At 51, Padraig Harrington Remains in Mix for a Longshot Ryder Cup Spot

The former European captain finished 27th in the U.S. Open and will have another chance to audition for captain Luke Donald at the British Open.

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Padraig Harrington is playing most of his golf on the PGA Tour Champions, but when he shows up to play with the young guys, he’s seemingly holding his own. And his good play across both circuits has elicited some chatter about a longshot bid to be one of European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald’s at-large picks for the event in September.

Harrington, 51, captained the European side in 2021 at Whistling Straits and knows his chances of getting consideration mostly rested with his play at the Genesis Scottish Open as well as this week’s Open at Royal Liverpool.

"I don’t think we should take the seniors tour into account, it's different golf," said Harrington, who has won five tournaments on the 50-and-older circuit in the past 13 months. "I should be judged on how I play in DP World Tour and PGA Tour events. That's it. I've seen some nice form and I’m gradually getting better and better.

"I played well in Abu Dhabi but that was a good round with my back to the wall. This has been better in terms of being stress-free. I like what I see this week."

That was after a second-round 66 and before a third-round even-par 70 saw him fall out of contention. Still, Harrington was fourth earlier this year in Abu Dhabi and finished 27th at the U.S. Open.

Raymond Floyd, who was 51 when he played at the 1993 Ryder Cup—the last time the U.S. won overseas—is the last player who competed in a Ryder Cup after serving as captain.

"With regards to the Ryder Cup, I’ve got these two events," said Padraig, who won the Open in 2007 and 2008. "I'll see at the end of the Open. I'll talk to Luke and see where I stand and, if necessary, I'll change my schedule and come and play over here.

"I'm meant to play a few senior events in the middle of the summer. But I will change that and play European events if I have a genuine chance. If it’s real."

Harrington admitted it might not be.

"The team looks good. I have to say that," he said. "The good players are playing well. The young guys are coming through. And older guys like Justin (Rose) have come back into form.

"I don't think they are scrambling to need me in the team. They are very solid. Every week in the States, we see a European winning or contending. It’s turned a nice corner for Europe.

"It's nice to have experience, but they are not crying out for it. Although I don’t want to talk myself out of it. But they're not desperate to have me in the team."

Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Alex Noren and Rose would appear to be on the team, whether it be automatically or via a captain’s pick. The Hojgaard twins, Nicolai and Rasmus, are also in the mix, as are Robert MacIntyre and Victor Perez.