Harrington: I knew I wasn't going to be picked for the Ryder Cup
European Tour Ryder Cup

Harrington: I knew I wasn’t going to be picked for the Ryder Cup

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The writing was on the wall - in English, Spanish and Gaelic: Padraig Harrington was not going to be picked to round out the European Ryder Cup team.

That fate became truth on Monday when Jose Maria Olazabal picked Ian Poulter and rookie Nicolas Colsaerts to round out the 12-man squad heading to Medinah next month.

"I’ve been aware of the Ryder Cup situation since the PGA Championship and I pretty much knew the outcome, and Ollie called me yesterday to let me know," Harrington said on his website.

At Kiawah Island, Olazabal said Harrington would have to do something extraordinary - read: win the Wanamaker trophy - to garner one of two captain's picks. When Harrington didn't win then, Olazabal said the Irishman had to "at least win" The Barclays this past week. It was a second, unnecessary nail in the coffin.

“The dogs in the street knew I wasn’t getting a pick so it wasn’t a hard phone call whatsoever," Harrington said, according to Irish Golf Desk. “It was a polite phone call from José. I knew the result. Obviously it wasn’t news to me. I was quite comfortable with his two picks. I think they’ll do very well."

While Harrington resolves to make the '14 Ryder Cup team and many others, the reality is the three-time major winner will captain the European side in the next decade. It's just a matter of when - and how many countrymen will go in front of him.

“It’s nearly a given that we’ll have an Irish captain the next time as well," Harrington said. "Which one? That’s the question. I’d be rooting for Paul and thinking that Darren will get it after that. Will they give it to two Irish guys in a row? We’ll see, but they will definitely give it to Darren at some stage."

 

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Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is a scratch golfer...sometimes.

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