Harrington - time to get the finger out.

A.Partridge

Just had a gander at the European Ryder Cup standings on europeantour.com and am beginning to feel that Padraig will need to start producing something very soon (i.e. pronto, right now) if he wants to stand any chance of gaining automatic qualification to the team for Valhalla.

Anybody else seriously concerned that he is cutting it fine?

stockdam

Yes he needs to start to play better.

However I'm not really concerned as the better players will generally get onto the team.......if he doesn't get on then he's not playing well enough.

Sandwich

Europe could do with him in form.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, he is a certainty to be picked if he isnt in by right.

f22

Have never rated Harrington to be honest. He's a good player who works hard and fair play to him, he's also won a major which is more than we can say about alot of Europeans.

He's in a bit of a slump at the moment so it will be interesting to see if he can come good, because there is alot of pressure to do so in the coming months.

If he continues to play badly I wouldn't guarantee him a pick from Faldo at all if there are others in form.

I would give Monty a captains pick before him.

rich87

I think faldo will not look very far down the points list when considering his wild cards. Harrington will not get a pick just because of his open win, however with some big tournaments coming up i really expect him to come good and make the team

Mister Sifter

Sandwich wrote: »

Europe could do with him in form.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, he is a certainty to be picked if he isnt in by right.

I disagree. I think he's far from a certainty to get a wild card. Monty and Donald would be the ones i think Faldo would go for.

That said, i expect Monty to make it into the team (especially after he wins the Open!:D)

Harrington still has a big chance of getting in by right. The guys already in the spots are playing really well also though so he has his work cut out.

The big questions is whether Harrington really wants it that badly.

deko43

half a point from 5 at the k club wont do his hopes of a pick any favours.
Its great that he is playing the Irish PGA but he should have added the French or Loch Lomand to his schedule given the readies and points on offer. If he misses the cut at the Open he is is serious trouble...

A.Partridge

deko43 wrote: »

half a point from 5 at the k club wont do his hopes of a pick any favours.
Its great that he is playing the Irish PGA but he should have added the French or Loch Lomand to his schedule given the readies and points on offer. If he misses the cut at the Open he is is serious trouble...

That was the whole purpose of my thread here. I think he has erred by not playing enough ranking events in the lead up to the Open Championship. He is putting himself under quite a bit of pressure to do well in two week's time.

I also agree with Graeme - I don't think Faldo would give Harrington the nod for a wild card.

A.Partridge

(He's in even more danger of missing the team than I first thought)

European Ryder Cup Rankings

The 2008 Ryder Cup

Valhalla GC
Louisville, Kentucky, USA

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The Ryder Cup World Points List Updated: 30 Jun 2008
Position Player Name Points
1 Lee WESTWOOD 224.48
2 Miguel Angel JIMÉNEZ 174.86
3 Robert KARLSSON 173.28
4 Justin ROSE 167.46
5 Sergio GARCIA 163.70
6 Henrik STENSON 163.02
7 Martin KAYMER 148.45
8 [B]Padraig HARRINGTON 135.82 [/B]
9 Luke DONALD 134.66
10 Daniel CHOPRA 123.59

The Ryder Cup European Points ListUpdated: 30 Jun 2008
After the Open de France ALSTOM
Position Player Name Points
1 Lee WESTWOOD 2085621.56
2 Robert KARLSSON 1867485.62
3 Miguel Angel JIMÉNEZ 1789641.51
4 Martin KAYMER 1305447.80
5 Henrik STENSON 1293239.75
6 Oliver WILSON 1251857.70
7 Justin ROSE 1240877.68
8 Søren HANSEN 1199331.31
9 Nick DOUGHERTY 1032337.09
10 Graeme MCDOWELL 1030822.73
View full list >

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Qualification criteria
Click here to view the European Ryder Cup Teams 1979-2006 and complete Results from 1927-2006

The European Ryder Cup Team Qualification for The 2008 Ryder Cup

The European Team will be selected employing the following criteria:

(a) The leading five players on The Ryder Cup World Points List (1) as of Sunday, August 31, 2008, or at the conclusion of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, whichever is the latter. In the event of a tie (equal number of points accumulated), placings will be decided by the player with the higher ranking on the Official World Golf Ranking as of Monday, August 25, 2008.

(b) The leading five players, not otherwise qualified (having selected the five players from The Ryder Cup World Points List) from The Ryder Cup European Points List (2) as of Sunday, August 31, 2008, or at the conclusion of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, whichever is the latter. In the event of a tie (equal number of points accumulated), placings will be decided by the player with the higher ranking on The 2008 European Tour Order of Merit as of August 31, 2008, or at the conclusion of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, whichever is the latter.

(c) The Captain, Nick Faldo, will choose the remaining two players on Sunday August 31 following the conclusion of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.

(1) The Ryder Cup World Points List is comprised of World Ranking Points won by a European Tour Member from each tournament in which he participates between September 6, 2007 and August 25, 2008 and thereafter in the 2008 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. World Ranking Points are allocated to all officially sanctioned tournaments (on any Federated Tour) by the Official World Golf Ranking and are allocated according to the Event Rating of the tournament.

(2) The Ryder Cup European Points List is comprised of points (1 point = 1 Euro) earned by a European Tour Member from all officially sanctioned European Tour tournaments on The European Tour Order of Merit between September 6, 2007 and August 31, 2008 or the conclusion of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, whichever is the latter.

---

stockdam

f22 wrote: »

I would give Monty a captains pick before him.

I agree with that especially because of Monty's recent form......and he has a great record in the Ryder Cup (nobody has a better attitude).

Darren Clarke may also be in the running as he plays so well with Westwood who is a cert.

copacetic

he is at about 790k (16th) on european list, so 210k off being in the side. Not incredibly far back, but tough as everyone above him will likely move. He does need a win or a good placing at the open most likely.

Even on the world list 30 points isn't that much if you play well at the majors and the people ahead of you don't. eg he got 20 points for tied 5th at masters. He has lost more points than he has gained in last year, but he has little left to roll out over next 2 months.
Remember Sergio got 80 points for players, if he hadn't won that Harrington would be 50 ahead of him. Rose only jumped clear with 24 points from T2 at memorial.

It should also be noted that his results for the same periods in 2006 and 2007 would both easily get him on either list if he could reproduce them. He has had 4 top 5s this year, so its not like he isn't playing at all well.

The Rooster

If the team was being picked tomorrow, I firmly believe that Donald and Harrington would be picked. The proof that they are in reasonable form is from the World's List.

However, there is still plenty of time for the likes of Monty, Casey, Poulter to make a case for themselves.

Adiaga 2

Harrington hasn't had a bad season so far really - he's had four top 5 finishes from 9 starts on the PGA Tour. I think it's his schedule that's kept him out of an automatic place. I was very surprised he didn't play in France last week. As things stand now, it would be madness to give Monty the nod over Harrington. Monty has a great Ryder Cup record but his form has been very poor this season apart from last weekend. That said, the RC does bring out the very best in some players but Monty would need to continue this form for Faldo to consider him.

I would still fancy Harrington to qualify. And I agree with the other posts that he would not be guaranteed a pick by Faldo. A successful Open defence in a couple of weeks should seal the deal for him.

f22

Poulter will definitely get a captains pick. Afterall he is the second best player in the world, and with Woods absense he will be the best player on either squad.

:D:eek:

A.Partridge

Click on link below:

http://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/mhgbidkfqloj/


Now he has a possible injury?:rolleyes:

BUACHAILL

that wouldnt worry me, stiff neck isnt a big concern
i think we aint giving Harrington enough credit, he is extremely methodical, calculated and professional in every sense and if he has decided not to play certain events he obviously feels he has enough in the bag with what he has chosen. I like him and time will tell if he comes up short or not but lets be fair he hasnt yet, ok maybe results gone against or the odd slip but he is human all in all he has his plan and normally it works out. Personally i hope he gets picked as he will be another Irish man in the team and a lot of the younger players admire him and if nothing else himself and Monty are the two players that can raise the attitude in a room, and of course Clarke

Mister Sifter

Time to get the razor out too... he seems to be sporting a bit of a beard this week.

JerryHandbag

Yeah i saw that tonight on Sky. Is he gonna turn up at The Open with a ZZTop style facial hair! Seriously, I think he knows what he has to do and he will do it.....It would be unthinkable for the Open champion to not make the Ryder Cup team.....i would say he'll get a wild card at worst....monty showed good form last weekend but i fear it might be a bit late in the day

WHIP IT!

I think Harrington is a nailed on cert for a wildcard if he doesn't qualify automatically.

No doubt.

Marshy

Graeme1982 wrote: »

That said, i expect Monty to make it into the team (especially after he wins the Open!:D)

I would actually like to see him win the Open. Before I wan't much of a fan of his but in recent times he seems to have become more happy-go-lucky.

It was very sad to see him fall short at the US Open a couple of years back. He may only have a couple of years left now to rid himself of the nearly man tag in majors.

As for Harrington I'm fairly sure he'll play well enough to qualify for the team in the important tournaments over the summer.

WHIP IT!

Marshy wrote: »

I would actually like to see him win the Open. Before I wan't much of a fan of his but in recent times he seems to have become more happy-go-lucky.

It was very sad to see him fall short at the US Open a couple of years back. He may only have a couple of years left now to rid himself of the nearly man tag in majors.

As for Harrington I'm fairly sure he'll play well enough to qualify for the team in the important tournaments over the summer.

I've always had a soft spot for Monty - or any sportsman who comes so close so many times to their "Big One" (Jimmy White, Patrick Ewing, Peter Canavan - was happy to see him eventually win two All Irelands) but the US Open mentioned above was the day I truly lost all faith in his ability to ever win a Major.

I'd still love to see him win one - but I'm still at the conclusion that no matter how good a position Monty gets himself in to finally win one of the damn things, he'll always find some way to lose it.

Adiaga 2

Slow start for Pad today at the European Open. 9 under leads but Harrington only managed level par despite birdieing all the par 5s.

(Pity the K Club lost that tournament but looking at the weather today I'd say it would have been washed out.)

Mister Sifter

Harrington said yesterday that he thinks 17 under or so could win it this week. Bar his double bogey today he would've been sitting ok. I think he'll really need to put a low round in either tomorrow or saturday though.

Decent start for Monty - 2 under. Hopefully another top five for him this week.

I fancy a decent week for McIlroy this week.

stockdam

Graeme1982 wrote: »

I fancy a decent week for McIlroy this week.

Hope so as he's been very quiet after a good start to his career.
Hope Clarke does well too.

PhilipMarlowe

expecting the usual hex... checked Gary Murphy's score earlier today and he was +2 after 11 - has since birdied 4 of the next 5 to be -2 and t12 after 16

Mister Sifter

stockdam wrote: »

Hope so as he's been very quiet after a good start to his career.

Great round from him today. 5 under he finished having been 1 over through 8 holes.

McDowell also made a great start, 7 under.

Adiaga 2

GMac now leads on the course. Having a great season. Good to see McIlroy up there. Would like to see McGinley get back in there too after letting a great round slip yesterday evening.

Mister Sifter

Garcia making a good move today. Hopefully nobody races too far ahead. Would be good to see a nice tight finish on Sunday.

Read in the paper this morning that Ross Fisher hit a drive 420 yards on the last yesterday. Must've been downwind, but still. That's almost as long as some on here.

milltown

Graeme1982 wrote: »

Read in the paper this morning that Ross Fisher hit a drive 420 yards on the last yesterday. Must've been downwind, but still. That's almost as long as some on here.

scout353

Graeme1982 wrote: »

Read in the paper this morning that Ross Fisher hit a drive 420 yards on the last yesterday. Must've been downwind, but still. That's almost as long as some on here.

Saw it on TV yesterday - he was playing the ninth as his last - ball ended up 25 yards from the green which would put it about 420 ok - stunning drive and narrow landing area. In his interview even he was surprised himself and was looking for his ball about a hundred yards behind until his caddie pointed out the ball near the green!!!

WHIP IT!

scout353 wrote: »

Saw it on TV yesterday - he was playing the ninth as his last - ball ended up 25 yards from the green which would put it about 420 ok - stunning drive and narrow landing area. In his interview even he was surprised himself and was looking for his ball about a hundred yards behind until his caddie pointed out the ball near the green!!!

Saw that myself, I think it may have actually flew over the head of a couple of spectators or officials who crossed the fairway near-ish the green. Or it at least must've whizzed by them.

Stunning.

A.Partridge

As at the present Graeme McDowell is joint leader with Ross Fisher on -12.

Have to say things are looking dodgy for Padraig H. He's right on the cut line as we speak with 4 holes to go.:eek:


As well as McDowell, both Soren Hansen and Nick Dougherty will make the cut and Hansen could be close to the lead again by Sunday.

as I say padraig NEEDS to get the finger out!

A.Partridge

Ahhh goood man Padraig...he's just eagled 15 to go to -2 as we speak.

Never doubted the man.:o

stockdam

Graeme1982 wrote: »

Read in the paper this morning that Ross Fisher hit a drive 420 yards on the last yesterday. Must've been downwind, but still. That's almost as long as some on here.

:D:D:D:D

Mister Sifter

A.Partridge wrote: »

Ahhh goood man Padraig...he's just eagled 15 to go to -2 as we speak.

Never doubted the man.:o

He's 4-under through seven holes this morning. Two birdies and an eagle. Good start. Will need to keep going if he's to challenge though.