Padraig Harrington has set his sights on captaining the 2020 European Ryder Cup team, hinting that it’s now or never.
Now 46, Harrington has thrown his name into the hat as Europe’s next captain before he loses his place in the game.
‘I would love to be a Ryder Cup captain down the road,’ Harrington, a two-time vice-captain, told reporters.
‘I see [with] my game at the moment that putting my name in the ring to be Ryder Cup captain is coming sooner rather than later as it does not look like I will be playing my way into this year’s team.
‘But as regards to 2026, it’s too late for me to wait. It would be too much of a risk.’
Harrington said that with so many young stars making it on to the scene, he would potentially be out of touch with the squad by 2026.
The three-time Major winner has won four of the six biennial showdowns against the Americans but predicts stiff competition down the road for the role of captain with Lee Westwood and Scotland’s Paul Lawrie touted as future leaders.
The 2020 Ryder Cup is to be staged at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin.
