It is Ryder Cup judgement day Monday at high noon in the Gleneagles Hotel for Ireland’s Padraig Harrington.
European Ryder Cup captain, Jose Maria Olazabal will use the surrounds of the hotel, described when it opened in 1924 as the ‘Riviera of the Highlands’, to announce his Medinah wildcard picks.
Indeed the exclusive Scottish hotel has witnessed some historic meetings in its life including the 1977 Gleneagles Agreement that sought to ‘discourage’ contact and sports competition between Commonwealth Nations and teams and individuals from South Africa.
More recently there was the 2005 G 8 Summit when hapless U.S. President, George W. Bush crashed off a push bike to send a local police officer home on crutches.
Monday 12 noon is Ryder Cup judgement day for Ireland's Padraig Harrington. (Photo - Eoin Clarke/www.golffile.ie)
But today’s get together, to be proceeded by a European Tour hosted champagne breakfast for the media attending, is something completely different for the hotel and indeed for any European Team captain.
Two players will be smiling while a handful more will have to look ahead to Glenegales in two years time.
A survey among some two dozen of the rank-and-file players contesting the Johnnie Walker Championship believed Olazabal will choose Ian Poulter and Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts.
The only exceptions were the Irish Peter Lawrie, Gareth Maybin and Michael Hoey who were showing their true colours choosing Poulter and Harrington.
Des Smyth had remarked during the recent Scottish Seniors he thought Harrington ‘lucky’ to get a Celtic Manor ‘wildcard’ pick in 2010 but would be ‘unlucky’ not to receive one this time around.
Unfortunately, the majority of opinion among those gathering at Gleneagles believe Harrington will be extremely ‘lucky’ if he’s travelling with the European Team to Medinah.
Even Harrington’s long-time coach, Bob Torrance, and a person who has been by Harrington’s side in the lead-up to all of Harrington’s six prior Ryder Cup appearances, can’t see Olazabal picking the Dubliner.
“If Colsaerts were to have won Gleneagles and if Harrington won in the States, I feel Ollie would pick both Colsaerts and Harrington,” said Torrance.
“But there’s no way Harrington will be considered for a pick now he hasn’t won this week.
“That’s the only way Harrington could have put himself in the picture for a pick by winning.”
Harrington had made his Ryder Cup debut in 1999 in the ‘Battle of Brookline’, and ironically the same year Scotland’s Paul Lawrie also represented Europe for a first occasion.
And while Lawrie ends a 13-year European Team absence, and incidentally just a year short of Christy O’Connor’s Ryder Cup record of 14 years between his 1975 and 1989 appearances, Harrington’s run of six straight European caps comes to an end.
His Ryder Cup record is 25 matches, nine wins, three halves but 13 losses.
And if Harrington should not again compete in the Ryder Cup he will be among three European’s to have played in six straight Ryder Cups in their career without further representation.
The other two are Scotland’s Brian Barnes (1979-89) and England’s Peter Oosterhuis (1971-81).
