Rory McIlroy says Padraig Harrington would make a good Ryder Cup captain
Last Updated: 01/10/18 8:36pm
Rory McIlroy believes Padraig Harrington would be the ideal man for the job when Europe appoint their captain for the 2020 Ryder Cup.
Harrington is one of a number of candidates for the position to succeed Thomas Bjorn and lead Europe's bid to retain the trophy at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
The 47-year-old Irishman, a three-time major winner, has been a vice-captain for the past three Ryder Cups, having made six consecutive appearances as player between 1999 and 2010.
"I've always thought Padraig would be a good captain in the United States," McIlroy told Sky Sports News. "He's won a lot of golf tournaments over there, he's won a PGA Championship, so we'll see.
"I think the continuity in the European camp having all these vice-captains this year and preparing for captaincy down the road has been a huge foundation of why we've been so good.
"No matter who the captain is next time they'll be ready and I'm sure he will do a great job."
Harrington has also declared his interest in the job, saying on Monday: "It's an interesting one because I wouldn't do it without a certain trepidation because it's not easy, it really isn't easy. It's a tough, tough job.
"But on balance yes, I want to be a Ryder Cup captain at some stage."
Bjorn's four other vice-captains at Le Golf National were Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell and Robert Karlsson - who are also in the frame for the 2020 captaincy.
McIlroy was also asked about Patrick Reed's claim that egos were a problem for the United States team in Paris as he blamed Jordan Spieth for the end of their successful Ryder Cup partnership.
Reed also claimed it was "not smart" of US captain Jim Furyk to leave him out of two sessions.
"We saw a couple of tweets this morning. I think Patrick Reed's wife tweeted something," McIlroy said.
"But we can't really speculate on what was going on in there. We just had to worry about what we were doing."
Reflecting on the Reed and Spieth partnership, McIlroy added: "That was a great partnership. I think they'd only been beaten a couple of times in Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups.
"The golf course might not have suited them, it might not have set up great for them. They've done well before, they've been a great partnership, so I think the players, no matter who they are playing with, have to play good enough to win their matches. The Europeans just did that a bit better than the Americans this week."
