Padraig Harrington.....2015 Honda Classic Champion

Lads, we're all splitting hairs on the stats of Harrington and Casey. When we're talking about cuts made, top 10's etc etc broadly speaking there's not a lot between them on the last 12 month's form. I'm no particular fan of Padraig but I can't see how the argument for Casey is a convincing one (nor is the argument for Padraig either). Its the captain's call and he's made it, rightly or wrongly, he has to go by his gut feeling, not the Sky Sports/Robert Lee agenda which I can't fathom. Otherwise why have wild cards, why not just go right down to no.12 on the list ? The captain should have some leeway surely.

Had Monty picked Casey there would equally be no good argument the other way.

Without bringing too much overt patriotism into it, it seems sometimes that there's an underlying hint of jealously or bitterness that a supposed lesser player (Harrington, a scrambler in fairness) has 3 majors and is a bit mad, while the poster boys of UK golf have none. Maybe I'm wrong but I genuinely can't see why Sky seem so anti PH......

Russman wrote: »

Lads, we're all splitting hairs on the stats of Harrington and Casey. When we're talking about cuts made, top 10's etc etc broadly speaking there's not a lot between them on the last 12 month's form. I'm no particular fan of Padraig but I can't see how the argument for Casey is a convincing one (nor is the argument for Padraig either). Its the captain's call and he's made it, rightly or wrongly, he has to go by his gut feeling, not the Sky Sports/Robert Lee agenda which I can't fathom. Otherwise why have wild cards, why not just go right down to no.12 on the list ? The captain should have some leeway surely.

Had Monty picked Casey there would equally be no good argument the other way.

Without bringing too much overt patriotism into it, it seems sometimes that there's an underlying hint of jealously or bitterness that a supposed lesser player (Harrington, a scrambler in fairness) has 3 majors and is a bit mad, while the poster boys of UK golf have none. Maybe I'm wrong but I genuinely can't see why Sky seem so anti PH......

Agree totally.it is toss of a coin.to call the decision a shocker is,well,typical sky.
anyway casey,daspite his confidence and big mouth is a repeated choker when it really matters

thelongfellow wrote: »

So Harrington is better than Casey now is he? Make up your mind.

Sigh.
First response was to somebody who asked for any evidence of casey recent form being better than harrington,to which i merely pointed out their respective results in last 2 majors,which as name suggests,are quite important.

2nd response was merely agreeing theres little in it and an opinion on paul caseys personality and career.

In answer to your question,yes i think harringtons better than casey-3 and 0, as the yanks say.

Lastly,for this particular match i would have picked casey if its solely about winning,but i think politically its difficult to leave out a 3 time recent major winner.

Harrington's form over the year has been better - take a look at the WR points he won while the points list was open - 204.97 vs Casey's 164.51. It takes a lot to lose 40 points

I think a big factor in the pick was that Monty seems to have some sort of relationship with Harrington whereas Casey appears to be a little harder to get on with. I don't think PC comes across well in interviews; he is an engaging chap, but his arrogance is sometimes hard to ignore, notably when he explained his reasons for not travelling to the Czech Open.

Harrington on the other hand was far more self-deprecating, berating himself for poor scheduling and admitting his failure to play the last two events in Europe could and almost should cost him a place.
In that respect at the very least, he will unquestionably be a more popular character in the team room, which I'm sure Montgomerie was aware of. Even Olazabal has given Pod his backing, despite the bust-up they had in the Seve Trophy a few years back; he's frustrating as hell, but he's clearly a hard man to stay mad at (unless you're Sergio Garcia)

Based purely on results over two years, Casey deserved to be picked, but there's so much more to consider, not least of which is their over-all Ryder Cup records. Both of them, not just Harrington, flopped in Valhalla, and if the truth is told, neither of them would've felt much pressure at all in '06 and '04 because the victories were so great.

True pressure in the tournament, after the first tee shot is hit, only arises late Saturday and all day Sunday if the match is tight. Only Harrington has felt this in the last decade (not that thats Casey's fault, I hasten to add) and he came through it brilliantly, hockeying Calcavecchia at the Belfry and seeing off O' Meara in the ultimate pressure cauldron that was Brookline in 1999.

I think that's the player we'll see if it's required in Celtic Manor. Remember, in the Ryder Cup, golf becomes similar to other sports: you're only as good as the guy you're playing with! Or against....

ziggy wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Casey has gained more world ranking points in this calendar year so far, mainly due to a 2nd place in the Matchplay back in February and a 3rd place in the Open. Harrington has more points in the last 12 months. Casey is still ahead of him in the World rankings due to his two wins back in April/May 2009.

In the last 6 months or so, Harrington has had a few missed cuts and a few good finishes. He has played very erratically at times. Casey has probably been more steady but, apart from the Open, his average performance has been to finish in about 25-30 position and not really threaten the lead.

Apparently playing the Irish PGA in Seapoint the week before the Ryder Cup.


Playing the Vivendi in France instead.

Russman wrote: »

Ahh come on, they're hardly the most reliable indicator, despite their name. Tiger still no.1 when he's been anything but the best player in the world for the last 18 months ??

As I said previously I've no particular preference between Casey and Harrington, there is little to choose between them, but most of Casey's points were earned in early 2009. As far as I know PH has earned more points in the last year (open to correction on this).

I go back to the point of rankings, why not just abandon Captain's Picks altogether if we want to use rankings (of any sort) as the barometer ? The whole idea of the pick is to give the captain freedom to choose from outside a given list.

Tiger has had a bad 6 months but with the rolling 2 years system with points depreciating weekly he wont be staying top for long without winning again. 7 wins last year and 3 seconds gave him an almighty lead before that late night incident last November. Top 33 players in the rankings have actually gained more points than Tiger this year :eek:

Neither Casey or Harrington played themselves into the team. The choice was Monty's and was clearly not based on stats. Thats what captains picks are for... hunches, giving rookies a shot, whatever, its the captains call.

Casey took it on the chin, so why are there so many stat monkeys still whining about it?