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Oct 25th, 2016
Padraig Harrington still wants Ryder Cup place
Not prepared to take captaincy
Words: John Dean Photography: Getty Images
Padraig Harrington is not ready to take up the captaincy of Europe's Ryder Cup team, if offered the job for the 2018 tournament, and he wants to face the Americans in Paris as a player.
Padraig secured his first European Tour win in eight years on Sunday at the Portugal Masters, and there's still plenty of fight in him.
He was a vice-captain at the last two Ryder Cups and played in the 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010 tournaments.
"I want to be a player," Harrington told Sky Sports. "If I go for the captaincy nobody is going to give me back the 45th and 46th years in terms of my playing career.
"It's a huge sacrifice and as much as I would love to be Ryder Cup captain, selfishly I want to be a golfer."
"With the Ryder Cup, Paul McGinley kind of changed the parameters. It took three-and-a-half years out of his life. It certainly took two years out of Darren Clarke’s playing career," he added.
"Hopefully I will get an opportunity down the road. Whether it's a reality or not or whether it's a possibility, in my head I am going to make the Ryder Cup team in 2018."
You really cannot fault Padraig’s attitude. He still wants to get in there and mix it up with the best of them.
Related:
Padraig’s winning shots at the Portuguese Masters
