The after-effects for European Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington following the 19-9 rout by the Americans caught up with the Irishman at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, where he missed the cut in his 20th event appearance.
The 50-year-old Harrington, a two-time Dunhill Links champion (2002, 2006), finished at 3-over 219 after three rounds of pro-am event, missing the cut for the final round by 4 shots. He blamed a lack of practice and a loose short game. “My bogeys were poor around the greens,” he said following his first-round 75. “I actually played very nicely tee-to-green. Just didn’t hole putts. Didn’t putt badly but I hit a few bad chip shots and bunker shots. I haven’t really been practicing. Yeah, short game needs to be tidied up.” Harrington followed up with another 75 on Friday and a 3-under 69 on Saturday at the Old Course at St. Andrews. What he didn’t make excuses for was Team Europe’s defeat at Whistling Straits. “If you’re looking back at it, you know, every team that Europe has done over the last 20 years to innovate, to get an edge, they (Team USA) have just copied us,” he said. “They are doing the exact same thing as us. It’s just hard to find that edge. … They were a very good team, and they did everything right and things went their way, and they holed the putts. They had the momentum.” On the season, Harrington has made just six cuts in 10 European Tour starts with two top 10s including a T-6 at the Dubai Desert Classic and T-4 at the PGA Championship. He’s currently 56th in the Road to Dubai and is not listed in the field for this week’s Acciona Open de Espana in Madrid.