A Ryder Cup without fellow Irishman Padraig Harrington.

It will be hard to believe but unless the triple Major Champion wins this week then his chances of contesting a seventh straight Ryder Cup seem minimal.

And given a long-time frosty relationship with European Team captain, Jose Maria Olazabal, that both players say is dead and buried, one only has to read Olazabal’s comments today on Harrington’s chances of making the team (see other story on www.golfbytourmiss.com) to clearly understand the Spaniard finds little favour with the Dubliner.

Padraig Harrington has his back to the wall in a goal to make it a seventh straight Ryder Cup. (Photo - Eoin Clarke/www.golffile.ie)

However McDowell was asked what he thought of a Ryder Cup without Harrington.

“It is very difficult for Padraig and touch wood, I have never experienced that, so far,” said McDowell.

“It’s a very difficult position for Padraig and a half-a-dozen other guys to be in.    But then a peak performance this week would put Padraig into the Ryder Cup.

“You ask every European Tour player and perhaps a lot of the American players and the Ryder Cup is a pretty big deal for both tour’s.

“There is going to be some disappointed guys.  So it’s a big enough week coming into a Major Championship and there’s enough motivation this week that you don’t need the added pressure of the trying to make the Ryder Cup team.”

McDowell was speaking ahead of his eighth PGA Championship appearance.

The Northern Irishman captured the 2010 U.S. Open along the Pacific Ocean shoreland and has his heart set being presented with the gleaming Wanamaker Trophy this week on the Atlantic Ocean shores.

And after a 12th place result in the Masters, runner-up in the U.S. Open and fifth in last month’s Open Championship, McDowell has the proper credentials for glory this week.

“I do look back very positively on both of my last two major experiences,” he said.

“Yes, I mean, there are certain elements of frustration and negativity in there.  I have addressed a couple things that I think I need to do better.

“You know, I take the positives away in that it was certainly nothing to do with nervousness or pressure that kind of got to me.  If anything, I came out a little bit flat in both first nine holes.

“So there’s a few things I’ve addressed, just really kind of my routines, my pre‑shot routines, just various little things I’m maybe not executing as well in the heat that I do maybe on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, just committing quicker to my shots, just getting in there and reacting a bit better.”

And after having to deal with the burden throughout 2011 in being a Major Champion, McDowell confessed he’s better prepared for dealing with success at the game’s highest level.

“It’s just nice to be back in those positions and know that I can deal with the pressure and the emotion,” he said.

“I just didn’t execute my shots well enough.

“Olympic, there were probably ‑‑ looking at both days, they were both the toughest days of the week regards conditions and the way the course played.  You know, at Olympic, that marine layer had come in and wind was there and the course was playing at its longest and toughest all week; it was tough.

“Certainly at Lytham, we played Thursday, Friday, Saturday, were very benign, and Sunday, it was a tough cross‑wind and it was tough to adapt to.  There was nothing to do ‑‑ it was just a little bit of a lack of good ball‑striking really on both days as opposed to anything else.  But I take a lot of positives away.

“So, it’s just building and building and putting myself there more often, knock on the door, and hopefully, some day I’ll bust one down again.”

McDowell begins his quest teeing up at 1.50pm local time and competing in the company of Americans Scott Piercy and Matt Kuchar.