adopted the Green Bay Packers as his new favorite team, and the European uniforms for Wednesday’s practice rounds were trimmed in Packers green and gold. All the European players and caddies stepped to the first tee for practice rounds on Wednesday wearing the famous foam cheeseheads popular in the dairy state. They all threw the cheeseheads into the bleachers, eliciting raucous applause from the local fans.

“When we were doing the clothing with Loro Piana, they were talking about maybe bringing some Irish colors in for me,” Harrington said. “I'm not really into that sort of stuff, so I came up with why don't we do something with Wisconsin. Obviously, the Green Bay Packers fit both the Irish and the Green Bay Packers, and then the cheeseheads came in and a bit of fun with it.

“Look, it's lighthearted. You want it that way in practice. It's somewhat respectful of obviously the Green Bay Packers, and they were very much on board with this, so a bit of fun and we got a nice reception with it. That's kind of what you want on the practice days. Obviously, business starts on Friday, but at the moment the players are enjoying it and having a good time of it.”